Types of relationships and relationships between organisms. Mutually beneficial relationships in the animal world Mutually beneficial existence

Algae cohabitation with other organisms T. V. Sedova.[ ...]

Cohabitation of plants can be without intravital metabolism. In these cases, a plant living on another, using the latter only as an attachment site, is called an epiphyte. A special case of epiphytism are epiphytism, i.e. plants that use only the leaves of another plant as a support. Epiphytes and epiphylls can significantly affect their substrate, hindering gas exchange in other ways.[ ...]

Symbiosis (cohabitation). This is a form of relationship in which both partners or one of them benefit from the other.[ ...]

All forms of cohabitation that occur between organisms belonging to different species are called symbioses. There are many transitional forms between the above types of cohabitation, which makes the connections between organisms in the biosphere extremely diverse. The more diverse the bonds that support the coexistence of species, the more stable their cohabitation.[ ...]

Symbiosis - cohabitation of organisms different types from which both benefit.[ ...]

Mycorrhizal cohabitation (symbiosis) is mutually beneficial for both symbionts: the fungus extracts additional, inaccessible nutrients and water from the soil for the tree, and the tree supplies the fungus with the products of its photosynthesis - carbohydrates.[ ...]

Symbiosis, or cohabitation of two organisms, is one of the most interesting and still largely mysterious phenomena in biology, although the study of this issue has almost a century of history. The phenomenon of symbiosis was first discovered by the Swiss scientist Schwendener in 1877 when studying lichens, which, as it turned out, are complex organisms consisting of algae and fungus. The term "symbiosis" appeared in scientific literature later. It was proposed in 1879 by De Bari.[ ...]

Neutralism is the cohabitation of two species in the same territory, which has neither positive nor negative consequences for them. negative consequences. For example, squirrels and moose.[ ...]

SYMBIOSIS - a close cohabitation of two or more organisms of different species, in which organisms (symbionts) benefit each other. According to the degree of partnership and food dependence, several types of symbiosis are distinguished from each other: commensalism, mutualism, etc. So, commensalism (from the Latin “companion”) is a form of relationship between two types, when one feeds on the other without causing him any harm . Hermit crabs live with sea anemones; the latter attach themselves to the shell of the mollusk in which the hermit crab lives, protecting it from enemies and feeding on the remnants of its prey. Commensalism is especially prevalent among marine life, leading sedentary image life.[ ...]

Symbiosis is a close cohabitation of two or more species, beneficial for partners.[ ...]

SYMBIOSIS [gr. symbiosis cohabitation] - long-term cohabitation of organisms of different species (symbionts), usually bringing them mutual benefits (for example, lichen - C. fungus and algae).[ ...]

Mutualism is a form of cohabitation of organisms in which both partners benefit (same as symbiosis).[ ...]

Symbiosis (Greek symbiosis - cohabitation) - cohabitation of individuals of two species, when both partners enter into direct mutually beneficial interaction with the external environment, which manifests itself for them in the form of one of the forms of adaptation to the conditions of existence.[ ...]

Since in synoikia cohabitation is indifferent for one of the partners and useful only for the other partner, adaptations in this case are one-sided. As an example, it can be pointed out that in ticks of the Tyroglyphidae family, which use various insects, between the phases of the nymph and the deutonymph, a special r and p o-pial phase arose (the phase of the hypopus).[ ...]

Another example of symbiosis is the cohabitation of higher plants with bacteria, the so-called bacteriotrophy. Symbiosis with nodule nitrogen-fixing bacteria is widespread among legumes (93% of the studied species) and mimosa (87%). For example, bacteria from the genus Ligoshin, living in nodules on the roots of leguminous plants, are provided with food (sugar) and habitat, and plants receive from them an accessible form of nitrogen in return (Fig. 6.13).[ ...]

Shilova A.I., Kurazhkovskaya T.N. Cohabitation of Glyptotendipes varipes Goetgh. and bryozoans Plumatella fungosa Pall.[ ...]

There are also mycorrhizal fungi cohabiting with the roots of higher plants. The mycelium of these fungi envelops the roots of plants and helps to obtain from the soil nutrients. Mycorrhiza is observed mainly in woody plants with short sucking roots (oak, pine, larch, spruce).[ ...]

Mutualism is a mutually beneficial cohabitation, when the presence of a partner becomes a prerequisite for the existence of each of them. An example is the cohabitation of nodule bacteria and leguminous plants, which can live together on soils poor in nitrogen and enrich the soil with it.[ ...]

