Animal Interactions/B.Sc. I/ Animal Ecology

 Animal Interactions

Animals interact with each other in multiple, complex patterns. though, we can make some general statements about these relations. This enables us to more understand the part that species play within their ecosystems and how individual species can favorably or negatively affect the species around them.

A resource, in ecological terms, is the thing ( like food, water, niche, sunlight, or prey) that's needed by an organism to perform a vital function such as growth or reproduction. A consumer is an organism that consumes a resource ( like predators, carnivores, or detritivores).

Species interactions can be grouped into four fundamental groups based on how the participating species are affected by the relation. 

They include

1. competitive interactions, 
2. consumer-resource interactions, 
3. detritivore-detritus interactions, and 
4. mutualistic interactions.

1. Competitive Interactions

• Competitive interactions are interactions involving two or more species that are competing for the same resource.
• In these interactions, both of the species involved are negatively affected. 
• Competitive interactions are in many cases indirect, such as when two species both consume the same resource but don't directly interact with each other. Rather, they affect each other by reducing the availability of resources. 
• An exemplification of this type of interaction might be observed between lions and hyenas. Since both species feed on the same prey, they negatively affect each other by reducing the quantity of that prey. 
• One species may have trouble hunting in an area where the other is already present.

2. Consumer-resource interactions

• Consumer-resource relations are relations in which individualities from one species consume individualities from another species. 
• Exemplifications of consumer-resource relations include Predator-prey relations/ interactions . These consumer-resource relations affect the species involved in different ways. Generally, this type of commerce has a positive impact on the consumer species and a negative impact on the resource species.
•  An illustration of consumer-resource interaction would be a Lion eating a zebra, or a zebra feeding on a grass. In the first illustration, the zebra is the resource, while in the alternate illustration it's the consumer.

3. Detritivore- detritus Interactions

• Detritivore- detritus interactions involve a species that consumes the debris ( dead or decaying organic matter) of another species. 
• The detritivore- detritus interaction is a positive interaction for the consumer species. It has no impact on the resource species since it's already dead.
•  Detritivores include small animals like as millipedes, slugs, woodlice, and sea cucumbers. 
• By cleaning up decomposing plant and animal matter, they play a major role in maintaining the healthiness of ecosystems.

4. Mutualistic Interactions

• Mutualistic interactions are interactions in which both species-- resource and consumer-- benefit from the interaction. 
• An example of this is the association between plants and pollinators. 
• Nearly three-quarters of flowering plants depend on animals to support them pollinating. 
• In exchange for this service, animals such as bees and butterflies are rewarded with food in the form of pollen or nectar. 
• The interaction is favorable for both species, plants, and animals.

References:

Klappenbach, Laura. "How Animals Interact in an Ecosystem." ThoughtCo, Sep. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/how-do-species-interact-130924.