FILIO, JONATHAN JOSHUA M.

Mutualism Examples
1. The partnership between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and leguminous plants
2. Associations between tree roots and certain fungi
3. Acacia ants inhabit the bullhorn acacia. The ants obtain food and shelter, and the
acacia depends on the ants for protection from browsing animals, which the ants
drive away.
4. Yucca moths are dependent on yucca plants (Yucca) and vice versa: the moth
acts as pollinator at the same time that she lays her eggs in the seedpods of the
yucca.
5. The bird oxpecker lives on the rhino and removes all bugs and parasites on the
animal skin by eating them. The Rhino provides the bird with food and in return,
the bugs removed from the skin of the rhino.
Amensalism Examples
1. The black walnut, which secretes juglone, a substance that destroys many
herbaceous plants within its root zone.
2. When cattle trample on grass, the grass is crushed. However, the cattle do not
benefit from this action nor is harmed in the process.
3. Air pollution caused by automobiles, electricity generating stations, or metal
smelters often causes severe damage to lichens and plants in the affected area,
whereas humans receive no direct benefit from this relationship.
4. Birds, mammals, and other wildlife that suffer habitat loss when forests are clear-
cut to provide wood for industrial purposes. Although humans derive economic
benefits from harvesting the timber, there are no benefits to people from the
damage caused to habitat.
5. Penicillium secretes penicillin which kills bacteria
Protocooperation Examples
1. Predatory birds sit on cattle is an example of protocooperation as the bird feed
on ectoparasites like leech, lice, etc.
2. The ant searches for food on trees and shrubs that are hosts to honeydew-
secreting species such as aphids, mealybugs, and some scales. The ant gathers
the sugary substance and takes it to its nest as food for its offspring.
3. Protocooperation can occur in birds. The Egyptian plover removes insect pests
from the backs of buffalo, antelope, giraffes, and rhinos. The cattle egret in
America as well does the same task of removing the unwanted insects and
parasites.
 4. The flowers of plants that are pollinated by insects and birds benefit from
protocooperation. The plants, particularly those with large bright colourful flowers
bearing nectar glands, experience cross pollination because of the insects
activities. This is beneficial to the insect that has got the food supply of pollen
and nectar required for its survival.
5. Certain fish perform the task of cleaning other fish, by removing ectoparasites,
cleaning wounded flesh, and getting rid of dead flesh.
Commensalism Examples
1. Nurse plants are larger plants that offer protection to seedlings from the weather
and herbivores, giving them an opportunity to grow.
2. Tree frogs use plants as protection.
3. Golden jackals, once they have been expelled from a pack, will trail a tiger to
feed on the remains of its kills.
4. Cattle egrets eat the insects stirred up by cattle when they are grazing. The cattle
are unaffected, while the birds gain food.
5. The burdock plant produces spiny seeds that cling to the fur of animals or
clothing of humans. The plants rely on this method of seed dispersal for
reproduction, while the animals are unaffected.
Parasitism Examples
1. An example is the barnacle Sacculina, which degenerates the gonads of crabs
such that males develop the appearance of females.
2. Examples of human parasites include roundworms, leeches, ticks, lice, and
mites.
3. Aphids are small green insects that parasitize plants by eating their sap.
4. Many types of fungi can also attack plants and can spoil wheat, fruit, and
vegetables.
5. Entomophagous parasites are insects that parasitize other insects. Usually these
parasites attack larva, or young insects.
Predation Examples
1. An example of carnivorous predation is lion hunting zebras, rhinos, buffalo, and
wolves.
2. Another example of carnivorous predation is when wolves hunt large herbivores
such as deer, sheep, and elk.
3. Owls seem like innocent birds; however, they are predators for mice. Owls also
eat other things such as frogs, snakes, lizards, rabbits, and squirrels.
 4. Examples of other herbivore predation are cow eating grass, goat and sheep
eating plant leaves, monkeys eating fruits, gorillas eating soft stems and leaves
of the plant.
5. Some plants have also shown carnivorous behavior such as pitcher plant
captures and digesting the flies. Similarly, venus flytraps also work in the same
manner. These plants are usually found in soils that are not very rich in nutrients.
Competition Examples
1. An example among animals could be the case of cheetahs and lions; since both
species feed on similar prey, they are negatively impacted by the presence of the
other because they will have less food, however they persist together, despite
the prediction that under competition one will displace the other.
2. Plants compete for light exposure, temperature, humidity, pollinators, soil
nutrients and growing space.
3. Microbes compete for chemical substrates
4. Interference competition happens when one organism devises a way of
interfering with another organism’s access to mutually desired resources. For
example, walnut trees produce deadly toxins in the soil, and pine trees change
the natural pH of the soil to keep competitors at bay
5. Indirect competition does not involve direct confrontation; for example, non-
migratory sparrows may build nests in bluebird houses before the migratory
bluebirds return to their home from the previous season.