Commensalism is a type of interspecies relationship, cohabitation, in which, in a joint environment, organisms of one species unilaterally benefit from the presence of organisms of another species (for example, “housing”, “transportation”, freeloading).[ ...]

Neutralism (from Latin - neither one nor the other) is the cohabitation of two populations of living organisms, when neither of them is influenced by the other. For example, species of herbivorous and predatory insects, not related to each other by the relation of competition or nutrition. With neutralism, species are not directly related to each other, but sometimes they can depend on the state of a given biocenosis as a whole.[ ...]

An example of a mutually beneficial relationship is the cohabitation of the so-called nodule bacteria and legumes (peas, beans, soybeans, clover, etc.). These bacteria, capable of taking nitrogen from the air and converting it into amino acids, settle in the roots of plants. The presence of bacteria causes the growth of root tissues and the formation of thickenings - nodules. Plants in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria can grow on soils poor in nitrogen and enrich the soil with it. That is why legumes are introduced into the agricultural crop rotation.[ ...]

Mutualism (obligate symbiosis) is a mutually beneficial cohabitation, when either one of the partners, or both, cannot exist without a cohabitant. For example, herbivorous ungulates and cellulose-destroying bacteria.[ ...]

Mutualism (obligate symbiosis) is a mutually beneficial cohabitation, when either one of the partners, or both, cannot exist without a cohabitant. For example, herbivorous ungulates and cellulose-destroying bacteria. Cellulose-destroying bacteria live in the stomach and intestines of herbivorous ungulates. They produce enzymes that break down cellulose, so they are essential for herbivores who do not have such enzymes. Herbivorous ungulates, for their part, provide bacteria with nutrients and habitat with optimal temperature, humidity, etc.[ ...]

A typical example of symbiosis is the close cohabitation between fungi and algae, leading to the formation of a more complex and more adapted to natural conditions plant organism - lichen. Another striking example of symbiotic cohabitation in the soil is the symbiosis of fungi with higher plants, when the fungi form fungi on the roots of plants. A pronounced symbiosis is observed between nodule bacteria and leguminous plants.[ ...]

Almost all types of trees in normal conditions cohabitate with mycorrhizal fungi. The mycelium of the fungus wraps around the thin roots of the tree with a sheath, penetrating into the intercellular space. The mass of the finest fungal filaments extending a considerable distance from this sheath successfully performs the function of root hairs, absorbing the nutrient soil solution.[ ...]

Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship where both cohabiting species benefit mutually.[ ...]

First, a specific feature of lichens is the symbiotic cohabitation of two different organisms - a heterotrophic fungus (mycobiont) and an autotrophic algae (phycobiont). Not every cohabitation of fungus and algae forms a lichen. Lichen cohabitation should be permanent and historically developed, and not random, short-term. In nature, there are cases when a fungus and an alga form a temporary mixed cluster, but this is not yet a lichen. In a real lichen, the fungus and algae enter into a close relationship, the fungal component surrounds the algae and can even penetrate into their cells.[ ...]

Commensalism (or “freeloading”) is a form of cohabitation in which one species lives at the expense of the food reserves of another, without bringing benefits in turn. Sometimes commensalism appears as a more or less random phenomenon and is almost completely imperceptible to the partner whose food supply is being devoured. So, for example, the Malayan beetle of the genus Khystrev Nore drills through the branches of trees and feeds on the juice protruding from the wounds, and the protruding juice also attracts flies (Mue-claye) and some other insects that eat it together with Huygiree.[ ...]

On the example of eugropous and partly allotropic insects, we see their mutually beneficial cohabitation in biocenoses with plants. Even closer symbiotic relationships have been noted between some insects and yeast fungi and bacteria inhabiting their intestines (Werner, 1927; Hitz, 1927, etc.).[ ...]

A typical example of close symbiosis, or mutualism between plants, is the cohabitation of algae and fungus, which form a special integral lichen organism (Fig. 6.11).[ ...]

SYMBIOSIS - a type of relationship between organisms of different systematic groups - mutually beneficial cohabitation of individuals of two or more species, such as algae, fungi and microorganisms in the body of a lichen.[ ...]

In some cases, the body or buildings of one species may serve as a habitat or means of protection for another. For example, in coral reefs a large number of marine organisms. In the body cavity of the echinoderm holothurian, small inhabitants of the sea settle. Epiphytic plants (mosses, lichens, some flowering plants) settle on trees, using them only as a place of attachment, and feed by photosynthesis.[ ...]

