POPULATION INTERACTION

BIOLOGY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

AMRITA.S
XII-B5
ADITYA VIDYASHRAM PORAIYUR
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deep sense of thanks and

gratitude to my biology faculty

and our principal sir for giving me the golden opportunity to

work on this wonderful project. I would also like to thank the
teacher for guiding me throughout this project and giving me
ample ideas and suggestions as well constructive feedback.

This project also helped me in doing a lot of research and I

came to know about so many new things.

Then I would like to thank my parents and friends who have

helped me with their valuable suggestions and guidance
whose have been helpful in various phases of completing the
project within the given timeframe.

And once again, I would like to thank all my teachers, my

parents & my colleagues who have been very supportive to
me & for which this project has become such a successful
one.
 INDEX

 Introduction

 Important interaction between two species

 Population interaction influence abundance

 Mutualism
 Competition
 Predation
 Parasitism
 Commensalism
 Amenalism (Allopathy)

 Observation of some interaction in our localities

 Reference
 INTRODUCTION

Population interaction is a phenomenon where different

populations of organisms and creatures interact with one
another to establish a stabilised transfer of energy and food
sources. Some of the population interaction examples are
mutualism, commensalism and more.

It can be said that Population Interaction is one of the

important operations that regulates the organisation of a
community and refers to the interrelationship between the
participants in the aggregate in a community. Organisms do
not live as isolated individuals. Animals prefer to live in groups
or colonies. Two or more populations of different species
interact to form a biological community. In a biological
organisation, both plants and animals are very closely related.
 Abiotic (physical) and biotic (biological) components make up
the environment.

Ecology is a vast arena in Biology, which is a study of

organisms, their distribution and interaction with each other and
the environment. To study the relationship between prey,
predators, other interactions and phenomenon like competition,
camouflage, mimicry etc., it is mandatory to study the theory
of population interaction.

Nutrients in the soil, carbon dioxide, water, temperature,

atmospheric pressure, wind and osmotic balances are some of
the physical aspects required for a living being.
 IMPORTANT INTERACTION BETWEEN TWO SPECIES

By comparing populations living alone and living together,

several types of interactions can be observed:

 Commensalism (+/o)
 Mutualism (+/+)
 Competition (-/-)
 Parasitism (+/-)
 Predation (+/-)
 Allelopathy (+/-)
 Ammensalism (-/o)
 Protocooperation (+/+)

POPULATION INTERACTION INFLUENCE ABUNDANCE

When population of different species interact, the effects on
one another may be positive(+), negative(-) or neutral(o).

MUTUALISM
Mutualism is the involvement of two different populations in
which both populations are dependent on each other. They
interact in such a manner that they both become beneficial for
each other.

The best example of mutualism is the relationship between

cows and birds. There are numerous birds that often revolve
around the cows and even stay on them. Cows are benefited
from the birds due to the fact that these birds keep the cow
free of any type of insects and other pests. On the other
hand, the birds get profit from the cow as it provides a
feeding ground for the birds. One must understand that in
relation such as mutualism, none of the two creatures is
affected in a negative way.

COMPETITION
Competition occurs when two relatively similar species compete
with each other. If the species are not similar, then the
interaction would be called competition. Even the resource
which they are fighting for should be limited in the ideal case,
but the competition still takes place even if there is an
unlimited source of food. As a result of this interaction, one
of the species wins over the other.

For example, on Mumbai’s

west coast, flamingos and local fish fight for the same food,
the zooplankton, which is found in shallow creeks. However,
competition may take place even when resources are plentiful.
Leopards do not hunt in close vicinity to lion pringles, despite
the abundance of resources (food and space) available to
them. This is due to the interruption or restrictive presence of
the other species.

PREDATION
Predation is one of the most important population interactions
out there. In this type of interaction, a dominating species,
also known as the predator, dominates over a small or weak
species for food and other resources. Predators are always
prudent. This interaction is very special as a predator never
over exploits its prey as there would be nothing for the
predator to eat. Carnivorous interactions are the most common
types of predation, in which one species eats another.
Consider how wolves hunt moose, owls hunt mice, and shrews
hunt worms and other invertebrates in their natural habitat.

A few of the common examples of predation are;

Crows preying on other birds’ nests in order to consume their

eggs, Owls hunting, killing, and eating mice and rats, to catch
airborne insects, frogs and toads stretch their long tongues,
etc.

PARASITISM
This type of interaction is only seen when a parasite is an
organism that uses a parasitic mode of infection in contact
with the host body.

It is host-specific, and the parasites are clearly dependent on

their host for the development and other important metabolic
processes.

Examples are, dogs and cats are hosts for fleas and ticks.
They are relying on the host animal’s blood to sustain
themselves. Lice are parasites of a different kind. They rely on
the host animal’s blood to sustain themselves. Cockatoos
deposit their eggs in other birds’ nests to expect the other
bird to take care of the young. It is common for cockatoos to
remove one or more eggs from their nests in order to avert
suspicion. Aphids are sap-feeding parasitic insects that
parasitise host plants.

COMMENSALISM
commensalism, in biology, a relationship between individuals of
two species in which one species obtains food or other
benefits from the other without either harming or benefiting the
latter.

Commensalism plays an important role in many ecosystems by

providing resources and habitats for organisms and influencing
the distribution and diversity of species.

One of the best-known examples of a commensal is the

remora (family Echineidae) that rides attached to sharks and
other fishes. Remoras have evolved on the top of their heads
a flat oval sucking disk structure that adheres to the bodies of
their hosts.
 ALLELOPATHY

Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism

produces one or more biochemicals that influence the
germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other
organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals
and can have beneficial (positive allelopathy) or detrimental
(negative allelopathy) effects on the target organisms and the
community.

Allelopathy is often used narrowly to describe chemically-

mediated competition between plants; however, it is sometimes
defined more broadly as chemically-mediated competition
between any type of organisms
For example, black walnut is notorious for its allelopathic
effects on the plants around it. This tree is known to inhibit
the growth of many other trees, shrubs, and herbaceous
plants. And then there are plants like sunn hemp (Crotalaria
juncea) that may cause a problem in your vegetable garden.

Studies have shown that sunn hemp as a cover crop could

potentially inhibit the growth of lettuce and vegetable seed
germination.
OBSERVATION OF SOME INTERACTIONS IN OUR
LOCALITIES

 The dog is an classic example of a domestic animal that

likely travelled a commensal path into domestication.

 Pollination in which nectar or pollen ( food resources )

are traded for pollen dispersal or ant protection of aphids,
while the aphids trade sugar-rich honeydew in return for
defence against predators such as ladybugs.

 Common clownfish (amphiprion ocellaris) in their ritteri sea

anemone (Heteractis magnifica) home. Both the fish and
anemone benefit from this relationship, a case of
mutualistic symbiosis.

 Common cuckoo chick ejects reed warbler out of its nest.

It is a type of blood parasitism.

 Agricultural varieties of maize provide food for humans

and are unable to reproduce without human intervention
because the leafy sheath doesn’t fall open and seedhead
doesn’t shatter to scatter the seeds naturally.
  Cheetahs and lions both feed on similar pray and hence
are negatively affected by the presence of each other
because they will have less food.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Ncert.nic.in
 Biology today (mtg publication)
 Biological science (Cambridge edition)
 www.britannica.com
 www.embibe.com
 unacademy.com