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Interactions
Forest of New Guinea
Community includes nine species of
pigeons that partition the food
supply
Pigeons disperse seeds of the trees
that provide their food (fruit)
These are just a few of the many
interactions that shape this
community
New Guinea Crowned Pigeon
www.worldwildlife.org/newguinea/spec_pigeons.cf
Map of New Guinea
New Guinea is an Island north of
Australia www.worldwildlife.org
Community
All the populations that live together in a
habitat
Habitat is the type of place where
individuals of a species typically live
Type of habitat shapes a community’s
structure
Communities
Don’t
confuse meanings of
“community”
Factors Shaping
Community Structure
Climate and topography
Available foods and resources
Adaptations of species in community
Species interactions
Arrival and disappearance of species
Physical disturbances
Niche
www.seaslugforum.net
Photo: Bill Rudman.
Mutualism
Clownfish and Sea Anemone
: Essentials of Oceanography, 4th ed. 199
From
Species Interactions
Interspecific competition has a
negative effect on both species
Predation and parasitism both
benefit one species at a cost to
another
Alligator
Parasite “Cattle Tick”
Symbiosis
Both species benefit
Many examples in nature
Some mutualisms are obligatory;
partners depend upon each other
Yucca and Yucca Moth
www.bobjensenphtography.com
Mycorrhizae
Interspecific between species
Intraspecific between members of the
same species
Intraspecific competition is most intense
River Otters Avoid Each Other
Thus Reducing Intraspecific
Competition
www.sms.si.edu
Forms of Competition
www.savetheelephants.org
Competitive Exclusion Principle
Paramecium caudatum
Paramecium aurelia
Keystone Species
Periwinkles promote or limit diversity in different habitats
Tidepools Rocks exposed at high tide
Resource Partitioning
Apparent competitors
may actually have
slightly different
niches
Species may use
resources in a
different way or time
Minimizes
competition and
Predation
Predators are animals that feed on other
living organisms
Predators are freeliving; they do not
take up residence on their prey
Coevolution
PREY
POPULATION
PREDATOR
POPULATION
Variation in Cycles
An association in predator and prey
abundance does not always indicate
a cause and effect relationship
Variations in food supply and
additional predators may also
influence changes in prey abundance
Prey Defenses
Camouflage
Warning coloration
Mimicry
Momentoftruth defenses
Predator Responses
Any adaptation that protects prey
may select for predators that can
overcome that adaptation
Prey adaptations include stealth,
camouflage, and ways to avoid
chemical repellents
Parasitism
Parasites drain nutrients from their
hosts and live on or in their bodies
Natural selection favors parasites that
do not kill their host too quickly
Types of Parasites
Microparasites
Macroparasites
Social parasites
Parasitoids
Micro and Macroparasites
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bfl/speciesaccts/parasites.html
Parasitoids
Chemical communication: Butterfly
anti-aphrodisiac lures parasitic
wasps
Male butterflies of the genus, Pieris, pass an
anti-aphrodisiac during mating to females.
This chemical, benzyl cyanide, renders the
mated females less attractive to other
males.
This strategy tends to maximize the mating
males chances of getting their genes into
the next generation.
Or so it was thought….
The Butterfly and its Parasitoid,
Wasp
The Wasp highjacks the Sexual
Communication Signal of the
Butterfly
The female wasps are attracted to the
anti-aphrodisiac of the mated female
butterflies.
Often they will hitch a ride on the
female butterfly.
When butterfly lays her eggs, the
wasp inserts her egg into the
butterfly egg.
The larval wasp eats its host alive.
A Serve Limitation on the Butterfly Populations
Change in the composition of species
over time
Types of Succession
http://www.planetdrum.org/toc.htm
Community Instability
Disturbances can cause a community
to change in ways that persist even if
the change is reversed
Species Introductions
Introduction of a nonindigenous
species can decimate a community
No natural enemies or controls
Can outcompete native species
Santa Cruz Fox and Feral Pigs
Species interactions
Exotic Species
Species that has left its home range
and become established elsewhere
Becomes part of its new community
Can have beneficial, neutral, or harmful
effects on a community
Don’t Worry About the Walking
Catfish!
Shirt of
missing
camper!
How Big Do They Get?
