Ecology Lecture 15: Interspecific Interactions PDF

Ecology Week 10 Lecture 15 – Interspecific Interactions  Interspecific Interactions Can be organized by effect on each species: +/- =Consumer-Resource -/- =Competition +/+ =Mutualism +/0 =Commensalism -/0 =Amensalism...

Ecology Week 10 Lecture 15 – Interspecific Interactions  Interspecific Interactions Can be organized by effect on each species: +/- =Consumer-Resource -/- =Competition +/+ =Mutualism +/0 =Commensalism -/0 =Amensalism 2  Consumer-Resource Predator-prey Parasite-host Parasitoid-host Herbivore-plant – Grazing vs. browsing – Seed Predator 3 Predation 4 5  Parasitism Often symbiotic  Parasitism Often symbiotic Symbiosis = two species living in tight, close physical association Ectoparasite: lives external; on body surface or outside body Endoparasite: lives within tissue of host How is this distinguished from predation? Doesn’t kill (example: flu/virulence)  Parasitism Examples of blood-consuming parasites of humans?  Parasitism Examples in blood-consuming parasites of humans: – Free-living: mosquitoes, leeches, ticks – Symbiotic: fleas, lice, malaria Ectoparasites Endoparasite 9  Endoparasite Primary host (Mature) Secondary host (Immature) Tapeworm Life Cycle 10 Endoparasite Cordyceps fungus (“Zombie ant fungus”) 11 Ectoparasite Bat flies 12  Parasitoid = Insect whose larvae consume & kill host (Nasonia etc.) Tarantula hawk (Pepsis 13 spp.)  Herbivory Grazing: grass/herbs Browsing: woody vegetation Plant-animal version of what? 14 Seed Predator (Granivore) 15  Consumer-Resource Predator-prey Parasite-host Parasitoid-host Herbivore-plant – Grazing vs. browsing – Seed Predator 16  Defensive mechanisms Ways to avoid predation: – Early detection and swift escape – Camouflage (crypsis) – Chemical defense (animals and plants) – Protection: spines (porcupine), thorns (plants) – Warning coloration (aposematic) 17  Predator Avoidance Costs Bullfrog tadpoles 18  Predator Avoidance Costs Bullfrog tadpoles 19 Cryptic coloration 20 Lithops Cryptic coloration 21 Aposematic warning coloration 22  “fecal shield” Tortoise Beetle and Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) Mullerian mimicry Poisonous animals mimic each others color patterns What kind of interaction? 24 25  Mullerian mimicry Heliconius numata Heliconius erato 26  Batesian mimicry Non-toxic animals mimic the color patterns of wasp mantid toxic or dangerous forms. What kind of interaction? moth 27 Batesian mimicry “Red touches black, safe for Jack. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow” 28 29  Plant defense Structural: spines, bark Chemical: Secondary Compounds: compounds not directly related to metabolism/photosynthesis – Lignin (indigestible) – Morphine, nicotine (poisons) – Latex (poison/ gum up mouthparts) 30  Plant defense Chemical defense: Milkweed 31  Mulberry leaves Konno 2011, Phytochemistry Specialist herbivore32 Galapagos Opuntia 33  Plant defense Constitutive: Always produced Induced: Occur after defoliation (an ‘immune response’) 34  Plant defense Constitutive: Always produced Induced: Occur after defoliation Cotton Plants 35  Plant defense Constitutive: Always produced Induced: Occur after defoliation Why wouldn’t they always produce? – A tradeoff - energy/ resources used to make such secondary compounds could instead make primary compounds (for growth and reproduction) 36  Interspecific Interactions Can be organized by effect on each species: +/- =Consumer-Resource -/- =Competition +/+ =Mutualism +/0 =Commensalism -/0 =Amensalism 37  Competition Intraspecific competition – individuals of same species Interspecific competition – individuals of different species Interference competition – Direct interaction (e.g. physical aggression, territorial fights) Exploitative competition – Depleting shared resources (e.g. bats, hummingbirds, and nectar) 38  Interspecific Competition Exploitative competition – Depleting shared resources (e.g. bats, hummingbirds, and nectar) Interference competition – Direct interaction (e.g. physical aggression, territorial fights) 39 Exploitative competition Interference competition 40  Mutualism Trophic mutualism Defensive mutualism Dispersive mutualism 41  Mutualism Trophic mutualism: complementary ways of receiving food – Cows and cellulose-digesting bacteria – Giant tubeworms and symbiotic bacteria 42  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= mVtSYRmlirg East African groups (Masai, Hadza, Yao) Honeyguide – Preferred food: beeswax (and larva) 43 (Spottiswoode et al. 2016) 44 (Spottiswoode et al. 2016) 45 Regional ‘Dialects’ (Spottiswoode & Wood 2023) 46  Mutualism Defensive mutualism: defend partner in exchange for food/shelter – Cleaning mutualism (removes parasites from fish) “Cleaning stations”  Mutualism Defensive mutualism: defend partner in exchange for food/shelter – Cleaning mutualism – Ants & plants Acacia and ants  Mutualism Defensive mutualism: defend partner in exchange for food/shelter – Cleaning mutualism – Ants & plants Bornean pitcher plants & bats  Mutualism Dispersive mutualism: transport pollen or seeds (plant-animal interactions) Seed dispersal – benefits?  Mutualism Dispersive mutualism: transport pollen or seeds (plant-animal interactions) Pollination Commensalism Antbirds and Army ants 52  Commensalism Remora (suckerfish) 53  Commensalism Epiphytes (e.g., orchids, bromeliads) 54 Amensalism 55 56