Transcript Document

Organization of the
Environment Vocabulary
Sponge
• Describe the difference between a
community and a population.
Organism- a living thing that can live on its own.
Population- a group of individuals of the same
species that live together in the same area at
the same time.
Community-all of the populations of different species
that live and interact in an area.
Ecosystem- made up of a community
of organisms and its
abiotic environment.
Biosphere- part of the earth where
Life exists.
Herbivore- A consumer that eats plants.
Carnivore- A consumer that eats animals.
Omnivore- Eat a variety of organisms, both plants
and animals.
Scavengers- Animals that feed on the bodies of dead
animals.
Vocabulary
Symbiosis- A close, long-term association between two
Or more species.
Mutualism-A symbiotic relationship in which both
Organisms benefit.
A flower gets its pollen passed from one individual to
another. In turn the flower provides a food reward in
the form of nectar (a sugar rich solution), or pollen as a
solid food source. If the food reward is large enough,
the pollinator is likely to go looking for flowers of the
same plant species after it is done visiting the flowers of
the first individual.
Higher plants have evolved a mutualistic relationship to disperse their seeds.
The berries or fruits are eaten by birds or mammals. They pass through the
digestive system. However, the seeds contained within the fruit are resistant
to the animal's digestive system. Therefore, they are (there is no polite way to
say this) pooped by the bird or mammal some hours after the animal has moved
away from the mother plant. The birds and mammals derive a food benefit by
eating the berries and fruits. The plant, in turn, disperses it seeds.
Commensalisms- A symbiotic relationship in which
one organism benefits and the other
is unaffected.
The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) forages in pastures
and fields among livestock such as cattle and horses,
feeding on the insects stirred up by the movement of
the grazing animals. The egrets benefit from the
arrangement, but the livestock, generally, do not.
However as in most cases of commensalism, there is
a "but". Cattle Egrets have been observed perching
on the top of cattle picking off ticks, lending a slight
tinge of mutualism to the arrangement.
Cattle Egrets are originally from Africa where they
were adapted to following the large herds of
herbivores as they moved across the savannah. They
first appeared in South America in the 19th century
and have since spread to the eastern United States
and California. The Cattle Egret breeds in colonies
near water (as almost all herons do), but feeds
almost exclusively with herds of cows and horses.
The remora feeds off scraps of food left from
The shark. The shark is unaffected.
Parasitism- A symbiotic association in which
one organism benefits while the
other is harmed.
Ticks are members of the class Arachnida, which includes spiders, scorpion
daddy longlegs, and mites. All ticks are carnivorous, feeding on the blood
various species of birds, reptiles, and mammals, including human beings.
Ticks use their mouthparts to anchor themselves to the skin, where they c
small hole and suck the blood. A number of tick species transmit diseases
infecting livestock, pets, and humans.
Oxford Scientific Films/London Scientific Films
This light micrograph reveals adult intestinal Schistosoma mansoni,
one of the species of blood flukes that cause the disease known as
schistosomiasis. The males are thick and blue; the females are thin
and clear. A type of flatworm, while in larval form blood flukes enter
the bloodstreams of people or animals exposed to contaminated
water in tropical and subtropical climates, and then lay their eggs
inside the host’s body. The disease’s symptoms, which include
diarrhea, inflammation, and hemorrhage, vary in humans depending
on the species of fluke and what part of the body it infests. The
disease may be fatal if untreated.
Photo Researchers, Inc./Sinclair Stammers