❊
Ecology
❊
The study of the interaction of populations of living
organisms with other populations and with the
environment
❊ Population
❊A
group of individuals, all of the same species
❊ Community
❊A
group of different populations
❊ Abiotic
❊ Oxygen
factors
concentration, salinity, temperature,
rainfall, etc.
Symbiotic Relationships
❊Symbiosis
❊A relationship between two species
❊Usually involves close physical contact
❊The major types are mutualism ,
commensalism , parasitism, and
predator-prey relationships
•Open the text on
your desk to page 86
•Read about the
different levels of
the rain forest
•Create ONE table
that includes
•2 abiotic factors
•2 biotic factors
Symbiotic Relationships
❊Mutualism
❊ A symbiotic relationship between two species
in which both species benefit
EXAMPLE:
❊ Microbes in the stomach of cattle
are responsible for the digestion of
cellulose (fiber in grass & hay)
❊ The cattle benefit because they
use the glucose from the cellulose
digestion
❊ The microbes benefit because
they get a warm, moist, protected
place to live and all they food they
need
Symbiotic Relationships
❊Commensalism
❊ A symbiotic relationship between two species
❊ In which one species benefits, and the other
species is neither helped nor harmed
Loggerhead turtle
& sea worms
EXAMPLE:
❊ The worms benefit because
they get to travel through
nutrient-rich waters as the sea
turtle swims around (worms
attached to the docks are
stuck there)
❊ There is no direct benefit to
the turtle having worms stuck
on its back, nor does there
seem to be any harm done
Symbiotic Relationships
❊Parasitism
❊ A symbiotic relationship between two species
❊ In which one species benefits, and the other
species is harmed
❊ The species that benefits is called a parasite,
and is typically much smaller than the other
species (the host)
❊ Example:
❊ microorganisms that cause
disease in humans,
animals, and plants
Symbiotic Relationships
❊Predator-prey
❊ A symbiotic relationship between two species
❊ In which one species captures & kills the other
species for food
❊ The species are generally about equal in size
❊ The term is usually applied to animal species (or
certain types of protozoan species)
❊ Example:
❊ Lions and
wildebeests, Owl
and mouse
Do First
1. List the following terms in ecological
order from least complex to most
– Population
– Ecosystem
– Biosphere
– Organism
2. Which of the following are abiotic:
Chewing gum, a slug, skin cells
Last Class
Levels of ecological organization
 Symbiotic Relationships

Whiteboards
Cattle with
Cattle
stir up insectsegrets
as they eat grass
cattle
Commensalism: one
benefits, one is unaffected
What do the cattle get?
What do the egrets get?
Moray Eel
with
What does the
Cleaner
Moray Eel get?
Fish
What does the
Cleaner Fish get?
Mutualism:
both benefit
Taenia worm in
Worm infects human blood stream
human
eye
Human may go blind
Parasitism: one benefits
and the other is harmed
What does the human get?
What does the worm get?
Clown fish with
anemone
Clown fish gets protection
Anemone is unaffected
C
o
m
m
e
n
s
a
l
i
s
m
Antelope with
Oxbird
M
u
t
u
a
l
i
s
Antelope gets rid of parasites m
Oxbird gets a meal
A baby
hippopotamus
that survived
the tsunami
waves on the
Kenyan coast
has formed a
strong bond
with a giant
male tortoise.
The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing
about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down
Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to
shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on
December 26, 2005 before wildlife rangers rescued him.
“It is incredible…
A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male
tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise
seems to be very happy with being a 'mother',"
ecologist Paula Kahumbu
"After it was
swept and
lost its mother,
the hippo was
traumatized.
It had to look
for something
to be a
surrogate
mother.
Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a
strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together," the
ecologist added.
The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way
it follows its mother. If somebody approaches
the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as
if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu
added.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we
take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
What type of relationship do the
hippo and the tortoise have?
Explain your answer.
Guided Reading
DYL

Identify the symbiotic relationship:
1. A flea feeds on a mouse’s blood to the
mouse’s detriment.
2. Silverfish live and hunt with army ants
and share the prey. They neither help
or harm the ants.