Biotic Interactions
An organism’s habitat is the natural environment of that organism where it lives and grows as a species itself. This habitat doesn’t just include one organism, but all of them and this goes for other different species occupying the same space and other interacting abiotic species such as water, sunlight, and oxygen.
Each organism has a role or “place” in that environment. This is the organism’s niche and it also encompasses what it eats and how it gets the food it needs to survive. But in comparison, it also covers how that certain species reproduces and what certain environmental factors it requires.
Each organism has a role or “place” in that environment. This is the organism’s niche and it also encompasses what it eats and how it gets the food it needs to survive. But in comparison, it also covers how that certain species reproduces and what certain environmental factors it requires.
In an ecological ecosystem, there are three types of interactions between species. They are competition, predation, and symbiosis. In competition, organisms “fight” or compete with each other for the same essential resource it needs to survive. But this resource has to be restricted or have a short supply. Soon, only one victor or species will be able to survive and throughout this “battle” species will adapt to win and survive. In predation, an organism kills or eats another organism for food in order to survive. This is a scenario of predator and prey. Each plays a role in receiving and giving energy/food to other organisms. In symbiosis, there is a partnership between two different organisms in which an organism or both organisms benefit from each other’s adaptations.
Though in symbiosis, there are three different types, which are mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. During mutualism, both two organisms gain something positive from the partnership in order to survive. This might include protection from other predators. An example of this is ox-pickers and zebras. Ox-pickers pick up or eat ticks off of zebras, which gives relief to the zebra. In return, the zebra gives the ox-pickers protection from predators and space to live. In commensalism, only one organism gains something positive out of the two but the other organism doesn’t benefit from anything or get hurt. An example of this is coral reefs and fish. Fish can swim away from predators and hide in the coral reefs. Therefore, they can escape their predators and survive long enough to reproduce. But the coral reefs don't gain anything from the fish. Last, in parasitism, one organism that has made a habitat on/in another animal induces harm to that organism. Most likely, the parasite gains something from the interaction but not the other organism. Though parasites kill their hosts, they try not to at the most because they still want to keep that principle of protection and food. An example of this is tapeworms. Tapeworms are internal flatworms that attach themselves to the insides of the intestines of animals such as cows, pigs, and humans. They get food by eating the host's half -digested food which robs the organism of their essential nutrients.
Here is a video demonstrating the types of life underwater and explaining a little bit more about the three types of Symbiosis; Mutualism, Commensalism, and Parasitism.