1

INTERDEPENDENCE of
LIVING ORGANISMS

© Hans pfletschinger
 2

The picture shows a bee visiting a sage flower

It provides an example of interdependence

The bee is dependent on the flower for its nectar

The flower is dependent on the bee for pollination

(You will need to have an understanding of respiration

and photosynthesis to follow this slide show)
 3
A food chain
(3)....the kestrel eats the 3
blue tit.

(2)....the blue tit eats the

caterpillar...

2
(1) The caterpillar eats
the leaf….
1
This is an example of
a food chain
 4

Animals depend on plants for food

The food chain
Sparrow hawk

Thrush

Snail

Cabbage
 5

The sparrow hawk does not depend directly on plants

but it does depend on thrushes, which eat snails, which
eat cabbages.

So the sparrow hawk is indirectly dependent on plants

Food chains are never so simple as the ones in slides

3 and 4

Sparrow hawks do not feed exclusively on thrushes;

thrushes eat worms as well as snails; snails eat many
plants, not just cabbages

A more accurate picture is given by a food web

 6

fox owl stoat

rat

beetle rabbit
 7
Question
What is the most likely outcome of a severe fall in the
numbers of foxes?
(a) Increase in rabbits, decrease in rats, increase
in owls
(b) Increase in rabbits,increase in stoats, increase
in vegetation

(c) Decrease in rabbits, increase in beetles, increase

in vegetation
(d) Increase in rabbits, increase in owls, decrease in
vegetation.
 8
All organisms depend on sunlight

SUNLIGHT

Photosynthesis Photosynthesis Photosynthesis in

in wheat in grass flowering plants

Wheat grains Cow Nectar

Flour Milk Bees

Bread Cheese Honey

 9

Pyramid of numbers

Owl
Blue tits
Caterpillars
Plant leaves

Example of a food pyramid

The width of each band represents the
number of organisms
 10
Dependence on oxygen and carbon
dioxide
Animals need oxygen for respiration

Plants produce oxygen in photosynthesis

Animals produce carbon dioxide in respiration

Plants use up carbon dioxide in photosynthesis

The process of decay uses up oxygen and

produces carbon dioxide
This interdependence is represented by the
Carbon Cycle
 11

Atmospheric carbon dioxide

Production of carbon Uptake of carbon

dioxide dioxide
Burning of fuel: wood, Photosynthesis in
coal, oil and gas. plants
Respiration in all Absorption by the
organisms oceans
Decay of organic
matter
The carbon cycle 12
 13

Dependence on bacteria

Most bacteria are beneficial

They break down dead organisms into simpler

substances

Soil bacteria make mineral salts available

to plants
Bacteria and fungi are called decomposers
 14
Recycling and the role of decomposers
SOIL
minerals and sunlight
humus

DECOMPOSERS PRODUCERS
bacteria and fungi green plants

CONSUMERS
animals
 15
Decomposers

• If it were not for bacterial and fungal decomposition, we

would be knee deep in dead leaves after a few years
 16

Conclusion

The inter-relationships between all

living organisms are so complex that
any disturbance in the patterns of
interdependence can have far-
reaching consequences
 Question 1
Which of the following might be genuine food chains?

(a) zebra - lion - giraffe - leopard - antelope

(b) grass - grasshopper - lizard - snake - eagle

(c) aquatic vegetation - hippopotamus - tick -

oxpecker bird - tawny eagle

(d) stickleback - pondweed - minnow - pike -

kingfisher
 Question 2
Which of these organisms might be classed as ‘producers’?

(a) mosses

(b) fungi

(c) trees

(d) earthworms
 Question 3
Which of these statements is most accurate?

In bright sunlight a green plant will be...

(a) photosynthesising only

(b) respiring only

(c) photosynthesising and respiring

(d) taking in oxygen and giving out CO2

 Question 4
Which of these increase the concentration of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere?

(a) respiration

(b) photosynthesis

(c) combustion

(d) decay
ANSWER

Incorrect
ANSWER

Correct