1. Mutualism The way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from

the activity of the other. Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation. Example:

i. Oxpeckers and zebras or rhinos - In this relationship, the oxpecker (a bird) lives on the zebra or rhino, sustaining itself by eating all of the bugs and parasites on the animal.The bird benefits by having a readily available source of food.The zebra or rhino benefits from having the bugs removed. Also, when there is a danger to the zebra or the rhino, the oxpecker flies high and makes much noise in order to alert nearby animals to the impending danger (i.e. a predator).

ii. Digestive bacteria and humans - Human beings have what are often called “good” bacteria in their digestive systems. This “good” bacteria exists in order to help the human to digest food.Some foods cannot be digested entirely; so, when these foods are consumed, the bacteria in the digestive system feed on those foods.The bacteria stay alive.The human gets help with the process of digestion.

iii. Protozoa and termites - Much like the digestive bacteria in human digestive systems, protozoa help termites to digest the food that they eat.The protozoa benefits by getting food for itself.The termite benefits by being able to live.

iv. Sea anemones and clownfish - Clownfish are often found living amongst the tentacles of the sea anemone. While those tentacles are able to sting nearly all other fish, the clownfish, thanks to the mucus on its skin, is protected from the stinging.The clownfish has a safe place to live.The sea anemones are saved by the clownfish from being eaten by their predators, the butterfly fish.

v. Spider crab and algae - With the ocean as its habitat, spider crabs often spend their time in some of the most shallow areas of the sea making them highly visible to predators. However, living on their backs are algae that act as camouflage.The algae has a place to live.The spider crab remains camouflaged and safe from predators.

vi. Flowers and bees - Bees and flowers have a mutualistic relationship as well. Bees get the nectar they need to make honey by traveling between flowers. The bee brings pollen from one plant to another, resulting in pollination.The bee is benefitting by getting food.The plants benefit from being pollinated.

vii. Humans and plants - It is a well known fact that plants and humans could not exist without each other. This mutualistic relationship is based on the fact that:Humans utilize the oxygen that plants give off and exhale carbon dioxide.Plants use the carbon dioxide to create that oxygen that the humans need.

viii. Ants and fungus - Ants actively create fungus, sometimes using leaves and their own fecal matter. Once the fungus grows, the ants eat it to sustain life.The fungus is given life by the ant.The benefit to the ant is that the fungus is food.

2. Commensalism An association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor

harm; a one-sided symbiotic relationship. Association of two or more partners living together, where only one benefits from the partnership and

the other remains unharmed.

Example: A hermit crab taking up residence in an empty seashell, spider building a web on a tree, cattle egrets and livestock, orchids growing on branches of trees, remora fish and sharks, monarch butterfly and milkweed, birds following army ants, barnacles and whales, decorator crabs and sea sponges

3. Parasitism One organism benefits from the relationship but at the expense of the other. The organism may live

inside the other’s body or on its surface. In some of these parasitic relationships the host dies and in others, it is important that the host remain alive.

Example: fleas and mosquitoes feed on blood from other organisms, barnacles that attach to the bodies of whales, tapeworms

4. Symbiosis Interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the

advantage of both. Mix-up of two or more different species is directly connected to symbiotic relationships examples.

Hence, whether it’s about people, animals, insects or plants, such connections happen on a different level and they’re split in various categories.

Example: mutualism, commensalism, prey-predator and parasitism, neutralism, competition5. Predator

An organism that lives by preying on other organisms.6. Prey

An animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.

Example of predator-prey: lion and zebra, bear and fish, and fox and rabbit, bear and berry, rabbit and lettuce, grasshopper and leaf.

7. Niche All of the interactions of a species with the other members of its community, including competition,

predation, parasitism, and mutualism. A variety of abiotic factors, such as soil type and climate, also define a species' niche.

a term with a variety of meanings related to the behavior of a species living under specific environmental conditions

8. Species one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank Largest group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or

interbreeding. The species is the principal natural taxonomic unit, ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin binomial, e.g., Homo sapiens.

9. Succession The gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive

replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established a number of persons or things following one another in order or sequence process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time

10. Habitat An ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant, or other

type of organism.