Ecological Management

Year 11 Biology
 Learning objectives:
• Associations and adaptations.
• Types of associations: parasitism, mutualism,
commensalism.
• Effects of man’s activities on the balance of the ecosystem.
• Remedy of the effects.
 Introduction
• Living organisms establish different living associations with others in
order to obtain food or protection. Some of these living associations
are beneficial to one or both organisms in the relationship. These are
called biological associations and these biological associations are
beneficial, some are neutral while others are harmful.
• Types of Association.
• 1. Symbiosis: means living together, it’s a close, long term interaction
between two different species. There are many different types of
symbiotic relationships that occur in nature.
 Types of Symbiotic association
• Endosymbiosis and Ectosymbiosis
• Endosymbiosis is one species living inside another one.
• Example: Protozoans that live inside termites and help them
digest wood, plasmodium, endoparasites like intestinal worms
• Ectosymbiosis is one species living on the surface of the other
species.
• Example: Lice that feed on the skin, blood, or oil secretions of
the host, ticks, etc.
Cleaner shrimp clean parasites from moray The goby warns the blind shrimp when a predator
eels in return for a free meal approaches
The plover picks meat from the
crocodile mouth.

The cattle egret will eat insects that

have been disturbed when the cattle
forage.
 Mutualism
• a. Mutualism is a biological interaction between two
organisms, in which both species benefit from the interaction.
Most mutualisms are facultative, meaning the partners can
successfully live apart(Facultative refers to the ability to live
under more than one specific environmental condition).
However, some mutualisms are so intimate that the interacting
species can no longer live without each other, they have a
mutually obligate interdependence(Obligate means to be
restricted to a particular characteristic) 
 Examples of mutualism
• 1. Lichen: association between algae and fungus has algal cells surrounded by fungal hyphae. The
algae makes food via photosynthesis while the fungus protects the algae from intense sunlight and
drying out as well as supply mineral salts for the algae.
• 2. Mycorrhiza: association between a fungus and the root of a higher plant. The fungi absorbs
inorganic nutrients from the soil into the plant, while the plant supplies the fungus organic nutrients.
• 3. Nitrogen fixing bacteria(rhizobium) in the root noodles of leguminous plants: The bacteria fixes
nitrogen in the roots of the plant while the plant provides home for the bacteria.
• 4. Rumen bacteria in the digestive tract of cow: The bacteria help digest the plant consumed by the
animal while the digestive tract of the cow accommodates the bacteria.

