B.12A Relationships among Organisms 🏖️

Spores of the fungus Ustilago maydis land and grow on sweet corn. The fungus then infects the plant tissue, extracting nutrients from the plant's cells.

the relationship between sweet corn and Ustilago maydis can best be described as--

• competition

• commensalism

• predation

• parasitism

Match the following relationships with their descriptions.

• Relationship where organisms COMPETE for the same resources

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• Relationship where one organism benefits and the other is not harmed nor helped

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• Relationship where host is harmed by parasite (+-)

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• Predator and prey relationship, where one organism hunts and prey on another.

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• Relationship between species, where both benefit from each other. (++)

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Leaf cutter ants harvest leaves and carry them to fungi that convert plant material into usable form for the ants to digest. The fungi depend on the leaves for nutrients. The ants also produce an antibiotic on their bodies that helps protect the fungi from harmful bacteria.

Which of these explains the relationship between the leaf-cutter ants and the fungi?

• Predation, because the ants feed on the fungi

• Mutualism, because both the ants and the fungi benefit from each other

• Competition, because both organism consume the same resource for energy

• Commensalism, because the ants receive energy from the fungi and the fungi are unaffected

In some coral reefs, a symbiotic relationship exists between pygmy sea horses and sea fans. The pygmy seahorse can wrap its tail around the branches of the sea fan. This allows the pygmy seahorse to be camouflaged within the sea fan, protecting it from predators. The pygmy sea horse does not harm or benefit the sea fan while it grasp the branches with its tail.

What is the correct classification of this symbiotic relationship?

• Predator/prey

• Mutualism

• Commensalism

• Parasite/host

In an experiment, two plants are grown together and then separated. Plant 2 is a parasite of plant 1.

Which graph best predicts the growth of plant 1 and plant 2 during the experiment?

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Which table best identifies the ecological relationships among the gray wolf, hyena, and goats?

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The diagrams show a partial food web containing the Glyptapanteles wasp and the life cycle of this wasp.

Based on the two diagrams, which lists correctly identifies the relationships Glyptapanteles wasp larvae have with other organisms?

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The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is a large, flat fish that spends most of its time in deep water feeding mainly on jelly fish. Sunfish often have many species of copepods, small crustaceans, that bury their heads into the soft tissue of the sunfish. Sunfish will swim to the surface of the water and lie sideways, allowing seabirds to eat the copepods from their skin.

Which lists describes the types of relationships the sunfish has with other marine organisms?

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When a mosquito bites you, you are the __________ and the mosquito is the  ____________.

• host, hostess
• parasite, host
• host, parasite
• prey, predator

A clownfish uses a sea anenome as a safe place to live. While living there, the clownfish lures in food for the anenome. This is an example of what type of relationship?

• Predator-Prey
• Commensalism
• Mutualism
• Parasitism