Ecological Relationships

Barnacles create home sites by attaching themselves to whales.  The whale is unaffected.  

• commensalism
• mutualism
• predation
• laziness

Honey guide birds alert and direct badgers to bee hives.  The badgers then expose the hives and feed on the honey first.  Then the honey guide birds eat.  

• mutualism
• commensalism
• predation
• competition

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS2-6

Remoras attach themselves to a shark's body. They then travel with the shak and feed on the left over scraps from the shark's meals.

• commensalism
• mutualism
• predation
• competition

As buffalos walk through grass, insects become active and are seen and eaten by cowbirds.  

• commensalism
• mutualism
• competition 
• predation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

A cuckoo may lay its eggs in a warbler's nest.  The cuckoo's young will displace (or move) the warbler's young and will be raised by the warbler.  

• Parasitism
• Commensalism
• Predation
• Competition

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

Wrasse fish feed on the parasites found on the black sea bass's body. 

• Mutualism
• Commensalism
• Predation
• Competition

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

Hermit Crabs live in shells made and then abandoned by snails.  

• Commensalism
• Mutualism
• Competition
• Parasitism

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

Yucca flowers are pollinated by yucca moths. The moths lay their eggs in the flowers where the larvae hatch and eat some of the developing seeds.  

• Mutualism
• Commensalism
• Parasitism
• Competition

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-4

Ostriches and Gazelles feed next to each other.  They both watch for predators and alert each other to danger.  Since the visual abilities of the two species are different, they can each identify threats the other animal would not as readily see.  

• Parasitism
• Commensalism
•  Mutualism 
• Competition.  

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

Mistletoe extracts water and nutrients from the spruce tree to the trees detriment.  

• Parasitism
• Mutualism
• Commensalism
• Predation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2