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Symbiosis (I can't live without you!)

© Angela Plumb

Living things interact with one another in the process of obtaining energy - an organism can be both predator and prey, eating and being eaten. There is another type of interaction between organisms that does directly involve getting food.

SYMBIOSIS or a SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP occurs when two or more different kinds of organisms live together in a very close relationship. Sometimes, if one kind of the organism is killed, the other kind won't survive for very long. Symbiotic relationships are present everywhere - even in your own backyard.

There are three types of symbiotic relationships - mutualism, commensalism and parasitism.

MUTUALISM is a type of symbiosis in which BOTH members of the relationship benefit.

An example of mutualism is bees and flowers. Bees depend on the flower for nectar, which is a food source for them. They also use the flower's pollen as a source of protein that is necessary for them to live. Flowers depend on bees to spread their pollen around, which allows the flowers to reproduce. Without the bees, the flowers would not have as good a chance to spread their pollen and the flowers could not distribute their offspring very far. So in this relationship, both the bees and the flowers benefit.

In tropical America, there is a plant called the bullhorn acacia, which has swollen thorns with hollow interiors. These thorns provide a place for a certain species of ants to lay their eggs and raise their young. The ants also feed from the acacia's nectar without harming it. In return, the ants protect the acacia from herbivorous insects that may want to eat the acacia's leaves or bark and damage the tree.

Did you know that YOU are also part of symbiotic relationship? Humans have certain helpful bacteria inside their intestinal tract. The bacteria helps us digest some foods and they also make vitamins that we can't make ourselves. What do the bacteria get in return? They get a nice, warm place to live and a constant food supply. Not bad, eh?

COMMENSALISM is a type of symbiosis in which one member benefits, and the other member neither benefits nor is harmed.

Commensalism occurs with barnacles and whales. The barnacles attach themselves to the back of whales, which doesn't hurt the whales, but there is no benefit to them. The barnacles get a home and method of transportation

Sea anemones are marine animals with stinging tentacles that paralyze most fish they touch - but not the clownfish. The clownfish lives among the tentacles, so it gains protection from predator fish and eats the leftovers of the sea anemone's meals. The sea anemone isn't effected in any way by the presence of the clownfish.

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