Symbiosis

Symbiosis

• Living closely together

• A partnership• Two different species

Animal Kingdom Examples

• Nile crocodile & crocodile bird

• Hermit crab & sea anemone

• Buffalo & oxpecker

• Shark & remora fish

Hermit Crab & Sea Anemone

• Hermit crab– Protection from the

Sea anemone

• Sea anemone– Gets leftover food

http://www.ms-starship.com/sciencenew/symbiosis.htm

Buffalo & Oxpecker

• Buffalo– Lets the bird eat

• Oxpecker– Eats ticks and other parasites off skin– Warns buffalo of danger

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/enemies/partners.html

Lichen

• Slow growing plants

• Partnership: fungi & algae

• Neither could live alone

Relationships

• Commensalism• Mutualism• Parasitism

What are the different kinds of symbiosis?

MutualismBoth

Organisms benefit

Parasitismone

organism benefits

one organism is

harmed

Commensalismone organism

benefits

one organism is unaffected

Crocodile & Bird

• Nile crocodile– Usually eats animals– Allows bird to walk around its mouth

• Crocodile bird– Cleans parasites in croc’s teeth– Removes and eats scraps of food– Eats harmful leeches and parasites

Mutualism

• Both organisms derive mutual benefit• Intimate and obligatory• Neither can survive without the other

• Tickbirds and rhinos• Clownfish & sea anemone

Mutualism: both benefit

Example: Moray Eel with Cleaner Fish

Moray Eel gets a clean mouth Cleaner Fish gets a meal

Example• Bees get food• Flowers get pollinated

Mutualism: both benefit

Example: Clown fish with anemone

Clown fish gets

protection Anemone eats fish predators

Mutualism: both benefit

ExampleAntelope with Oxbird

Antelope gets rid of

parasites Oxbird gets a meal

Commensalism

• “eating together at the same table”• Only one member benefits

– sharing space, defense, shelter, food

• Neither will die if relationship is ended

• Shrimp & sea cucumber

http://www.ms-starship.com/sciencenew/symbiosis.htm

Commensalism: one benefits, one is unaffected

Example: Cattle with cattle

egretsCattle stir up insects

as they eat grass

Egrets hang

around and eat insects

• Birds nesting in a tree

Example: Commensalism

Certain species of millipede and silverfish inhabit the nests of army ants and live by scavenging on the refuse

of their hosts, but without affecting the ants.

Parasitism

• Not symbiotic• Causes harm to host

Parasitism: one benefits, one is harmed

Example: Taenia worm in human eye

Worm infects human blood

streamHuman may go

blind

ONE EXAMPLE OF PARISITISM

• Ticks on a deer.

Example: Parasitism

• Female mosquito uses human blood to develop eggs

• Human gets an ichy bite!

Some video examples

• Use the worksheet to make predictions about the relationships between the animal pairs.

• As we watch the video fill in the worksheet.

• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/lessons/symbiotic-strategies/video-segments/1496/