Competition is one of the reasons why two species that differ slightly in the specifics of nutrition, behavior, lifestyle, etc., rarely cohabit in the same community. Here the competition is in the nature of direct hostility. The fiercest competition with unforeseen consequences occurs when a person introduces animal species into communities without taking into account already established relationships.[ ...]

Lichens represent a peculiar group of complex organisms, the body of which always consists of two components - a fungus and an algae. Now every schoolchild knows that the basis of the biology of lichens is the phenomenon of symbiosis - the cohabitation of two various organisms. But just over a hundred years ago, lichens were a great mystery to scientists, and the discovery by Simon Schwendener in 1867 of their essence was assessed as one of the most amazing discoveries that time.[ ...]

Moles are unkind to their neighbors and do not tolerate any tenants or other moles in their burrows. And if they are planted together in a cramped box, the strong will kill the weak and eat them. Only when it is time to breed, usually in March - May, do the male and female cohabit for a short time. It is possible that the male stays with the children until they grow up, and even allegedly brings them worms and other food. And if it floods with floods, it helps the mother to drag the kids into dry otnor-ki. But is it really so, it is still unknown with accuracy.[ ...]

K. is used to study the migration routes of animals (especially birds), to establish the boundaries of their ranges, the characteristics of seasonal biology, and to solve other problems. COMBINED IMPACT - see Art. Environmental impact. COMMENSALISM, or freeloading [from lat. honeycomb - with and mensa - table, meal] - a type of cohabitation of organisms, when one of them (commensal) constantly or temporarily exists at the expense of the other, without harming it. COMPENSATORY BEHAVIOR - a complex of behavioral reactions of organisms aimed at weakening (compensating) the limiting influence environmental factor.[ ...]

Commensalism is an interspecies interaction between organisms in which one organism benefits at the expense of another without damaging it, while the other organism does not benefit or suffer from this interaction. For example, some types of marine polyps settle on the surface of the body big fish, feeding on their secretions, but for fish this cohabitation is indifferent, that is, it does not matter.[ ...]

The first roots of Marattiaceae are usually infected with the fungus. But mycorrhiza is optional here, since the fern can develop normally without interaction with the fungus, and this cohabitation is not vital for them.[ ...]

Mutualism is a widespread form of mutually beneficial relationships between species. Lichens are a classic example of mutualism. Symbionts in lichen - fungus and algae - physiologically complement each other. The hyphae of the fungus, braiding the cells and threads of algae, form special suction processes, haustoria, through which the fungus receives substances assimilated by algae. Algae get minerals from water. Many grasses and trees normally exist only in cohabitation with soil fungi that settle on their roots. Mycorrhizal fungi promote the penetration of water, mineral and organic substances from the soil into the roots of plants, as well as the absorption of a number of substances. In turn, they obtain carbohydrates and other nutrients from plant roots. organic matter necessary for their existence.[ ...]

A fairly common phenomenon in relations between different species is symbiosis, or the coexistence of two or more species, in which none of them individually can live under given conditions. A whole class of symbiotic organisms are lichens - fungi and algae living together. With this, the lichen fungus, as a rule, does not live at all in the absence of algae, while most of the algae that make up lichens are also found in free form. In this mutually beneficial cohabitation, the fungus supplies the necessary water and minerals to the algae, and the algae supplies the fungus with the products of photosynthesis. This combination of properties makes these symbiotic organisms extremely undemanding to living conditions. They are able to settle on bare stones, on the bark of trees, etc. At the same time, the fact that a significant part of the necessary for life minerals lichens are obtained from dust deposited on their surface, making them very sensitive to airborne content toxic substances. One of the most reliable methods for determining the level of toxicity of impurities contained in the air is to take into account the number and species diversity of lichens in a controlled area, lichen indication.[ ...]

A rare animal is so little scrupulous in choosing a dwelling and its environment as a kuzulis. And the crowns of hundred-meter eucalyptus trees suit him, and undersized bushes, and dense rainforests, and rare groves along river valleys, and crevices in bare rocks, and holes in river cliffs, and rabbit holes in the open steppe, and even attics. Because in Central Australia, male kuzulis often settle in rabbit holes, an absurd legend was born. Farmers assure that such a choice of housing was made by old sinners for a reason: as if they were in a criminal misalliance with rabbits. And as if they saw crossbreeds from their cohabitation. But this is a myth.[ ...]

