- The study of ecology analyzes relationships between organisms and their environment. - For example, in the depiction on the left, the rattlesnake has developed heat-sensing abilities that help it “see” its prey (the mouse) in the dark. The mouse comes out at night to feed, and anything that preys on it must have adaptations for hunting in the dark. - Three different levels of focus are (1) individual, (2) population, and (3) community. - One aspect of community ecology involves studying interspecific competition (competition between different species). - Community ecology looks for evidence of coevolution, the reciprocal evolution of two or more species. - (Remember: Evolution is a population-level phenomenon.) - Two examples of coevolution: - 1. Small mammals/birds (left): If a small mammal evolves behavior to avoid flying predators, it will escape predation until the predator, in this case a bird, also evolves a mechanism for identifying the prey. - 2. Edible fruit of plants/mammals: Why is fruit so tasty? It is a successful strategy of the plant to promote seed dispersal.

- You can analyze interspecific interactions by their effects on the populations involved. - Predators kill and eat other organisms (prey). - Parasites are specialized predators that live in or on a host. - Parasitoids (generally insects) lay eggs on living hosts; the larvae feed on and kill the host.

camouflage, aposematic, and mimicry

- Organisms have evolved many defenses against predation. Camouflage, or cryptic coloration, enables prey to hide from predators and avoid being eaten. The frog in the illustration on the left blends in well with its environment. Aposematic (warning) coloration provides an advertisement that the prey item is poisonous or otherwise unpalatable. For the strategy to be successful, the prey population must be large enough for the predator to learn about—and subsequently avoid—noxious individuals. - In mimicry, species imitate other, more-dangerous species. An example is the hawkmoth larva (not shown), which has a snake-like face on its posterior end. In Batesian mimicry, a harmless species mimics a harmful one. In Mullerian mimicry, two unpalatable species resemble each other. Both species are similarly marked with aposematic colorings/markings.

Aposematic coloration is

- coloration used to warn predators away from the prey

- changes in two populations of different species where a change in one population drives a change in the other population.

The study of ecology encompases three levels of complexity: __________, __________ and __________.

- individual; population; community

14.6.1 Community Ecology: Interspecific Interaction: Predation Flashcards by Irina Soloshenko

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14.6.1 Community Ecology: Interspecific Interaction: Predation Flashcards

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