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/
Python Invasion Spawns Cottage
Industry
Python-Tracking Puppy Trains to
Patrol Everglades
Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News
February 3, 2005
In their growing battle against giant
pythons that have invaded the Florida
Everglades, national park officials there
have recruited an unlikely ally: a beagle
puppy nicknamed "Python Pete."
USGS Climate Map 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_monitor
Wis. Considers Legalizing Cat
Hunting
http://www.endangeredspecie.com/states/ga.htm
International Problem
Nileperch in Africa
Rabbits in Australia
Toads in Australia
Frogs in Hawaii
Nile Perch in East Africa
Nile perch were introduced into Lake
Victoria as a food source
This predator ate native cichlids;
drove many species to extinction
Now Nile perch species is close to
crashing
Nile Perch
A handful of
trouble….
Coqui & greenhouse frogs:
alien Caribbean frogs in Hawaii
“Non-native Caribbean frogs* have become established in
some areas in Hawaii (*coqui and greenhouse frogs:
Eleutherodactylus spp. [not true 'tree frogs', as some have
called them]). They cause both environmental problems
and problems for people. These creatures have a special
appeal to some people; however, these frogs
are not native to Hawaii, and their existence in Hawaii
poses a great threat to native species in Hawaii .
Although the call of the coqui is often beloved by residents
of the coqui's native habitat, the extremely loud noise
they make in Hawaii (presumably louder than in native
habitats because of higher concentrations of populations)
has been reported to be extremely annoying to numerous
Hawaii residents and visitors. (For example, a recent article
in a health-related magazine cites coqui as causing
sleepless nights on the island of Oahu.)”
http://www.hear.org/AlienSpeciesInHawaii/species/frogs/#frogc
http://starbulletin.com/2005/02/13/news/story12.html
Problems in Georgia
Cuban Tree Frogs
Asian Swamp Eels
Kudzu
Privet
Cuban Tree Frog Found In
Georgia
“Butler's capture of a 4½-inch Cuban tree
frog in coastal Savannah has caused a
nervous stir among wildlife biologists in
Georgia and Florida….
…Since its discovery in Key West, Fla., in
the 1920s, the Caribbean frog has been
considered an unwanted predator that
disrupts ecosystems by dining on native
species - including smaller tree frogs.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/21/tech/main650682.shtml
Cuban Tree Frog
"They're (a) huge relative to our
native frogs," said John Jensen,
Georgia's state herpetologist with the
Department of Natural Resources.
"Like pretty much all frogs, they eat
anything they can catch and fit in
their mouths."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/1
Picture link
USGS SCIENTISTS FIND NEW
INVASIVE FISH SPECIES IN
FLORIDA (Georgia too!)
“In North America, the species is
sometimes kept as an aquarium fish,
although scientists can only
speculate that the species may have
escaped or been released into the
state's waters. In 1995, swamp
eels were found in several ponds
at the Chattahoochee Nature
Center north of Atlanta, Ga.”
Asian Swamp Eel
http://cars.er.usgs.gov/Nonindigenous_Species/Swamp_eel_FAQs
Monopterus albus
“It breathes air and can move across land. This gives it
the potential to spread rapidly and makes
control difficult.”
Kudzu in Georgia
Imported for erosion control
Nonatural herbivores, pathogens, or
competitors
Growsover landscapes and cannot
be dug up or burned out
May
turn out to have some
commercial use
Kudzu
Poem About Kudzu by James
Dickey
ALL: Kudzu
Japan invades. Far Eastern vines
Run from the clay banks they are
Supposed to keep from eroding.
Up telephone poles,
Which rear, half out of leafage
As though they would shriek,
Like things smothered by their own
Green, mindless, unkillable ghosts.
In Georgia, the legend says
That you must close your windows
At night to keep it out of the house.
The glass is tinged with green, even so,
As the tendrils crawl over the fields.
… and so on …
http://www.breakoutofthebox.com/kudzu.htm
Assignment Earth Videos
Asian Longhorned Beetle
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/playe
Gopher Tortoise
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/playe
Assignment Earth Videos
Water Wars
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/playe
Suburban Coyotes
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player
Ant
diversity
Why Are Tropical
Species Rich?
Resources are plentiful and reliable
Species diversity is selfreinforcing
Rates of speciation are highest in the
tropics
Distance Effect
The farther an island is from a
mainland, the fewer species
Closer islands receive more
immigrants
Species that reach islands far from
mainland are adapted for long-
distance dispersal and can move on
Distance Effect