A population (from lat. poppy - population) is a collection of individuals of the same species that inhabit a certain space for a long time, having a common gene pool, the ability to freely interbreed and, to one degree or another, isolated from other populations of this species. A population is an elementary form of existence of a species in nature. Populations evolve and are the units of species evolution and speciation. Possessing all the features of a biological system, a population, nevertheless, is a collection of organisms, as if isolated from the natural system, since in nature individuals of one species always cohabit with individuals of other species. Only under artificial conditions or in a special experiment can one deal with a “pure” population, for example, a culture of microorganisms, sowing plants, offspring of animals, etc.[ ...]

Life on poor soils has developed a number of adaptations in heathers, the most important of which is symbiosis with fungi in the form of mycorrhiza. Korpi of almost all heathers are closely braided with fungal threads, supplying them with nutrients from humus. In the latter case, some of the simplest fungi (whose body consists of only a few cells) live entirely in the cells of the heather root and are gradually digested by them. Mycorrhiza has a huge positive value in the life of heathers. In some cases (for example, in the strawberry tree - Arbutus, Table 13), infected roots turn into pear-shaped nodules (mi-kodomatia), the epidermal cells of which are converted into root hairs. It has been established that heather seeds, for example, germinate only with the help of mycorrhiza. Some researchers believe that heathers live on acidic soils because the fungi cohabiting with them cannot stand alkaline soils.

Detailed solution paragraph § 77 in biology for students of grade 10, authors Kamensky A.A., Kriksunov E.A., Pasechnik V.V. 2014

• Gdz workbook in Biology for grade 10 can be found

1. What biotic environmental factors do you know?

2. What types of competition do you know?

Answer. Competition - in biology, any antagonistic relationship associated with the struggle for existence, for dominance, for food, space and other resources between organisms, species or populations of species that need the same resources.

Intraspecific competition is competition between members of one or more populations of a species. Goes for resources, intra-group dominance, females/males, etc.

Interspecific competition is competition between populations of different species of non-adjacent trophic levels in a biocenosis. It is due to the fact that representatives of different species jointly use the same resources, which are usually limited. Resources can be both food (for example, the same types of prey for predators or plants - for phytophages), and of another kind, for example, the availability of places for breeding, shelters for protection from enemies, etc. Species can also compete for dominance in the ecosystem. There are two forms of competitive relationships: direct competition (interference) and indirect (exploitation). With direct competition between populations of species in a biocenosis, antagonistic relationships (antibiosis) develop evolutionarily, expressed by various types of mutual oppression (fights, blocking access to a resource, allelopathy, etc.). With indirect competition, one of the species monopolizes a resource or habitat, while worsening the conditions for the existence of a competitive species in a similar ecological niche.

Both evolutionarily (taxonomically) close species and representatives of very distant groups can compete in nature. For example, ground squirrels in the dry steppe eat up to 40% of plant growth. This means that pastures can support fewer saigas or sheep. And in the years mass reproduction Locust food is not enough for either ground squirrels or sheep.

3. What is symbiosis?

Usually, symbiosis is mutualistic, that is, the cohabitation of both organisms (symbionts) is mutually beneficial and arises in the process of evolution as one of the forms of adaptation to the conditions of existence. Symbiosis can be carried out both at the level multicellular organisms, and at the level of individual cells (intracellular symbiosis). Plants with plants, plants with animals, animals with animals, plants and animals with microorganisms, microorganisms with microorganisms can enter into symbiotic relationships. The term "symbiosis" was first introduced by the German botanist A. de Bari (1879) as applied to lichens. A striking example symbiosis among plants is represented by mycorrhiza - the cohabitation of the mycelium of the fungus with the roots of a higher plant (hyphae braid the roots and contribute to the flow of water and minerals from the soil into them); some orchids cannot grow without mycorrhiza.

Nature knows numerous examples of symbiotic relationships from which both partners benefit. For example, the symbiosis between leguminous plants and soil bacteria Rhizobium is extremely important for the nitrogen cycle in nature. These bacteria - they are also called nitrogen-fixing - settle on the roots of plants and have the ability to "fix" nitrogen, that is, to break down strong bonds between the atoms of atmospheric free nitrogen, making it possible to incorporate nitrogen into plant-available compounds, such as ammonia. In this case, the mutual benefit is obvious: the roots are the habitat of bacteria, and the bacteria supply the plant with the necessary nutrients.

There are also numerous examples of symbiosis that is beneficial to one species and does not bring any benefit or harm to another species. For example, the human intestine is inhabited by many types of bacteria, the presence of which is harmless to humans. Similarly, plants called bromeliads (which include, for example, pineapple) live on the branches of trees, but get their nutrients from the air. These plants use the tree for support without depriving it of nutrients.

