Symbiosis

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes parasitism?

• Both organisms benefit

• One organism benefits and the other is unharmed

• One organism benefits and the other is harmed

• Both organisms are harmed

Multiple Choice

Why don’t parasites usually want to kill their hosts?

• Because killing is against nature

• Because they would lose their food and shelter

• Because they become best friends with their hosts

• Because their hosts are too strong

Multiple Choice

Which of these is an example of mutualism?

• Fleas biting a dog

• Ladybugs eating aphids on a plant

• Mites living on human skin without harming us

• Tapeworms stealing nutrients from a host

Open Ended

What is the advantage and disadvantage of this relationship to each bird?

Open Ended

What would happen to the cowbird population if the oriole population decreased?

Multiple Choice

What type of symbiosis is this?

• mutualism

• parasitism

• commensalism

Open Ended

What is the advantage and disadvantage of this relationship to each organism?

Open Ended

What would happen to the mistletoe population if mesquite trees increase in number?

Multiple Choice

What type of symbiosis is this?

• mutualism

• parasitism

• commensalism

Open Ended

What is the advantage and disadvantage of this relationship to each organism?

Open Ended

What would happen to the hummingbird population if the ocotillo decreases in number?

Multiple Choice

What type of symbiosis is this?

• mutualism

• parasitism

• commensalism

Open Ended

What is the advantage and disadvantage of this relationship to each organism?

Open Ended

What would happen to the wren if the cactus decreases in number?

Multiple Choice

What type of symbiosis is this?

• mutualism

• parasitism

• commensalism

Categorize

Options (19)

both organisms benefit

one organism benefits, the other is harmed

one organism benefits, and one is unaffected

🐦 A hummingbird drinks nectar from a flower and spreads its pollen.

🐞 A ladybug eats harmful aphids from a plant.

👤 Gut bacteria in a human help digest food and make vitamins.

🐜 Ants protect acacia trees from predators, and the tree gives them food and shelter.

🐕 A flea bites a dog and feeds on its blood.

🐍 A tapeworm lives in a cow’s intestine and steals nutrients.

🌿 Mistletoe grows on a mesquite tree and sucks its nutrients.

🐦 A cuckoo lays its eggs in another bird’s nest, and the host raises the baby cuckoo.

🦠 A virus infects a human and causes illness.

🐛 Aphids feed on plant sap and harm the plant.

🌳 A barnacle attaches to a whale to catch passing food.

🕷️ A spider builds a web on a tree branch for support.

🦈 Remora rides a shark and eats leftovers.

🐜 Mites eat dead skin on humans.

🐚 Limpet clings to a rock for shelter.

🪲 Pseudoscorpion rides under a beetle's wing.

Put the examples into the correct categories.

Mutualism

Parasitism

Commensalism