Study of different

population interaction with

examples

Certificate
Acknowledgement
 INDEX
1 OBJECTIVE
2 INTRODUCTION
3 REVIEW
4 NEED AND IMPORTANCE
5 CONTENT/METHOD
6 OBSERVATION AND VIEWS
7 CONCLUSION
8 REFERENCES
 Objectives
 To study about population Interaction
and its various types.
 To review and understand about
various researches done on the topic.
 To share the observations and
opinions.
 Conclusion on population interaction.
 Introduction
Population Interaction
A population is defined as a group of
individuals of the same species. The
interrelationship between the individuals
in an ecosystem is termed population
interaction. The organisms in an
interaction are most likely to be
influenced by each other either
positively, negatively, or neutral. It
consists of
 Mutualism (+/+)
 Competition (-/-)
 Predation (+/-)
 Parasitism (+/-)
 Commensalism (+/o)
 Amensalism (-/o)
Need and Importance of Population
Interaction:-
Interaction of different population is needed for
maintaining the balance of different species of
organisms in the Ecosystem. It takes into account the
effects that Organisms belonging to a community
have on everybody else and one another. Predation
keeps the prey population under check, so as to
maintain an ecological balance. Weak and less
efficient members in the prey population are removed.
Most important significance is in the practical utility of
prey predator relationship on biological control of
weeds and pests. Many insect pests are kept under
check by introducing their predator into the area. For
eg., Opuntia which becomes a serious problem in
Australia was brought under control by introducing its
natural herbivore Cactoblastis (cochineal insects).
Some bacteria that reside within the human digestive
system also live in mutualistic symbiosis with
humans. These bacteria aid in the digestion of organic
compounds that otherwise would not be digested.
They also produce vitamins and hormone-like
compounds. In addition to digestion, these bacteria
are important to the development of a healthy immune
system. The bacteria benefit from the partnership by
having access to nutrients and a safe place to grow.
Introduction to Predation
- A. Minelli

Predation is the ecological process by which energy

is transferred from living animal to living animal
based on the behavior of a predator that captures
and kills a prey before eating it. Predators occupy
the upper levels of food chains. This top position
helps explain their generally low density, frequently
spaced distribution, and usually small total biomass.
In terms of conservation, this is sometimes critical
for the survival of local predator populations.
Effective predation requires structural, functional,
and behavioral adaptations whose nature depends
on the general bodily organization and size of the
predator, the kind of predatory strategy adopted, the
general environmental conditions where predation is
practiced, and the defensive strategies of the
available preys.
Risk of Parasite Infection
-Iain Barber and Niels J. Dingemanse

Although variation in almost any behavioural trait has the

potential to generate individual differences in parasite
exposure, behaviours commonly accepted as major axes
of personality may be particularly important. For example,
variation among individuals in the extent to which they
approach novel entities in their environment (i.e. neophilia)
may determine whether they are exposed to previously
un-encountered sources of infection, predisposing more
exploratory individuals to infection with novel parasites
and generating a cost of exploration. Similarly, individual
variation in social behaviour (e.g. Pike et al. 2008; Croft et
al. 2009; Dingemanse et al. 2009) may influence the level
of exposure to directly transmitted parasites, with less
social individuals acquiring fewer parasites.
Mutualism
Kayla R. S. Hale, Fernanda S. Valdovinos and Neo D. Martinez 
Abstract-
Ecosystems are composed of complex networks of many
species interacting in different ways. While ecologists
have long studied food webs of feeding interactions,
recent studies increasingly focus on mutualistic networks
including plants that exchange food for reproductive
services provided by animals such as pollinators. Here, we
synthesize both types of consumer-resource interactions
to better understand the controversial effects of mutualism
on ecosystems at the species, guild, and whole-
community levels. We find that consumer-resource
mechanisms underlying plant-pollinator mutualisms can
increase persistence, productivity, abundance, and
temporal stability of both mutualists and non-mutualists in
food webs. These effects strongly increase with floral
reward productivity and are qualitatively robust to variation
in the prevalence of mutualism and pollinators feeding
upon resources in addition to rewards. This work
advances the ability of mechanistic network theory to
synthesize different types of interactions and illustrates
how mutualism can enhance the diversity, stability, and
function of complex ecosystems.
Amensalism and Commensalism
-Akihiko Mougi