A type of symbiosis is endosymbiosis, when one of the partners lives inside the cell of the other.

The science of symbiosis is symbiology.

Questions after § 77

1. What examples of positive and negative interactions do you know between organisms of different species?

2. What is the essence of the "predator-prey" relationship?

Answer. Predation (+ -) is a type of relationship between populations in which representatives of one species eat (destroy) representatives of another, i.e., the organisms of one population serve as food for the organisms of another. The predator usually catches and kills its prey itself, after which it eats it in whole or in part. Such predators are characterized by hunting behavior. But besides predatory hunters, there is also large group predator-gatherers whose way of feeding is simply to search for and collect prey. Such, for example, are many insectivorous birds that gather food on the ground, in grass or on trees.

Predation is a widespread form of communication, not only between animals, but also between plants and animals. So, herbivory (eating plants by animals), in essence, is also predation; on the other hand, a number of insectivorous plants (dew, nepenthes) can also be classified as predators.

However, in a narrow, ecological sense, it is customary to consider only the eating of animals by animals as predation.

4. What are the most notable examples symbiotic relationship you know?

Answer. A symbiotic relationship in which there is a stable mutually beneficial cohabitation of two organisms of different species is called mutualism. Such, for example, are the relationships between the hermit crab and sea anemones or highly specialized plants for pollination with insect species pollinating them (clover and bumblebee). Nutcracker feeding only on seeds (nuts) cedar pine, is the sole distributor of its seeds. Mutualism is very widely developed in nature.

5. How do you understand mutualism and symbiosis?

Tests in the discipline "Ecology and basics of life safety"

1. The term "ecology" is translated from Greek as the science of.............

e) about the house, dwelling

In what year was the term "ecology" introduced?

Which of the scientists first proposed the term "ecology" .........

b) E. Haeckel

Select the scientists with whom the second stage of the development of ecology is associated (after the 60s of the XIX century - the 50s of the XX century.

e) K.F. Rulye, N.A. Severtsov, V.V. Dokuchaev

5. What does ecology study:

d) the laws of existence (functioning) of living systems in their interaction with environment.

The subject of ecology research are

f) biological macrosystems and their dynamics in time and space

Three main areas of ecology:

d) Autecology, synecology, de-ecology.

When did ecology finally take shape as an independent science?

d) at the beginning of the twentieth century

What branch of ecology studies the interaction of geophysical conditions of life and factors of the inanimate environment ...

e) geoecology

13. The interaction between individual organisms and environmental factors studies the section of ecology ....

a) Autecology

14. The section of ecology that studies the relationship of a population with their environment is called:

a) demoecology

Synecology studies

d) community ecology

16. The shell of the Earth inhabited by living organisms is called:

a) biosphere

17. A group of organisms with a similar external and internal structure living in the same territory and giving fertile offspring is called:

a) population

The level at which a natural system was formed, covering all manifestations of life within our planet is called .....

c) biospheric

A set of pelagic actively moving animals that do not have a direct connection with the bottom. Represented mainly by large animals that are able to overcome long distances and strong water currents.

20. The totality of pelagic organisms that do not have the ability for rapid active movement:

21. The totality of organisms living at a depth (on the ground or in it) of water bodies:

b) Plankton

What levels of organization of living systems belong to a microsystem .....

a) molecular, cellular

23. Abiotic conditions that determine the field of existence of life:

a) oxygen and carbon dioxide

Which factor is not abiotic?

c) development Agriculture

25. Plant communities are called:

e) phytocenosis

26. According to the type of nutrition, green plants and photosynthetic bacteria are:

a) Autotrophs.

27. Organisms permanently living in the soil:

a) Geobands

28. Reducers are:

a) bacteria and fungi

29. Organisms producing organic substances are called:

b) producers

The main source of oxygen to the atmosphere

d) plants

31. Organisms with mixed type supply:

e) Mixotrophs.

32. Light-loving plants:

b) Heliophytes

33. Shade-loving plants:

e) Sciophytes.

34. Plants growing in conditions of high humidity:

a) Hygrophytes.

35. Adaptation of organisms develops with the help of:

c) Variation, heredity and natural selection.

36. Types of adaptation of organisms:

d) Morphological, ethological, physiological.

37. What is photoperiodism…..

a) Adjustment to the length of the day;

38. What factors limit during some process, phenomenon or existence of an organism: a) Limiting.

39. Environmental factors are divided into:

a) Abiotic, biotic, anthropogenic.

