Ecological Relationships

Master ecological relationships! This worksheet explores predation, competition, mutualism, and more.

Matching: 5 Types of Ecological Relationships. Match the type of relationship on the left with the correct description on the right. Predation one organism catches another organism and eats it. Competition two organisms fight for limited resources Mutualism both species benefit from each other Parasitism one species benefits while the other is harmed Commensalism one species benefits while the other is unaffected. Sorting: Ecological Relationships Click on the scenario and a list will appear. Choose the ecological relationship that best matches the scenario. Competition Different species of Caribbean anoles consume the same prey on the forest floor. Trouble erupted when the brown anole was introduced to Florida from Cuba and the Bahamas. It started to eat the same food that the native green anoles eat. Barnacles are marine creatures that typically attach their shells to rock. Within a specific habitat, if larger barnacles are already taking up space, smaller ones might perch on top of the original settlers. Cheetahs and nocturnal leopards use the same waterhole in a grassland savanna. Predation An eagle grabs a fish out of a lake. A snake eating a mouse. In this snowy environment, the white polar bear avoids being noticed as it approaches the vulnerable white baby seal that is trying toavoid being noticed by the bear. Mutualism The oxpeckers (a kind of bird) land on rhinos or zebras and eat ticks and other parasites that live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food and the beasts get pest control. Also, when there is danger, the oxpeckers fly upward and scream a warning. Spider crabs live in shallow areas of the ocean floor, and greenish-brown algae lives on the crabs' backs, making the crabs blend in with their environment, and unnoticeable to predators. The algae gets a good place to live, and the crab gets camouflage. A certain kind of bacteria lives in the intestines of humans and many other animals. The human cannot digest all of the food that it eats. The bacteria eat the food that the human cannot digest and partially digest it, allowing the human to finish the job. Bees fly from flower to flower gathering nectar, which they make into food, benefiting the bees. When they land in a flower, the bees get some pollen on their hairy bodies, and when they land in the next flower, some of the pollen from the first one rubs off, pollinating the plant. Commensalism The remora (Echeneis naucrates) rides attached to sharks. Remoras have a flat, oval sucking disk on the top of their heads that adheres to the bodies of the sharks. Remoras feed on the leftovers of the shark's meals. The great egret (Ardea alba) follows herding animals. They feed on insects turned up by grazing mammals moving through the grassland. Parasitism Toxocara canis is a roundworm that lives inside the intestines of dogs. The roundworm weakens the dog because it is taking nutrients away from the dog. Bedbugs orCimicidae are tiny bugs that live on human skin and cause irritation. A fungus causes lumpy jaw, a disease that injures the jaws of cattle and hogs. True or False: Ecological relationships exist because of niches. True False What does competition in an ecosystem mean? interaction between organisms trying to use the same limited resource a relationship where both species or organisms benefit. a close relationship between species. Label the relationship described as either: Competition, Parasitism, Commensalism, Predation. Predation Parasitism Commensalism Competition Which of these best demonstrates mutualism between certain types of bacteria and humans? Intestinal bacteria obtain nutrients from the gut and produce vitamin K used by humans. Bacteria become resistant to antibacterial medication that humans use for treatment. Invasive bacteria at an area of injury produce toxins that damage healthy tissues of the human body,