Cattle Egret and Cape Buffalo In this interaction, the cattle egret is a bird that follows around the buffalo as it eats. The buffalo is so large, that is causes animals to move around in the grass as it moves. The egret eats insects and other small mammals that move out of the way of the buffalo. What type of relationship is this? Sea Lamprey and Lake Trout In this interaction, the lamprey attaches itself onto the trout. The lamprey bites a small chunk of flesh out of the side of the trout. From this hole, the lamprey sucks out body fluids from the trout. After some amount of time, the lamprey will detach from the trout and look for another trout. The trout is usually unable to remove lampreys on its own. What type of relationship is this?
Fungus and Plants In this interaction, the fungus is attached to plant roots. It absorbs nutrients and water from the soil. The plant provides a place for the fungus to live. It also provides the fungus some glucose that it makes from photosynthesis. This is also called mychorrhizae. What type of relationship is this? Big Brown Bat and Mosquitoes In this interaction, the bat hunts mosquitoes at night. A bat might eat 3,000-6,000 mosquitoes in one night. The mosquito is at risk for being eaten and taken out of the population. What type of interaction is this?
Acacia Ants and Acacia Trees In this interaction, the acacia ants live on the tree. The tree provides the ants shelter from the elements and other organisms. The ants will attack any organisms that attempts to disturb the tree, no matter what the organism is. These attacks usually result in the tree not being disturbed or destroyed. What type of interaction is this? Remora and Sharks In this interaction, the remora is a fish that attaches itself to the skin of the shark with its mouth. The remora does this to obtain a means of transportation in the ocean. Instead of the remora using energy to move through the water, it uses the shark as a means to get through the water. The remora will remove itself later, without any mark left on the shark. What type of interaction is this?
Blue-winged Warbler and Golden-winged Warbler In this interaction, both birds select territories around the edge of forests and grasslands. Each individual bird will arrive to an area of habitat and select a territory to find mates. There are only so many territories that are good enough for either bird. Each species of bird is interested in using these territories. What type of interaction is this? Bacteria and Termites In this interaction, bacteria live in the gut of termites. Termites eat wood, which they cannot digest all by themselves. Bacteria in the stomach of the termite digest the wood into nutrients that the termite can absorb. The bacteria are given nutrients from the termite and protection from the elements. What type of interaction is this?
Barnacles and Whales In this interaction, the barnacle attaches itself onto the whale s skin for its lifetime. The barnacle feeds itself by filtering microorganisms out of the water. The barnacle has a stationary place to be on the whale. The whale does not seem to be negatively affected by the attached barnacle. What type of interaction is this? Brown-headed Cowbird and Scarlet Tanager In this interaction, the female cowbird watches the female tanager as she is making a nest. When the female tanager is not looking, the cowbird will lay one of its own eggs in the tanager nest. The female tanager will eventually incubate and raise the cowbird chick. Over time, the bigger cowbird chick will be so aggressive for food that the tanager chicks will die from starvation. Ultimately, the female tanager will only raise a cowbird chick, while the female cowbird did not use her energy to raise a chick. What type of interaction is this?
Gray Squirrels and Fox Squirrels In this type of interaction, these similar species have similar needs. They use forested areas and trees for nesting areas. Fox squirrels and gray squirrels also eat the same types of food, in general. What type of interaction is this? Snow Geese and Tundra Grasses In this interaction, the snow geese consume the grasses for their nutrition. The tundra grasses can grow back after being consumed sometimes. However, sometimes they cannot. Often, the geese will eat enough of the grass that the grass will die. Or, the entire plant will be consumed by the goose. What kind of interaction is this?
Rabbits and Kangaroos In this interaction, rabbits and small kangaroos live together in Australia. Rabbits and kangaroos are both herbivores, and they eat vegetation in the form of grass and shrubs. When each species live in the same area, there are not as many rabbits or kangaroos than there could be if both species were not in the same area. What type of interaction is this? Isopod and Fish In this relationship, the isopod is a beetle-like organism. It has specialized mouth parts that allow it to cut open the skin of fish. Special hooks allow it to stay attached to the fish. The isopod sucks blood and body fluids from the wound. The fish loses some of its body fluids but will not usually die from this. What type of interaction is this?
Candiru and Humans In this relationship, the candiru is a fish that lives in freshwater. Humans use the freshwater to swim in. Humans may urinate in the water. The candiru detects fresh urine and swims up the urethra or anus of the human. In the urinary tract, it spreads spines out and lodges itself in the human. It will then suck on tissue and blood from the urethra from the human over a long period of time. The human is hurt and could die from this, if left untreated over time. What type of interaction is this? Sundew and Insects In this interaction, the sundew is a plant with sticky residues on the tip of little leaf parts. Insects land on the plant for a rest or looking for food. In the process, they are caught up in the sticky residues. The residues have enzymes that digest the insect and destroy it. The nutrients from the insect are taken by the plant. What type of interaction is this?
Oxpeckers and Rhinos In this relationship, the oxpecker is a bird that rides on the back of the rhino. The oxpecker pecks and eats at organisms on the rhino s skin. The organisms are usually ticks or mites, which are sucking the blood of the rhino. The oxpecker removes these from the rhino and consumes them for nutrition. What type of interaction is this? Lions and Leopards In this interaction, lions and leopards live in similar habitats. This habitat is the African savannah grasslands. They eat similar food items, usually small to large deer or antelopes. When lions or leopards are in an area by themselves, they will feed on any type of prey item. However, when they live together, lions hunt by day and leopards hunt at night. Also, lions will kill larger prey while leopards will eat smaller prey. What kind of interaction is this?
Stentor and Algae In this interaction, the stentor is a protist. Algae is another type of protist that exist in similar waters as stentor. Stentor use cilia at the top of their body tube to draw algae into the tube. Once inside, the algae are slowly digested into nutrients. The stentor uses these nutrients for life functions, such as reproduction and energy conversion. What type of interaction is this? Mistletoe and Mangrove In this interaction, the mistletoe and mangrove are both plants. The mistletoe seed is deposited on the mangrove plant. The seed will eventually sprout and grow a mistletoe plant. The roots of the mistletoe plant will enter the mangrove tissue and suck out the nutrients of the mangrove. The mistletoe will grow larger and stronger. The mangrove will need to invest more energy into making food that is stolen from it. What type of interaction is this?