Unit A Lesson A3 Relationships and Adaptations
Completion requirements
Lesson A3: Relationships and Adaptations
Video Lesson
Watch the following video to see some interesting examples of relationships and adaptations.
Lesson A3: Relationships and Adaptations
Symbiosis
Species live close to each other in an ecosystem. Over time, some species may develop relationships with each other. If they do, two species may adapt to each other.
Sometimes, both species benefit from the relationship, but this is not always so. Ecologists call these kinds of relationships symbiosis. The word symbiosis comes from two Greek words meaning “together” and “living”. Symbiosis is all about two species living together -- similar to two roommates sharing an apartment.
Species live close to each other in an ecosystem. Over time, some species may develop relationships with each other. If they do, two species may adapt to each other.
Sometimes, both species benefit from the relationship, but this is not always so. Ecologists call these kinds of relationships symbiosis. The word symbiosis comes from two Greek words meaning “together” and “living”. Symbiosis is all about two species living together -- similar to two roommates sharing an apartment.
Reading and Materials for This Lesson
Science in Action 7
Materials:
Science in Action 7
Reading: Pages 16–19
Materials:
No other materials are needed for this lesson.
Figure A.1.3.1 – Bumblebees are suited perfectly to foxglove flowers.
Figure A.1.3.2 – Bumblebees covered in pollen allow plants to reproduce. Photo by
Audrey.
Bees and Foxgloves
The relationship between the foxglove plant and the bumblebee is a very close one.
A foxglove flower is pretty to us, but the bumblebee sees something irresistible. Each flower tube invites the bee inside with a convenient landing pad. When it is there, the bee uses black spots inside as arrows pointing the way to a meal. It crawls up the tube gripping the flower’s tiny hairs. At the end of the tube, the bee is rewarded with a sweet nectar meal.
The bee does not know that it has just pollinated the flower. Now, the plant can make seeds for new plants.
The flower is suited perfectly to the bumblebee’s needs, and the bumblebee is the plant’s reliable pollinator. This is an example of two species adapting to each other in a way that benefits both. This win-win situation is an example of symbiosis.
The relationship between the foxglove plant and the bumblebee is a very close one.
A foxglove flower is pretty to us, but the bumblebee sees something irresistible. Each flower tube invites the bee inside with a convenient landing pad. When it is there, the bee uses black spots inside as arrows pointing the way to a meal. It crawls up the tube gripping the flower’s tiny hairs. At the end of the tube, the bee is rewarded with a sweet nectar meal.
The bee does not know that it has just pollinated the flower. Now, the plant can make seeds for new plants.
The flower is suited perfectly to the bumblebee’s needs, and the bumblebee is the plant’s reliable pollinator. This is an example of two species adapting to each other in a way that benefits both. This win-win situation is an example of symbiosis.
Figure A.1.3.3 – A veterinarian examines a dog for ticks.
Figure A.1.3.4 – This is what the dog’s tick looks like up close.
Rover’s Got Ticks!
Dogs like to play outdoors. When they do, they may find themselves in tick territory. Ticks are external parasites.
Ticks are small insects that live in tall grass. When a tick latches onto a dog’s skin, it feeds from the dog’s blood. A tiny loss of blood and a small irritation at the site are a nuisance for the dog, but its life is not threatened – yet. However, ticks can carry diseases. Some of these diseases can make the dog very sick. If you find a tick on your dog, you can take your dog to the veterinarian who can give it a blood test to see if it contracted any diseases from the tick.
This tick-dog relationship is an example of a special kind of symbiosis called parasitism. One species benefits (the tick) and lives at the expense of another species (the dog). The poor dog receives nothing but trouble!
Dogs like to play outdoors. When they do, they may find themselves in tick territory. Ticks are external parasites.
Ticks are small insects that live in tall grass. When a tick latches onto a dog’s skin, it feeds from the dog’s blood. A tiny loss of blood and a small irritation at the site are a nuisance for the dog, but its life is not threatened – yet. However, ticks can carry diseases. Some of these diseases can make the dog very sick. If you find a tick on your dog, you can take your dog to the veterinarian who can give it a blood test to see if it contracted any diseases from the tick.
