Community Interactions

Competition is when organisms attempt to use the same limited ecological resources in the same place at the same time. There is intraspecific competition which occurs between members of the same species and interspecific comptetition which occurs within members of different species.

http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/competition/11364518.jpg

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Predation is an interaction in which one animal (the predator) captures and feeds on another animal (the prey).

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuHuzgSmSTKT0L00EUZWRNIQlw-CMRzFFJnlX5j2BsAd-dqMN9JknQeepK21Uft2CNM7NdGQf9V3M-B0q156EUTcoGP4L1_W-234UKFMgOwNq4HZ9vx5_POZahZUuUPo00dgBgZwE_vzH/s1600/Michel_Volle_Predation.jpg

 

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Herbivory is an interaction in which one animal (the herbivore) feeds on producers (mainly plants).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/White-tailed_deer_(Odocoileus_virginianus)_grazing_-_20050809.jpg/250px-White-tailed_deer_(Odocoileus_virginianus)_grazing_-_20050809.jpg

 

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Mutualism is a relationship between two species in which both of the species benefit. An example of this would be the red-billed oxpecker that eats ticks on the impala. The impala no longer has ticks and the oxpecker has something to eat.

http://www.scenicreflections.com/ithumbs/Red-billed-Oxpecker-On-Impala_Wallpaper__yvt2.jpg

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Parasitism is when one organism lives inside or on another organism and harms the organism. Only one benefits from this relationship. An example of this is mistletoe. It is not only a festive holiday decoration but a parasite. It is a parasite because it grows on trees and steals the food and water from the tree, eventually stunting its growth and killing it.

http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/phle2303.jpg

 

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Commensalism is a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other does not but the other organism is not harmed either. An example of commensalism is a bird following an army ant raid on a forest floor. As the ants march along they stir up insects that the birds eat. The birds get food but the ants aren't affected in any way. They probably don't know what is going on.                                      

http://www.birdminds.com/AntBird.jpg