Species interactions

chapter 20 section 1
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
identify:
1. possible causes and results of
interspecific competition.
2. Two types of predator adaptations and
two types of prey adaptations.
3. Compare parasitism , mutualism and
commensalism and give 1 example of
each.
 VOCABULARY
 Predation
 interspecific competition
 Symbiosis
 Parasitism
 Mutualism
 commensalism
 1. What is predation?
 An individual of one species , called predator,
eats all or parts of an individual of another
species called the prey.
 I.e.: one organism killing and eating another
for food.
 2. This relationship is important to study,
why?
 This relationship influences the size of each
population.
 It also affects where and how each
population lives.
example of predators:
A lion that eats an antelope
 Objective 1:Predator vs.
prey adaptations.
 Predator adaptations :
 A. strong sense of smell.
 B. heat sensitive pits in
the nostrils to detect
warm bodied preys in the
dark.
 C. Venom (poison) to kill
or paralyze the prey.
 Example : rattle snake.

fun fact: they hate human taste ☺

 Other predator adaptations:
 1. sticky spider webs.
 2. sharp teeth.
 3. high speed.
 4. skin stripes.
 Adaptations in
animal prey:
 1. running fast to
avoid being eaten.
 2. camouflage.
 3. using venoms
 4. having bright
colors.
 5. mimicry.
 6. living in groups.
 Adaptations in plant
prey:
 Though plants can not
run away , they also
developed adaptations
to protect them from
eating.
 1. sharp thorns and
spines.

 2. sticky hairs.

 3. tough leaves.

 4.producing chemicals
that are poisonous,
irritating or bad tasting.
Such as strychnine and
nicotine.
Objective 2: possible causes and results of
interspecific competition.

 What is interspecific competition?

 Two or more species use the same
limited resources.
 Ex: two species of barnacles attempt
to use the same resources, they are
in competition with each other.

 A)Competitive exclusion:
 “one species eliminates the other’
 One species is eliminated from the
community as the other species uses
the limited resource more effectively,
giving no chance for the first to grow
and reproduce.
 When two species compete for limited
resources, competitive exclusion will
take place unless the two species
separate or find different resources.
B)Resource partitioning:
Competition may lead different species
to divide the same limited resource
among them or utilize different
resources in the environment.
C)Character displacement:
Sometimes animals compete in
their environment ,this may be
called” niche overlap”.
Natural selection helps to
change the competitors by
changing their characters so
they may stop competing over
the same limited resource.

In other words:
A change in anatomy that
results when two species
compete for the same resource
is called
 Objective 3: compare parasitism , mutualism and
commensalism. Give one example of each.
 Symbiosis:
 A close , long term relationship between
organisms.
 Parasitism: a relationship in which an
individual is harmed while the other is
benefited.
 Example : tape worms that are
Endoparasite i.e.: growing inside or on
the host body.
 Lice: are Ectoparasites i.e.: live outside
the body. successful parasites do not kill
their hosts , they use them to transmit
their offspring to new hosts.
Mutualism: is a relationship in which two species benefit from each
other.
Example: all members of the pollination process.
Commensalism: a relationship in which one species benefits and the
other is neither harmed nor helped
Example:
When cape buffalos move , insects and small animals are forced to
get out of their burrows , then they are eaten instantly by the cattle
egrets birds.