• 5. The relationship between bullhorn acacia trees and certain species of ants. Each bullhorn acacia
tree is home to a colony of stinging ants. The tree has very large thorns that look like bull’s horns.
The ants hollow out the thorns and use them as shelter. In addition to providing shelter, the acacia
tree also provides the ants with food source; the ants get food and shelter.
• (Do not copy) The ants are very territorial and aggressive. They will attack
anything and everything that touches the tree from grasshoppers and
caterpillars to deer and humans. They will even climb onto neighboring
trees that touch their tree and kill the whole branch and clear all
vegetation in the perimeter around their tree’s trunk, as well. The ants
protect the tree from herbivores and remove competing vegetation, so
the acacia gains a big advantage from the relationship. In this case, the
acacia is considered host because it is the larger organism in a symbiotic
relationship upon or inside of which the smaller organism lives, and the
ant is considered to be a symbiont, which is the term for the smaller
organism in a symbiotic relationship that lives in or on the host.
• Other mutualistic relationship include:
• 6. Termites are only able to eat wood because they have mutualistic
protozoans and bacteria in their gut that helps them digest cellulose.
• 7. E. coli in the human intestines: Humans provide E.coli with food
and a place to live. In return, the E.coli produce vitamin K and make it
harder for pathogenic bacteria to establish themselves in our large
intestine.
Question 1
what is mutualism?
a. Both species benefit from each other.
b. One species feeds off another species.
c. One species inhibits the growth of another species.
d. One species benefits while the other species is neither
harmed or helped.
Question 2
What are the three types of symbiotic relationships betw
een organisms?
a. commensalism, parasitism, predator
b. commensalism, mutualism, prey
c. commensalism, mutualism, parasitism
d. mutualism, parasitism, consumer
Question 3
What is a relationship in which one organism benefits fro
m another without helping or harming it?
a. parasitism
b. mutualism
c. commensalism
Question 4
What is the relationship when both animals benefit?
a. commensalism
b. parasitism
c. mutualism
Question 5
In what kind of relationship does one animal benefit and
the other animal neither benefits nor is harmed?
a. parasitism
b. commensalism
c. mutualism
Question 6
1.Moss often grows on trees. The tree is not affected, wh
ile the moss finds the nutrients it needs to grow. This is
a classic example of
…
a. commensalism.
b. mutualism.
c. parasitism.
Question 7
1.In what type of relationship do all involved organisms b
enefit?
a. parasitism
b. commensalism
c. mutualism
d. competition
b. Parasitism
• Parasitism is an association between two different species where the
symbiont(parasite) benefits and the host is harmed. Fleas, ticks, lice, leeches,
and any bacteria or viruses that cause disease, are considered to be parasitic.
• In this relationship, the host may become weak but does not usually die. If the
host dies, the parasites may also die.
• Parasites are organisms that live inside or outside the body of another
organisms and feed on it.
• Host is the provider of food and shelter for the parasite.
• Ectoparasites are parasites that live outside the body of the host.
• Endoparasites are parasites that live inside the body of the host.
 Examples
• Not all parasites have to cause disease. Lice, ticks, fleas, and leeches are all
examples of parasites that don’t usually cause disease directly, but they do suck
blood from their host, and that is causing some harm, not to mention
discomfort to their host. Parasites can also act as vectors or organisms that
transmit disease-causing pathogens to other species of animals.
• Fleas and dog- fleas are insects that suck blood from the body of the dog. They
also live on the body of the dog
• Mosquitoes bite human to suck blood.
• Hook worms or round worms live in human digestive track.
• Tapeworms live in the human digestive track.
c. Commensalism
• Commensalism is an association between two different species where
one species enjoys a benefit, and the other is not significantly
affected. In other words, commensalism is a relationship wherein one
participating organisms is benefited while the other is neither helped
nor harmed.
Examples of commensalism
• 1. The cattle egret follows cattle, water buffalo and other large
herbivores as they graze. The herbivores flush insects from vegetation
as they move, and the egrets catch and eat the insects when they
leave the vegetation. In this relationship the egret benefits greatly,
but there is no apparent effect on the herbivore.
• 2. Orchids and some kinds of fern are aerial plants. They usually grow
on trunks or branches of trees. These plants get moisture and
nutrients from the bark of the tree. They also use the tree for support
because they do not have stems. The orchids or ferns do not seem to
harm or help the tree.
• 3. The barnacles are shelled animals that cannot move on their own.
They attached themselves to other animals like crabs or whales. The
barnacles get transportation and steady supply of food as the whale
moves through the ocean. The whale on the other hand, is generally
not affected by this kind of interaction.
Predation
• Predation is when a smaller animal is killed and eaten by a bigger
animal.
• Predator- the animal that feeds on another animal.
• Prey- the animal that is eaten.
• Examples:
• The hawk catches the fish for food.
• Frogs feed on insects.
• Lion hunt deer for food.
Competition
• Competition is when two or more organisms need the same thing in order to survive.
It may exist among organisms of the same kind or of different kinds. In this kind of
interaction, the organisms fight for a common resource in order to survive. The
common resources could be food, water, sunlight, shelter or space and other things.
• Examples
• In the rice field, rice plants compete with each other for water, minerals and space.
At the same time, the rice plants compete for the same resources with the weeds
that grow among them.
• Both vegetable plants and the weeds need sunlight, water, and minerals in order to
survive.
• Dogs and cats need same kind of food and they may fight over it.
 Interactions among the Components of
Ecosystem
• There is a unique interaction among the various components of an ecosystem.
• Green plants use carbon (iv) oxide, water and chlorophyll in the presence of
sunlight to produce carbohydrate or starch.
• Animals feed on these carbohydrates or plants and release carbon (iv) oxide for
plants to take in.
• Micro-organisms and other decomposers break down dead plants and other
organisms to release nutrients to the soil. These nutrients are absorbed by plants
for use in food production. Plant gives out oxygen during photosynthesis which is
used by animals for their normal respiration
ADAPTATION
Plant Adaptation
Mesophytes
These are plants found where conditions are not extreme(neither too wet nor
too dry). They possess the following characteristics:
• Root system is well developed. Roots are generally fairly branched with root
caps and root hairs.
• The stems are generally aerial, solid and freely branched.
• Leaves are generally large, broad and moderately thick. They are without
hairs or waxy coating.
• The stomata are distributed on both surfaces of the leaves.
• Mechanical and vascular tissues are fairly developed and well differentiated.
• Examples are wheat, corn, sunflowers, roses etc.
Hydrophytes
 Water lily Duckweed

Salvinia molesta Water lettuce

Halophytes
• These are salt resistant or tolerant plants.
Animals Adaptation
• Terrestrial Animals
• Possession of thick, tough skin or hairs or furs or feathers as
protective measures, as well as temperature regulation.
• Lungs for breathing.
• Kidneys for excretion.
• Limbs for support and locomotion.
• Sweat gland for cooling and excretion.
Arboreal Animals
• Possession of bright colours, as well as camouflage e.g chameleon.
• Possession of wings for flight.
• Presence of hollow bones to make room for lightness.
• Possession of strong flight muscles and tendon.
• Possession of powerful limbs, claws and tails for climbing and piercing
e.g birds, monkeys and baboons.
• The aves feed mostly on grains in other to have energy to fly long
distance.
• Possession of streamlined body for easy flight.
Aquatic Animals
• Possession of streamlined body for easy movement.
• Some have dark upper parts, while their lower parts are light in order
to blend with the sky(camouflage) when viewed from below.
• Possession of slimy body for easy movement as well as a protective
measure.
• Possession of gills or respiratory trumpets for respiration.
• Presence of lateral lines to detect vibration.
• Possession of fins and webs for easy movement.
• Presence of suckers or hairs for attachment.
Adaptation of Parasites
• Presence of suckers and hooks for attachment.
• They shield themselves inside their hosts intestine with anti-enzymes in
order to avoid being digested.
• They possess very thin membrane which enhances diffusion of already
digested food from their host into their own system.
• Some like tapeworms are hermaphrodites and do not need opposite sex
before fertilization.
• They lay numerous eggs to make sure they get to their new parasites.
• Some have intermediate hosts which contribute to their confirmed
existence.
ASSIGNMENT
• Answer the questions on page 165: 5 & 6 from your biology text.
• Write the answers neatly into your note book.