Intraspecific and Interspecific Relationships Flashcards
The stalking and killing of other species, aggression directed at its members of the same species to establish dominance, or attacks delivered when an animal is cornered or approached by another animal.
Aggressive Behaviour
A threat display by an individual defending a resource (food, territory, mate(s), etc.) and attempting to avoid harmful conflict.
Agonistic Behaviour
Greek letters used to designate hierarchy member’s status - alphas are the dominant male and female, next down may be one or more beta individuals.
Alpha/Beta
Interaction in which an individual, called an altruist, increases the chances of survival of other individuals due to its sacrificial behaviour.
Cooperative Interactions
Ritualised displays used to attract a mate and which may eventually lead to mating and reproduction (sometimes used to reinforce a pair-bond).
Courtship
Occurs when an individual within a group enforces their place in a hierarchy, often using agonistic behaviours.
Dominance
A type of intraspecific interaction where a group has individuals that are dominant or submissive to other members of the group.
Hierarchy
The area in which an animal lives and moves around in. Related to the concept of ‘territory’ which is the area that is actively defended.
Home range
Interactions between organisms/members of the same species.
Intraspecific relationship
Altruistic behaviour towards closely related individuals that share some of the same genes.
Kin selection
A mating system where one male and one female form an exclusive social pair bond.
Monogamy
Behaviours displayed by parents in the raising of offspring including feeding, defending from predation and teaching behaviours necessary for survival.
Parental care
Time and energy expended in finding a mate and successfully reproducing.
Reproductive effort
Male and female members of a species show different body appendages, sizes, and/or colouration - particularly common in birds.
Sexual dimorphism
Animal behaviour in which an individual attempts through appeasement displays to avoid injury by a dominant member of its group.
Submissive
The area actively defended from intrusion by members of the same species and occasionally from animals of other species.
Territory
When an organism releases biochemicals which influence the growth, development and survival of other organisms.
Allelopathy
A family of anti-predator adaptations in which a warning signal is associated with the unpalatability/danger of prey to potential predators.
Aposematism
A harmless species evolves to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a potential predator of them both.
Batesian mimicry
A parasite that lays eggs in another species’ nest in the expectation that the species will raise the parasite’s offspring.
Brood parasite
Body structured and/or colouration that makes an organism blend in visually with its environment.
Camouflage
An interspecific relationship where one organism benefits and the other drives neither benefit or harm.
Commensalism
A plant that grows on another plant, especially one that is not parasitic, such as those that grow on tree trunks in the canopy of forests.
Epiphyte
Competition where organisms indirectly compete with other organisms for resources to limit the resources available.
Exploitation
The principle that similar species can not/will not co-exist (for long) in the same ecological niche.
Gause’s principle
The place where an organism or a population normally lives or occurs.
Habitat
A parasite that only gets a portion of its nutrient requirements from its host.
Hemi-parasitic
The ingestion of plant material by herbivores. It usually does not involve the consumption or death of the entire plant.
Herbivory
Competition of resources between members of different species.
Interspecific competition
Occurs when two different species evolve at the same/very similar structures and/or colouration as warnings to potential predators.
Mullerian Mimicry
A type of interspecific relationship where both species benefit from the interaction.
Mutualism
Where an organism fits into an ecological community or ecosystem.
Niche
A type of interspecific relationship where one species benefits at the expense of a host species on/in which it lives.
Parasitism
The act of killing and consuming a prey animal.
Predation
An animal that relies on the hunting, killing, and consumption of prey animals.
Predator
An animal that is pursued by another animal species that intends to kill and consume it.
Prey
Occurs when two species live in close proximity and interact because one can not survive without the other.
Symbiosis
