INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF ORGANISMS

 Interrelationships of organisms describe the interactions or

relationships between and among organisms within their
environment.

 These interactions may have positive, negative or neutral effects on

either species' ability to survive and reproduce, or on their general
fitness.

 However, the interactions can be defined as either intra-specific or

inter-specific. Intra-specific interactions are those that occur
between individuals of the same species, while interactions that occur
between two or more different species are called inter-specific
interactions.

 Since most species occur within ecological communities, these

interactions can be affected by, and indirectly influence, other species
and their interactions.

 By classifying these effects, scientists have derived these major types

of species interactions:

o Predation

o Competition

o Mutualism

o Commensalism

o Amensalism

o Parasitism
Predation

 Predation refers to an interaction between two organisms, the

predator and prey, where there is a flow of energy from one to
another.
 The prey usually suffers a loss of energy and fitness, with a
commensurate gain in energy for the predator.
 Predation includes carnivore, cannibalism and herbivore.

Carnivore:

o Simply refers to carnivorous predators that kill and eat their prey.
o The common perception of carnivore involves a large animal, such as
a lion or a tiger, hunting smaller animals like rabbits or deer.
o However, carnivorous predation is widespread in the animal world
and carnivores can come in a variety of sizes, from sea otters hunting
sea stars to blue whales consuming zooplankton, as each carnivore is
adapted to its mode of feeding.

Cannibalism:

o Involves situations whereby organisms of the same species prey and

feed on one another.

Herbivore:

o It is the form of predation that involves the consumption of

autotrophs, such as plants or photosynthetic algae.
o Unlike carnivore, not every herbivorous interaction leads to death of
the plant.
o Grazing is a form of herbivore that may occasionally benefit the plant
since the fruit and seeds can be dispersed over wide areas as the
herbivore moves from one place to another.
Competition

 Competition is a relationship between organisms in which one is

harmed when both are trying to use the same resource related to
growth, reproduction, or survivability.
 It stems from the fact that resources are limited.
 There are simply not enough of some resources for all individuals to
have equal access and supply.
 However, it can occur between organisms of the same species, or
between members of different species.
 Competition between species can either lead to the extinction of one
of the species, or a decline in both of the species.

Parasitism

 Parasitism refers to interactions where the host supplies essential

nutrients for the sustained survival and reproduction of the parasite.
 In many successful parasitic interactions, the host suffers a loss of
energy, falls sick or loses access to nutrients.
 However, unlike carnivore, the host is not always killed. In most
cases, the parasite is much smaller than the host. The parasite that
causes malaria, plasmodium, infects a wide variety of animal hosts
like reptiles, birds and mammals.
 Tapeworms are common human parasites that can cause
malnutrition, especially in young children, while filarial worms cause
skin, eye and lymphatic diseases.

Mutualism

 Mutualisms are defined as interactions between organisms of two

different species, in which each organism benefits from the
interaction.
 Mutualisms may involve either the exchange of resources, such as
shelter, food and other nutrients, or they may involve the exchange
of services, such as protection, transportation or healthcare.
  Sometimes mutualisms are symbiotic relationships.
 In such cases, the two species live in close proximity to each other
for part or all of their lives; however, not all symbiotic relationships
are mutualistic.
 If the mutualism is vital for the growth, survival or reproduction of
an organism, it is obligate which the case in many symbioses is.
 If the mutualism benefits an organism, but the organism is not so
dependent on it for survival, it is called facultative mutualism.
 The interaction between humans and their gut flora is a classic case
of mutualism. The bacteria aid in digestion and provide protection
against the invasion of pathogenic bacteria.
 Recent research suggests that the collection of all gut bacteria in an
individual can have widespread impact on the host’s metabolism,
immunity and well-being.
 Similarly, the root nodules of leguminous plants such as chickpea and
soybeans play host to nitrogen fixing bacteria. The bacteria fix
atmospheric nitrogen, thereby increasing nutrient availability for the
plant. In turn, the plant provides a rich sugar solution to the
bacterium.

Commensalism

 Commensalism is a relationship between individuals of two species in

which one benefits from the other without harming it.
 The commensal (the species that benefits from the association) may
obtain nutrients, shelter, support, or locomotion from the host
species, which is unaffected.
 This relationship is often between a larger host and a smaller one.
The host organism is essentially unchanged by the interaction,
whereas the commensal species may show great morphological
adaptation.
 One of the best-known examples of a commensal is the remora that
rides attached to sharks and other fishes.
  Other examples of commensals include bird species, such as the great
egret that feed on insects turned up by grazing mammals or on soil
organisms stirred up by plowing. Various biting lice, fleas, and louse
flies are commensals in that they feed harmlessly on the feathers of
birds and on sloughed-off flakes of skin from mammals.

Amensalism

 It is an association between organisms of two different species in

which one is inhibited or destroyed and the other is unaffected.
 This phenomenon is known as allelopathy (in plants)/antibiosis/
biological antagonism.
 There are two basic modes: competition, in which a larger or stronger
organism excludes a smaller or weaker one from living space or
deprives it of food, and antibiosis, in which one organism is
unaffected but the other is damaged or killed by a chemical secretion.
 The classic demonstration of antibiosis is the destructive effect that
penicillium has upon certain bacteria; the secretion, known as
penicillin, has become a potent medicine in combating bacterial
infections.
 Some higher plants secrete substances that inhibit the growth of or
kill outright nearby competing plants. An example is the black walnut
(Juglans nigra), which secretes juglone, a substance that destroys many
herbaceous plants within its root zone.