ASSIGNMENT - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

MODULE 5 LESSON 1

DIRECTION:
Please answer according to your own ideas and thoughts. Copying and pasting
from the internet is strictly prohibited. Make sure that an accurate statement
structure is shown and an ideal answer would probably be visible. Good luck!

1. Define the different types of species interactions.

Answer:
- The nature of these interactions depends upon the environmental conditions
and evolutionary aspects in which they exist. There are several classifications of
these interactions which are found in different ecosystems. These interactions can
be used as a framework in analyzing the ecological community to describe
processes that naturally occur which in turn can be used to predict human
modifications that may affect the properties and processes of ecosystems.

2. Describe the three major types of symbiosis.

Answer:
Mutualism - a mutually symbiotic relationship is any relationship between two
organisms where both organisms benefit. It is mutually beneficial. Mutually
symbiotic relationships can even extend to the point where both organisms need
each other to survive. Mutualistic relationships confer a number of benefits to the
organisms in them, including protection and nutrition.
Commensalism - in commensalism, one organism benefits from the relationship
with the other is unharmed by it. Very frequently these scenarios involve one
organism depending on another for transport, nutrients, or shelter while the host
organism doesn’t benefit and is more or less unharmed.
Parasitism - Parasitic relationships are those which involve one organism living off
of another organism, to the detriment of the other organism, possibly including
the death of the other organism. Frequently the parasite actively lives on the
body of the host, consuming nutrients from its blood or other parts of its body.
3. Give an example on each of the symbiotic relationships.
Answer:
- Examples of mutualism relationships include oxpeckers and cattle, and sea
anemones and clownfish. In the case of clownfish and sea anemones, the
sea anemones provide the clownfish with protection by using their stinging
tentacles. In return, the clownfish cleans the sea anemone and frightens off
preying animals like the butterfly fish. Regarding the oxpeckers and cattle,
cattle allow the small birds known as oxpeckers to eat ticks and other
harmful insects off them.
- Examples of commensalism are remora, golden jackals, and goby fish.
Remora are fish that have a large disk on their head that allows them to
cling onto larger sea creatures such as manta rays and sharks. When the
host animal feeds on something, the remora detach themselves and eat
any extra food.
- Examples of parasitism include fleas, ticks, and tapeworms. Ticks and fleas
live on the body of their hosts for a while, sucking their blood for nutrients.
Tapeworms burrow into the intestines of animals like cows and pigs and eat
the partially digested food of the host. This ends up depriving the host of
vital nutrients. Some parasites live off of plants instead of animals. For
example, Aphids cling to plants and eat the sap of the plant.