Ecological Relationships Study Questions

Which relationship benefits one organism without harming or helping the other?

• Mutualism

• Commensalism

• Parasitism

• Predation

Cattle egrets often follow cattle and eat insects that are disturbed by the movement of the cattle. The cattle are unaffected. What type of relationship is this?

• Mutualism

• Parasitism

• Commensalism

• Competition

Which of the following are mutualistic relationships?

• Bees pollinating flowers

• Mosquitoes feeding on blood

• Bacteria in a cow’s stomach helping digest food

• Barnacles on a whale

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A fungus kills off a tree species that provides food for insects, which are then eaten by birds. What is the most likely effect on the bird population?

• It will increase

• It will stay the same

• It will decrease

• It will become a producer

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If a top predator is removed from an ecosystem, what effects might occur?

• Prey populations increase

• Producer populations decrease

• More competition among herbivores

• Parasitism increases automatically

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Ticks feed on the blood of deer, weakening the host. What relationship is this?

• Commensalism

• Parasitism

• Mutualism

• Competition

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Which of the following are examples of parasitism?

• Tapeworm in a dog’s intestine

• Mistletoe drawing nutrients from a tree

• Owl hunting a mouse

• Remora fish riding on a shark

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A new species of fish is introduced and eats all the same food as a native fish. What kind of relationship is this, and what might happen?

• Commensalism; both benefit

• Parasitism; the native fish thrives

• Competition; the native fish may decline

• Mutualism; both populations grow

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Select all relationships where both organisms benefit:

• Cleaner fish removing parasites from sharks

• Cows and bacteria in their gut

• Lion hunting a zebra

• Bee collecting nectar from a flower

A remora fish attaches to a shark and eats scraps from its meals without affecting the shark. What is this relationship?

• Mutualism

• Parasitism

• Commensalism

• Predation