40. What is the limiting factor in water….

d) Oxygen.

41. The microbiogenic biotic factor of the environment includes:

b) Microbes and viruses.

What law states that the endurance of an organism is determined by

the weakest link in the chain of its environmental needs:

d) Liebig's Law of the Minimum.

When was the law of "tolerance" discovered?

44. Which of the scientists discovered the maximum law:

c) W. Shelford.

45. The law of the minimum discovered:

e) J. Liebig.

Two species cannot sustainably exist in a limited space if the growth of both is limited by one vital resource, the quantity and availability of which is limited.

b) Gause's law

What law testifies that the endurance of an organism is determined by the weakest link in the chain of its ecological needs.......

c) Gause's law (rule of competitive exclusion)

48. In 1903, V. Johansen introduced the term ....

d) population

What is population homeostasis.

d) Population stability;

50. Types of population growth are:

e) Exponential and logistic.

51. The territory occupied by a population is called:

52. Population size is:

e) The number of individuals included in it.

53. Define the ecological density of a population:

b) the average number of individuals per unit area or volume occupied by a population of space

What is called biocenosis ..

a) A deeply regular combination of organisms under certain environmental conditions.

Which of the scientists introduced the concept of "biocenosis" .......

B)K. Mobius

56. The term "biocenosis" was introduced:

What characterizes the layering of the biocenosis ..

d) Spatial structure

58. What is a habitat…

a) The entire environment surrounding a living organism;

59. Pollution natural environment living organisms that cause various diseases in humans are called:

a) Radioactive.

60. The totality of abiotic factors within a homogeneous area is ..."

61. What is the name of the last formations of a relatively stable stage of change of biocenoses, which are in equilibrium with the environment ...

d) Successions;

62. What is the name of the community of animals in ecosystems ....

a) Biocenosis;

Biogeocenosis is

c) a group of animals and plants living in the same area

64. What is amensalism….

b) Inhibition of the growth of one species by the products of the excretion of another;

65. What is competition….

d) Suppression of some species by others in biocenoses;

66. This form of relations between species, in which the consumer organism uses a living host not only as a source of food, but also as a place of permanent or temporary residence ....

c) Commensalism

67. Mutualism is….

b) Mutually beneficial cooperation;

68. Commensalism is….

b) Beneficial for one and not beneficial for another relationship;

69. The normal existence of two species that do not interfere with each other is……

d) Neutralism;

70. The coexistence of invertebrates in a rodent hole is called ..

c) lodging;

71. Organisms of one species exist at the expense of nutrients or tissues of other organisms. This form of communication is called:

72. An ecological niche is:

e) + The totality of living conditions within an ecological system.

73. Individuals of one species eat individuals of another species. This relationship is called:

c) predation

The joint, mutually beneficial existence of individuals of 2 or more than 2 species is called:

b) symbiosis

75. The ecological niche of organisms is determined by:

e) + the whole set of conditions of existence

76. The concept of an ecological niche applies to:

b) plants

77. Organisms with a mixed type of nutrition:

Types of relationships between organisms

Animals and plants, fungi and bacteria do not exist in isolation from each other, but enter into complex relationships. There are several forms of interaction between populations.

Neutralism

The cohabitation of two species in the same territory, which has neither positive nor negative consequences for them.

In neutralism, cohabiting populations of different species do not affect each other. For example, it can be said that a squirrel and a bear, a wolf and a cockchafer do not directly interact, although live in the same forest.

Antibiosis

When both interacting populations or one of them experience a harmful, overwhelming influence.

Antagonistic relationships can manifest themselves as follows:

1. Competition.

A form of antibiotic relationship in which organisms compete with each other for food resources, a sexual partner, shelter, light, etc.

In competition for food, the species that reproduces the fastest wins. Under natural conditions, competition between closely related species weakens if one of them moves to a new food source (that is, they occupy a different ecological niche). For example, in winter, insectivorous birds avoid competition by different places search for food: on the trunk of trees, in bushes, on stumps, on large or small branches.

Displacement of one population by another: In mixed crops of different types of clover, they coexist, but competition for light leads to a decrease in the density of each of them. Thus, competition arising between close species can have two consequences: either the displacement of one species by another, or different ecological specialization of species, which makes it possible to coexist.

Suppression of one population by another: Thus, fungi that produce antibiotics inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Some plants that can grow in nitrogen-poor soils secrete substances that inhibit the activity of free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria, as well as the formation of nodules in legumes. In this way, they prevent the accumulation of nitrogen in the soil and the colonization of it by species that need a large amount of it.