Abstract-

Ecological communities comprise diverse species and

their interactions. Notably, ecological and evolutionary
studies have revealed that reciprocal interactions such as
predator–prey, competition, and mutualism, are key
drivers of community dynamics. However, there is an
argument that many species interactions are asymmetric,
where one species unilaterally affects another species
(amensalism or commensalism). This raises the
unanswered question of what is the role of unilateral
interactions in community dynamics. Here I use a
theoretical approach to demonstrate that unilateral
interactions greatly enhance community stability. The
results suggested that amensalism and commensalism
were more stabilizing than symmetrical interactions, such
as competition and mutualism, but they were less
stabilizing than an asymmetric antagonistic interaction. A
mix of unilateral interactions increased stability.
Furthermore, in communities with all interaction types,
unilateral interactions tended to increase stability. This
study suggests that unilateral interactions play a major
role in maintaining communities, underlining the need to
further investigate their roles in ecosystem dynamics.
Commensalism
Commensalism is a class of relationships between two
organisms where one organism benefits from the other
without affecting it.
The commensal (the species that benefits from the
association) may obtain nutrients, shelter, support, or
locomotion from the host species, which is substantially
unaffected.
The commensal relation is often between a larger host
and a smaller commensal; the host organism is
unmodified, whereas the commensal species may show
great structural adaptation consonant with its habits, as in
the remoras that ride attached to sharks and other fishes
(example).
Parasitism
• Parasitism is a non-mutual symbiotic relationship
between species, where one species, the parasite,
benefits at the expense of the other, the host.
• Parasites can be micro parasites, which are typically
smaller, such as protozoa, viruses, and bacteria Examples
of parasites include the plants mistletoe and cuscuta, and
animals such as hookworms.
• Parasites typically do not kill their host, are generally
much smaller than their host, and will often live in or on
their host for an extended period.
Predation
It is a negative, direct food related interspecific interaction
between two species of animals in which larger species
called predator attacks, kills and feeds on the smaller
species called prey.
• Predator population adversely affect the growth and
survival of smaller prey population and therefore predation
is considered an antagonistic interaction.
• Example:- Plant like Nepenthes (pitcher plant), Drosera
(sundew), Dionoeae (Venus fly trap) etc. feed on insects
to fulfil their nitrogen requirement.
• Some predators (such as frog) act as prey for others
(snake) which in turn are prey to a higher carnivores
(eagle).
Mutualism
It is a positive interspecific interaction in which members of
two different species favour the growth and survival each
other and their association is obligatory.
Both the partners are benefitted by this interaction.
• Mutualism is also referred as symbiosis or symbiotic
interaction and the partners are referred as symbionts.
• Example:- Termites (white ants) are not capable of
digesting wood, which they ingest as food. A multi
flagellate protozoan Trichonympha campanula, which lives
in the intestine of white ant secretes cellulase enzyme to
digest the cellulose of wood. In return, the ant provides
food and shelter to the protozoan.
Observations
 Predation affects almost every aspect of animal life, from
foraging to mating to habitat selection. It impacts not
only animal behavior, but also can have a dramatic effect on
such life-history variables as development time.
 A mutualistic relationship exists between humans and
microbes, such as yeast and bacteria. Billions of bacteria live
on your skin in either commensalistic (beneficial to the
bacteria but do not help or harm the host) or mutualistic
relationships. In return, the bacteria receive nutrients and a
place to live.
 In commensalism, one organism benefits while the other is
unaffected.
 In the study of community ecology, competition within and
between members of a species is an important  biological
interaction. Competition is one of many
interacting biotic and abiotic factors that
affect community structure, species diversity, and population
dynamics (shifts in a population over time)
 Without important factors like predation, competition,
amensalism, commensalism, parasitism, etc there would be
proper balance among living organisms.
 Conclusion
 In animals, competition is a strategy mainly adopted by
larger and stronger organisms within a habitat. As such,
populations with high interference competition have
adult-driven generation cycles.

 In Commensalism one species benefits without harming

the other.
 In Mutualism both species are benefitted.
 In Parasitism one species benefits by harming the other.
 Predation plays a significant role in the recruitment and
population dynamics of marine fishes. The broad variety
of predators that consume fishes, coupled with the
potential for the removal of large portions of the
available population, make it likely that predation is an
important part of observed fluctuations of fish
populations.
 References
Introduction to Predation
A. Minelli, in Encyclopedia of Ecology, 2008

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-
biological-sciences/predation
Risk of Parasite Infection
Iain Barber and Niels J. Dingemanse
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2992744/
Mutualism
Kayla R. S. Hale, Fernanda S. Valdovinos and Neo D. Martinez
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-15688-w#Fig1
Ammensalism and Commensalism
Akihiko Mougi
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4942820/