BIOL 313 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Amphiprioninae, Biodiversity Hotspot, Coevolution

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 313
• Professor: Kyla Flanagan

Document Summary

Mutualism is a type of mutually beneficial interactions between members of different species. In contrast with predator-prey and host-parasite interaction that have negative effects on one of the species. The interaction may be best thought of as reciprocal exploitation or controlled parasitism which is not necessarily always cooperative. This relation plays a fundamental role in many ecosystems. The bacteria take (unstable) nitrogen out of the environment and convert it into a usable form that is taken up by plants. Facultative mutualism is an interaction in which two species provide fitness benefits to each other by the interaction is not necessary to the persistence of either species. Aphids get a ride to and from their food source. Ants stroke the aphids to get their food source, a sticky resin called honeydew which is high in energy. By stroking the aphids, the ants are essentially milking the aphids.