INTERDEPENDENCE AMONG LIVING ORGANISMS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

INTERACTION IN AN ENVIRONMENT

IMPORTANCE
Maintains a balance in the environment (the number and types of living things within the environment remain the same) Balance in the carbon and oxygen cycles (oxygen and carbon dioxide content in atmosphere remain the same)

INTERACTION AMONG LIVING THINGS

Obtain food, shelter, transport, support and so on. Helps to ensure that a balanced ecosystem is maintained. Various kind of interaction: 1. prey-predator 2. Symbiosis 3. competition

Prey-Predator
A predator is an organism that hunts and eats another organism. A prey is the organism that is hunted and eaten by others organism Predator- sharp claws and fangs or beaks, to kill its prey. Prey has the ability to run away from the predator.

Example
Owls used to control the rat population in a oil plam estate. The owl is the predator and the rat is the prey Lion and buffalo Kingfisher and fish Chicken and worms Eagle and rabbits Lizard and mosquito

SYMBIOSIS
Two different species of organism live together in a close relationship. In symbiosis, one organism always benefit by receiving food, a place to stay and shelter. The other organism may benefit , be at disadvantages or is not affected 3 types of symbiosis: - commensalism, parasitism and mutualism.

Commensalism
A relationship between two organism. One organism benefits from the other. The second organism is not affected. For eg. The staghorn ferns grown on a tree. This help it to obtain sunlight easily. The tree not affected. Remora fish live on a shark to obtain food and protection.

Parasitism
Only one organism benefits whereas the other organism is negatively affected. A parasite is an organism that lives on or inside the other organism. The host is the organism on which the parasite lives. The host is negatively affected by this interaction. The parasite many even kill the host.

 Parasite obtains food, shelter and transport from the host. Eg. A tick that lives on a host feeds on the hosts blood. Tapeworms and human intestine Fungus on a tree

Mutualism
Two organism that live together and both organism benefits. Obtain nutrition and shelter from each other.

Sea anemone and hermit Crab

The sea anemone has tentacles that can sting which can protect the hermit crab The sea anemone obtains transport and food (food bits drop) from the hermit crab.

Ox peckers and buffaloes

Ox peckers eat the ticks and leeches that feed on buffaloes.

Green Algae and fungus

The algae provide the fungus with food The fungus protects the algae and release carbon dioxide for the algae during photosynthesis

Symbiotic bacteria and herbivorous animals

Symbiotic bacteria live in the digestive tract of herbivorous animals and help in the digestion of cellulose. The bacteria obtain food and shelter from the host.

Competition
Occurs when organisms compete for the same and limited basic resources Plant: water, sunlight, mineral salts, living space Animal: water, food, living space, mates for reproduction. Basic resources limited - intense

 Stronger animals- controlling their territory, weaker and smaller organism are driven out of the area. Eg. Flowering plants compete with weeds to obtain water and mineral salts A pride of lions compete for food Plants in a tropical rainforest compete for basic needs.

Competition occurs between paramecium Aurelia and paramecium caudatum in food

 Biological control is a method in which a predator (biological control agent) that is a natural enemy to certain pest (prey), is used to control the population of that pest in area. Usually used in agriculture to control populations of pets without use the pesticides.

Advantages
Does not pollute the environment Does not kill other organisms because natural enemies are used to control the population of the pest. Cheap and safe to use Example: Owls and rats, cats and rats

 Two types of interaction that happen in biological control are: a) parasitism- the parasite destroys crops b) Prey-predator- eventually removes the pest