This tick-dog relationship is an example of a special kind of symbiosis called parasitism. One species benefits (the tick) and lives at the expense of another species (the dog). The poor dog receives nothing but trouble!
Figure A.1.3.5 – This is a closeup look at ticks.
Life on the African Savanna
In Africa, hunting is a shared task. A lion alone cannot take down a large prey such as a water buffalo. However, a group of lions working together can. When they succeed, they have more than enough meat to eat. After they have eaten their fill, scraps or even large chunks of meat remain on the bones.
This is what vultures wait for. When the lions are gone, the vultures can move in and pick food from the carcass. The lion-vulture relationship is an example of a symbiosis called commensalism. One species benefits (the vulture) while the other species neither benefits nor is harmed (the lion). The lions are full and don’t care for leftovers!
In Africa, hunting is a shared task. A lion alone cannot take down a large prey such as a water buffalo. However, a group of lions working together can. When they succeed, they have more than enough meat to eat. After they have eaten their fill, scraps or even large chunks of meat remain on the bones.
This is what vultures wait for. When the lions are gone, the vultures can move in and pick food from the carcass. The lion-vulture relationship is an example of a symbiosis called commensalism. One species benefits (the vulture) while the other species neither benefits nor is harmed (the lion). The lions are full and don’t care for leftovers!
Figure A.1.3.6 – On the African savanna, a pride of lions feeds on a water buffalo.
Figure A.1.3.7 – After eating their fill, the lions find a comfortable place to nap.
Figure A.1.3.8 – While the lions sleep, vultures move in to eat from the carcass.
Figure A.1.3.9 – This is a living toothbrush! A cleaner wrass cleans an eel’s teeth at a cleaning station.
Figure A.1.3.10 – A spotted cleaner shrimp waits for clownfish clients to clean.
Coral Reef Cleaning Station
It is hard to believe that fish get dirty. After all, they swim in water all day long. The fish don’t actually get dirty the way we do. Instead, tiny organisms called parasites live on their scales, skin, and inside their mouths. These make the fish feel itchy and uncomfortable. If a fish has too many parasites, it can become sick.
Nearly every day, certain coral reef fish swim to a coral reef cleaning station. Small fish and shrimp wait for the fish to come and open their mouths and gills to be cleaned. The bigger fish remain still while parasites and dead skin pieces are removed. These big fish could eat the smaller cleaner fish in a gulp or two, but they don’t! They know a good thing when they have it! The cleaner fish and shrimp are eager to enjoy the free meal. Both organisms benefit. The big fish get cleaned of parasites and the cleaner fish and shrimp are fed. This is an example of symbiosis called mutualism.
Watch how a coral reef cleaning station works. It’s amazing to see many species of organisms help each other in a coral reef.
It is hard to believe that fish get dirty. After all, they swim in water all day long. The fish don’t actually get dirty the way we do. Instead, tiny organisms called parasites live on their scales, skin, and inside their mouths. These make the fish feel itchy and uncomfortable. If a fish has too many parasites, it can become sick.
Nearly every day, certain coral reef fish swim to a coral reef cleaning station. Small fish and shrimp wait for the fish to come and open their mouths and gills to be cleaned. The bigger fish remain still while parasites and dead skin pieces are removed. These big fish could eat the smaller cleaner fish in a gulp or two, but they don’t! They know a good thing when they have it! The cleaner fish and shrimp are eager to enjoy the free meal. Both organisms benefit. The big fish get cleaned of parasites and the cleaner fish and shrimp are fed. This is an example of symbiosis called mutualism.
Watch how a coral reef cleaning station works. It’s amazing to see many species of organisms help each other in a coral reef.
Watch More
Symbiotic Relationships
Below are several videos that show examples of symbiotic relationships. Ask yourself the following questions as you watch the videos.
Below are several videos that show examples of symbiotic relationships. Ask yourself the following questions as you watch the videos.
- What kind of symbiosis is shown? Some videos show more than one kind of relationship.
- How much does one species depend on the other? Would one or both species perish if it lost the relationship?
- How might this symbiotic relationship have formed?
- Could another species take the place of one of the species in the video?
Ants and Butterflies
What could an ant and a butterfly possibly have to do with each other? Find out in this video.
What could an ant and a butterfly possibly have to do with each other? Find out in this video.