3. Amensalism

A form of antibiotic relationship in which one organism interacts with another and suppresses its vital activity, while itself does not experience any negative influences from the suppressed one (for example, spruce and plants of the lower tier). A special case is allelopathy - the influence of one organism on another, in which external environment the waste products of one organism are released, poisoning it and making it unsuitable for the life of another (common in plants).

5 Predation

This is a form of relationship in which an organism of one species uses members of another species as a food source once (by killing them).

Cannibalism - special case predation - killing and eating their own kind (found in rats, brown bears, humans).

Symbiosis

A form of relationship in which the participants benefit or at least do not harm each other from cohabitation. Symbiotic relationships also come in a variety of forms.

1. Protocooperation - mutually beneficial, but optional coexistence of organisms, from which all participants benefit (for example, hermit crab and sea anemone).

2. Mutualism is a form of symbiotic relationship in which either one of the partners or both cannot exist without a cohabitant (for example, herbivorous ungulates and cellulose-destroying microorganisms).

Lichens are an inseparable cohabitation of a fungus and algae, when the presence of a partner becomes a condition for the life of each of them. Hyphae of the fungus, braiding the cells and threads of algae, receive substances synthesized by algae. Algae extract water and minerals from fungal hyphae.

Many grasses and trees develop normally only when soil fungi (mycorrhiza) settle on their roots: root hairs do not develop, and the mycelium of the fungus penetrates into the root. Plants receive water and mineral salts from the fungus, and it, in turn, receives organic substances.

3. Commensalism - a form of symbiotic relationship in which one of the partners benefits from cohabitation, while the other is indifferent to the presence of the first. There are two types of cohabitation:

Lodging (some sea anemones and tropical fish). The fish stuck, sticking to large fish (sharks), uses them as a means of transportation and, in addition, feeds on their garbage.

The use of structures and body cavities of other species as shelters is widespread. In tropical waters, some fish hide in the cavity of the respiratory organs (water lungs) of holothurians (or sea cucumbers, a detachment of echinoderms). The fry of some fish find shelter under the umbrella of jellyfish and are protected by their stinging threads. As protection for developing offspring, fish use a strong shell of crabs or bivalve mollusks. Eggs laid on the gills of a crab develop under conditions of ideal supply. clean water passed through the gills of the host. Plants also use other species as habitats. These are the so-called epiphytes - plants that settle on trees. It can be algae, lichens, mosses, ferns, flowering plants. Woody plants serve as a place of attachment for them, but not a source of nutrients.

Freeloading (large predators and scavengers). For example, hyenas follow lions, picking up the remains of prey that they have not eaten. There can be various spatial relationships between partners. If one partner is outside the cells of the other, they talk about ectosymbiosis, and if inside the cells - endosymbiosis.

There are two types of nutrition of living organisms: autotrophic and heterotrophic.

Autotrophs (autotrophic organisms) - organisms that use carbon dioxide as a source of carbon (plants and some bacteria). In other words, these are organisms capable of creating organic substances from inorganic - carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts.

Heterotrophs (heterotrophic organisms) - organisms that use organic compounds (animals, fungi and most bacteria) as a carbon source. In other words, these are organisms that are not able to create organic substances from inorganic ones, but need ready-made organic substances.

Some living beings, depending on the habitat conditions, are capable of both autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition. Organisms with a mixed type of nutrition are called mixotrophs. Mixotrophs - organisms that can both synthesize organic substances from inorganic ones and feed on ready-made organic compounds (insectivorous plants, representatives of the euglenoid algae department, etc.)

Over the entire history of its existence, man has tamed about 40 species of animals. Having provided them with food and shelter from enemies, he received in return food, clothing, vehicles, and labor.

However, even before the appearance of man on Earth, animals united among themselves in "friendly" unions. Ants and termites have excelled in this respect: they have "domesticated" about 2,000 species of living creatures! For life together most often, two or three species usually unite, but they provide each other with such important "services" that sometimes they lose the opportunity to exist separately.

TEMPORARY BUT IMPORTANT COOPERATION

Everyone knows that wolves hunt moose in packs, and dolphins hunt fish in herds. Such mutual assistance is natural for animals of the same species. But sometimes "outsiders" come together to hunt. This happens, for example, in the steppes Central Asia, where the corsac fox and a small animal dressing, similar to a ferret, live.

