Relationships Between Organisms (1/29-2/2)

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Summary:

Think about all of the ways that you have interacted with organisms today. Interactions between organisms happen every day in many different ecosystems. It is important that we understand and learn about the relationships with organisms so that we can understand more about ecosystems and how they work. These interactions are very important for many species to survive and ecosystems would be much different without them.

There are three types of interactions between organisms. The first one is predator/prey, or predation. This happens when one organism consumes (or eats) another organism. This is a win-lose relationship where on organism benefits and the other does not. An example of predation would be between a bear and a fish. The bear benefits because it has more energy which it needs to survive, and the fish does not benefit. Another relationship is called competition. This is when organisms compete for resources that are necessary to survive. These resources can include water, sunlight, food, and more. An example of competition would be trees competing for sunlight in the forest. Trees require sunlight to survive, Another resource that trees compete for is water, which they also require for survival.

The final relationship between organisms is symbiosis. Symbiosis is a very close interaction in which two different species depend on each other. There are three different types of symbiosis relationships. The first is mutualism. This is a win-win relationship in which both species benefit. An example of mutualism is between the hummingbird and flowers. When hummingbirds feed on the nectar from flowers, they are also pollinating the flowers, which helps to plant produce fruits and seeds. The second type of symbiosis relationship is called commensalism. This is a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is not harmed or benefited. An example of commensalism is between the orchid and the tree. The orchid benefits from having a habitat in the tree and the tree is not affected. The final type of symbiosis is a win-lose relationship in which one species benefits and the other is harmed. An example of this would be the tick and dog. The tick benefits from the blood from the dog, but the dog is harmed.

SP6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

This week, we constructed various explanations about relationships between organisms so that we could understand more about the ways that species interact every day. We also designed solutions of which type of relationship each species had so that we could learn more about various interactions that happen in many ecosystems. Constructing explanations has helped us understand more about the world we live in and how it would be different without relationships and interactions between organisms.

Cause and Effect

A cause and effect relationship that I observed in class is in the food cycle. One example would be that if the population of the producers in a food cycle goes down, then it would be hard for the rabbits to eat the producers and if there are a low amount of rabbits, then it would be difficult for the snakes, which would make it difficult for the hawks to survive. As you can see, one change in a food cycle can cause it to collapse. This relationship can and has been tested by keeping track of the populations of each species each year and looking at the decrease and increase of various species and the cause for that. This relationship helps me understand how various species depend on each other to survive.

Multiplier

This week, I was a learner. I wanted to learn more about the topic so that I could fully understand the relationships between organisms and how they rely on each other. I completed the various assignments in class so that I could learn more about the topic. My table group also shared ideas so that we could all learn and understand as much as we could about the topic. Being a learner has helped me understand the topic to a new level and allowed me to learn more about the relationships that happen every day and how these relationships affect the world that we live in.