Lesson 10.

Ecological Relationships
 describe symbiotic relationship
Objectives 1 and non-symbiotic
At the end relationship; and
of the
lesson, you identify and describe the
should be 2 different feeding relationships
able to: in an ecosystem.
 Learn about it!

Feeding Relationship

● Organisms interact with

each other through
symbiotic and non-
symbiotic relationships.

Chicks being fed by the

mother
 Learn about it!

Symbiotic Relationships
● Involves organisms living in
close nutritional
relationships.

● One or both organisms

obtain a benefit.

A type of symbiotic relationship

 Learn about it!

Mutualism
● A type of relationship in which
both organism benefit from each
other.

● Example:
○ Plants provide food to the
bees; bees becomes agents of
Mutualism in bees and
pollination flowers
 Learn about it!

Commensalism

● A type of relationship in which one

organism benefits while the other
is neither harmed nor benefited

● Example:
○ Orchids need support provided
by the trees, the trees are
neither harmed nor benefited Orchids on trees
 Learn about it!

Parasitism
● A relationship where one
organism benefits at the
expense of the other.

● Parasite is the organism that

benefits, while the host is the
organism being harmed.
Parasites on caterpillar
 Learn about it!

Parasitism Sand

● Types of parasite:

○ Ectoparasites live on
the surface of the host.
Tick Protozoa,
○ Endoparasites live ectoparasite endoparasite
inside the body of the
host.
 Learn about it!

Competition
● Pertains to populations or
individual organisms which
compete for the same
resource.

Competition over food source

 Learn about it!

Predation
● A symbiotic relationship where
one organism kills and eats
another organism to obtain
nutrients.

● Prey is the organism being

eaten, while predator is the
organism that kills and eats the Eagle eating its prey
prey.
 Learn about it!

Non-symbiotic relationships
● Involve organisms that are
free-living.

● Relationships that are not

required for survival.

Microorganism in human gut

 Learn about it!

Non-symbiotic
relationships
● Classified as: synergism
or antagonism.

Non-symbiotic relationship
among bacterial community
 Learn about it!

Synergism
● Organisms cooperate and
share nutrients and resources.

● Example:
○ Azotobacter and
cellulomonas cooperate to
form and breakdown
ammonium and glucose.
Bacteria
 Learn about it!

Antagonism
● Some organisms are
inhibited or harmed by
others.

● Example:
○ Antibiotics inhibits the
growth of microorganisms
that are harmful to the Antibiotic medicine
body
Key Points

Feeding relationships occur through symbiotic and

1 non-symbiotic relationships.

Symbiotic relationship involves organisms living in

2 close nutritional relationships.

Non-symbiotic relationship involves organisms that

3 are free-living.
 Check Your Understanding

Identify the ecological relationship exhibited by

the given scenario below.
1. Tapeworms in cats and dogs.
2. Lions hunting gazelles.
3. Foxes and coyotes both feed on common prey.
4. A clown fish lives safely in sea anemones; the clown fish
also feeds the sea anemone and protects it from
predators.
5. A cattle egret eats the insects disturbed by cattle during
foraging; the cattle are not affected by the cattle egrets.
 Challenge Yourself

What is the
important role of
predators in keeping
the balance in an
ecosystem?
 Bibliography

Joan Fong, et al. 2014. Science Matters. Second Edition. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Education.

Jane B. Reese, et al. 2011. Campbell Biology. Ninth Edition. San Francisco CA: Pearson Education, Inc. /
Pearson Benjamin Cummings

POGIL. “Ecological Relationships.” Accessed July 18, 2017.

http://monon.mccsc.edu/~jduncan/23%20Ecological%20Relationships-S.pdf

Population Biology. “How do populations affect each other in ecosystems?” Accessed July 18, 2017.
http://modelsim.tech.northwestern.edu/teacherguides/popbio/PopBio-TG-6-CompetitionPopulations.p
df

University of Michigan. “The Ecosystem and How It Relates to Sustainability.” Accessed July 17, 2017.
https://globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/kling/ecosystem/ecosystem.html