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TYPES
OF INTERRELATIONSHIPS |
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| MUTUALISM: both species benefit from interaction | |
 A
common example of mutualism is the interrelationship between flower and
pollinator |
 Another
common example is payment of fruit for seed dispersal |
| COMPETITION: both species (or individuals) lose from interaction | |
 When
a scarce resource (food, shelter, mates, etc.) is shared, often competition
is the result |
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| PREDATION: the predator gains by killing and eating the prey (who loses) | |
 Here
a gila monster eats a mouse |
 Another
example is this crab spider eating this butterfly. |
| PARASITISM: the parasite gains by feeding on the host (loses) | |
 Desert
mistletoe takes water and nutrients from this desert ironwood. |
 This
praying mantis egg case has been parasitized by a wasp whose larvae fed
on the mantids and then chewed their way out of the egg case. |
| COMMENSALISM: the commensal gains while the host is unaffected | |
 A
gopher snake uses an abandoned rodent hole. |
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