Symbiosis and Interactions in Nature - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms about symbiotic relationships, parasitism, predation, and competition from the notes.

Symbiosis

Close relationships in nature where two or more living things live together, including mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism.

Mutualism

A relationship where two different living things help each other and both benefit (e.g., bee and flower: bee gets nectar and helps pollinate the flower).

Nectar

A sugary fluid produced by flowers that bees collect as food in mutualistic relationships.

Parasitism

A relationship where one organism (the parasite) benefits at the expense of the other (the host), which is harmed.

Parasite

An organism that benefits by feeding on another organism (the host), often causing harm.

Host

The organism that harbors the parasite and is harmed or affected in a parasitic relationship.

Tick

An example of a parasite that drinks blood from a host (such as a dog).

Commensalism

A relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Barnacles on a whale

An example of commensalism where barnacles gain transportation to food, and the whale is not affected.

Predation

A relationship in which one animal (the predator) hunts and eats another (the prey).

Predator

An animal that hunts and eats other animals.

Prey

An animal that is hunted and eaten by a predator.

Competition

A relationship where two or more living things fight for the same resources (food, water, or habitat), affecting which survive and thrive.