Both of them are interested in a large gerbil, which is quite difficult to catch: the fox is too fat to climb into the hole of a rodent, and a bandage capable of doing this cannot catch the animal at the exit from the hole: while it makes its way underground, the gerbil leaves through emergency passages.

But when two hunters cooperate, they are invariably accompanied by good luck: the bandaging drives the gerbils to the surface, and the fox is on duty outside, at the exit from the hole, not allowing the animal to leave. As a result, the booty goes to the one who gets to it first. Sometimes it's a fox, sometimes it's a bandage. It happens that they run from hole to hole until both are sated. And in a few days they are waiting for each other in their hunting area and start a new raid.

SINGLE BENEFITS

Sometimes only one side benefits from cohabitation. Such relationships can be considered “on-bread”. An example here is the union of the coot ( waterfowl the size of a duck) and carp, whose shoals follow the birds.

The reason for such “affection” is obvious: diving for algae, their main food, coots stir up silt, in which many small organisms that are tasty for fish are hiding. This attracts carp, seeking to profit without making any effort.

Often, small animals feed on the remnants of a meal strong beast or birds, turning into their companions. Polar bears, for example, are escorted on difficult winter time arctic foxes and white gulls.

Gray partridges do not fly far from hares, which are better at shoveling snow. Hyenas with jackals strive to be closer to the king of beasts, the lion. An animal-producer from such a "union" is neither benefit nor harm, but the "freeloaders" are extremely interested in it.

ENEMIES CAN BECOME DEFENDERS

A person who finds himself in the tundra for the first time will probably be surprised to see that geese and peregrine falcons (classic models of “predator” and “prey”!) nest in the same territory. It's like meeting a hare walking fearlessly near a wolf's hole.

The key to such good neighborliness is that the peregrine falcon never trades near the nest: its hunting and nesting areas do not coincide. In addition, he hunts only in the air, which geese are well aware of.

They even developed a habit of taking off and landing away from their nests and reaching them by land. Proximity to the falcon gives the geese considerable advantages: protecting their offspring from uninvited guests, he unwittingly becomes a formidable protector of the goose family. Whether the peregrine falcon receives any benefits from such “cohabitation” is still unknown.

MUTUAL SERVICES

Impressed by his trip to Ceylon, Ivan Bunin wrote the following lines at the beginning of the last century:

Lagoon near Ranna
like a sapphire.
Roses all around
flamingo,
Dozing through the puddles
buffaloes. On them
Herons are standing, whitening,
and with a buzz
Flies are sparkling...

They not only feed, but also breed on their body in unimaginable quantities. It is sometimes possible to comb out so many insects, their larvae and testicles from the wool of some domestic cattle that this is enough for a whole collection. But the animals themselves, especially large ones, are not able to get rid of the "evil spirits". Bathing does not help here, and they do not know how to rob each other like monkeys. And how many insects can you pull out with the help of a zebra's hoof or a hippopotamus mouth - a "suitcase"?

Herons with an elephant and a hippopotamus

Birds provide their wards with another service: they notify them of danger. Seeing the enemy on the horizon, they take off and, screaming loudly, begin to circle over their "masters", giving them a chance to escape. Such alliances are vitally beneficial to both parties.

COMMONWEALTH OF WATER DIVISIONS

Among the marine inhabitants there are real lovebirds, unable to exist without each other. A classic example of such a pair is hermit crab and adamsia anemone.

Cancer, having settled in the shell of a mollusk, immediately begins to take care of its protection. He finds an anemone of the right size, separates it from the substrate, carefully transfers it in a claw to his house and seats it there.

At the same time, anemone, burning with poisonous tentacles of everyone who approaches it, does not offer cancer the slightest resistance! She seems to know that in a new place she will be much more satisfying: small pieces of prey that have slipped out of the cancer's mouth will fall into her mouth. In addition, by “saddling” a hermit crab, she will be able to move around, which means she can quickly renew the water in her womb, which is vital for her. Cancer, from now on, will be protected from predators who want to profit from them.

And so they live together until death. If you remove an anemone from a cancer house, he will immediately plant it back. If, however, the cancer itself is removed from the shell, the sea anemone will soon die, no matter how well it is fed.

CHAINED BY ONE CHAIN

The mystery of such “gravity” has not been fully solved, but it is probably known that it is based on “profit”: it is easier for animals of different species to save their lives by uniting in a kind of “commonwealth”. As well as people.

In nature, everything is interconnected, and it is impossible to painlessly affect a single link of the biological system. It is to be hoped that by learning natural resources people will take that into account.