Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Blog #2 Coral Reefs ~ Symbiotic relationships between organisms By Brandon Carter

Symbiotic Relationships describes the long term or short term relationship between two species.  It is taken from a Greek word syn meaning “with” and biosis meaning “living.  There are five different types of symbiotic relationships and they are Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism, Competition, and Neutralism.  These relationships are important to ecosystems because without them most ecosystems would not function correctly (Symbiosis”).
Mutualism is when both the host species and the dependent species are benefited.  One example of Mutualism is when Zooxanthellae benefits from the coral's waste products.  The benefit for the coral is when the Zooxanthellae turns the waste products into substances which help promote the coral's growth ("Examples of Mutualism").
Commensalism is a relationship between two species of organisms, where one species takes advantage of the other without causing the other any harm.  There are many examples of Commensalism that take place within coral reefs, but one that everyone will not forget is an example that comes from Finding Nemo.  Nemo and his father who are clownfish live in sea anemones.  Sea anemones typically capture their prey by paralyzing them with discharged cnidoblasts, but clownfish mucus inhibits the discharge of these cnidoblasts.  Due to the clownfish ability to inhabit the discharge, they benefit by having a protected home.  The sea anemones do not benefit from sheltering of the clownfish though (“Commensalism”).
Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship where the parasite gains benefits at the expense of the host organism.  Most parasites live by feeding off of their host.  For example, Isopods which look like wood lice have a flattened body shape for streamlining against the body of their host.  They use complex sucker-like organs to attach to the body and a set of sharp mandibles.  An interesting adaptation of isopods is their ability to mouth only half their exoskeleton at a time, unlike most crustaceans, which shed their entire exoskeleton at once. Isopods benefit from feeding off their host, but the host does not benefit and can be harmed because of this (Abbott).
Competition occurs between organisms when there are limited resources.  Wherever there is more than one organism that is on the same level in the food web, competition will always occur.  In the coral reef competition starts to occur when it comes to living conditions, and eating conditions.  Many crabs will fight one another for a better living condition or better place to eat (Sharov).  
Lastly is Neutralism, which is a relationship where both the species remain unaffected.  Within the Coral Reef, many of these symbiotic relationships are constantly taking place every day.  One examples of symbiotic relationship in Coral Reefs is that inside the sac of each coral polyo, lives one-celled algae called Zooxanthellae.  The algae gives off oxygen and the other nutrients that the coral polyp needs to live and in return the polyp gives the algae carbon dioxide and the other substances the algae needs ("CORAL REEF SYMBIOSIS - Coral Reefs - Ocean World").









Works Cited
Abbott, Dave. "Parasitim." Symbiosis. May 2000. Web. 25 April 2011.
“Commensalism.” Encyclo. Web. 25 April 2011. "CORAL REEF SYMBIOSIS - Coral Reefs –
Ocean World." Welcome to OceanWorld – Bringing the Ocean to the Classroom. 28
April 2005. Web. 25 April 2011.
"Examples of Mutualism." Christian Brothers University. Web. 25 April 2011.
Sharov, Alexei. “Competition between Species.” MA. 14 April 1997. Web. 25 April 2011.  

“Symbiosis.” User. Web. 25 April 2011.

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