Anemones and Jellyfish
In the ocean, anemones and jellyfish use stinging tentacles for defence. Some species have become immune to their sting. Those species use the tentacles for protection. This video showcases symbiotic relationships that have developed with anemones and jellyfish.
In the ocean, anemones and jellyfish use stinging tentacles for defence. Some species have become immune to their sting. Those species use the tentacles for protection. This video showcases symbiotic relationships that have developed with anemones and jellyfish.
The Liver Fluke and Zombie Ants
The liver fluke is not a nice guy! It burrows into an ant’s brain and turns the ant into a zombie. Then, it uses the ant to hitch a ride into a cow. When it is inside, it dines on the cow’s liver. Watch this sordid tale in this video.
The liver fluke is not a nice guy! It burrows into an ant’s brain and turns the ant into a zombie. Then, it uses the ant to hitch a ride into a cow. When it is inside, it dines on the cow’s liver. Watch this sordid tale in this video.
Make sure you have understood everything in this lesson. Use the Self-Check below, and the Self-Check & Lesson Review Tips to guide your learning.
Unit A Lesson 3 Self-Check
Instructions
Complete the following 6 steps.
Don't skip steps – if you do them in order, you will confirm your
understanding of this lesson and create a study bank for the future.
- DOWNLOAD the self-check quiz by clicking here.
- ANSWER all the questions on the downloaded quiz in the spaces provided. Think carefully before typing your answers. Review this lesson if you need to. Save your quiz when you are done.
- COMPARE your answers with the suggested "Self-Check Quiz Answers" below. WAIT! You didn't skip step 2, did you? It's very important to carefully write out your own answers before checking the suggested answers.
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REVISE your quiz answers if you need to. If you answered all the questions correctly, you can skip this step. Revise means to change, fix, and add extra notes if you need to. This quiz is NOT FOR MARKS, so it is perfectly OK to correct
any mistakes you made. This will make your self-check quiz an excellent study tool you can use later.
- SAVE your quiz to a folder on your computer, or to your Private Files. That way you will know where it is for later studying.
- CHECK with your teacher if you need to. If after completing all these steps you are still not sure about the questions or your answers, you should ask for more feedback from your teacher. To do this, post in the Course Questions Forum, or send your teacher an email. In either case, attach your completed quiz and ask; "Can you look at this quiz and give me some feedback please?" They will be happy to help you!
Self-Check Time!
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Self-Check Quiz Answers
Click each of the suggested answers below, and carefully compare your answers to the suggested answers.
If you have not done the quiz yet – STOP – and go back to step 1 above. Do not look at the answers without first trying the questions.
The pistol shrimp appears to be cleaning sand from the shared burrow. This maintenance work benefits the goby who lives there. The goby appears to be standing guard over the burrow. By doing so, it protects the pistol shrimp, benefitting it.
This is mutualistic symbiosis. Notice the crab nearby. It seems to be interested. Would it eat the shrimp if the goby wasn’t there to protect it?
The algae performs photosynthesis. It makes almost all the food for the coral (90%) and it provides it with oxygen. The coral provides the algae with carbon dioxide, and it provides it with nutrients and a protected place to live. Both species
benefit in this mutualistic symbiosis.
The gastropod never interacts directly with the hermit crab. It has not benefited or been harmed by the crab. However, the crab benefits by having a protective home. One species benefits (the hermit crab) and one species is not affected (the
gastropod). This relationship is an example of commensalistic symbiosis.
Parasites typically do not kill their hosts. It is better for the parasite to keep its host living so it can continue to use it. Sometimes, however, a parasite infection can be very bad. The host is weakened so much that it dies from other causes.
The cuckoo is a parasite of the warbler. Not all parasites are tiny or live inside or on their host. The cuckoo benefits by having the warbler feed and care for the cuckoo’s chick. The cuckoo does not have to spend the energy doing those jobs.
Instead, it can feed and rest and lay more eggs. The warbler is harmed because it uses energy to feed a chick that is not its own. The warbler chicks are at a disadvantage as well. The larger cuckoo chick often takes most of the food. It may
also toss the warbler chicks out. These behaviours harm the warbler because they reduce the warbler’s reproduction success.