1

A Strong Partner for Sustainable Development

Module
in

GEE4
Course Code

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

CAFES
 2

Module 4

SPECIES
INTERACTION,
POPULATIONS, AND
COMMUNITIES

2nd Semester AY 2021-2022

Abegail P. Arpon
Instructor

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 3

Table of Contents

CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE

Table of Contents 3
Instruction to the User 4
Introduction 5
Chapter 1 6
Title of the Chapter 6
Overview 6
Learning Outcomes 6
Time Allotment 6
Pre-test 6
Lesson 1
Learning outcomes 8
Discussion 8
Activities/Exercises 16
Evaluation/Post-test 18
References 19
Student Information 19
Core Values 20

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 4

INSTRUCTION TO THE USER

This module would provide you an educational experience while

independently accomplishing the task at your own pace or time. It aims as well
to ensure that learning is unhampered by health and other challenges. It covers
the topic about ____________________________________.

Reminders in using this module:

1. Keep this material neat and intact.

2. Answer the pretest first to measure what you know and what to be learned
about the topic discussed in this module.
3. Accomplish the activities and exercises as aids and reinforcement for
better understanding of the lessons.
4. Answer the post-test to evaluate your learning.
5. Do not take pictures in any parts of this module nor post it to social media
platforms.
6. Value this module for your own learning by heartily and honestly
answering and doing the exercises and activities. Time and effort were
spent in the preparation in order that learning will still continue amidst
this Covid-19 pandemic.
7. Observe health protocols: wear mask, sanitize and maintain physical
distancing.

Hi! I’m Blue Bee, your WPU Mascot.

Welcome to Western Philippines University!

Shape your dreams with quality learning experience.

STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY!

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 5

INTRODUCTION

When we took a tour through population ecology, we mostly looked at populations

of individual species in isolation. In reality, though, populations of one species are rarely
—if ever!—isolated from populations of other species.
In most cases, many species share a habitat, and the interactions between them play a
major role in regulating population growth and abundance.
Together, the populations of all the different species that live together in an area
make up what's called an ecological community. For instance, if we wanted to describe
the ecological community of a coral reef, we would include the populations of every
single type of organism we could find, from coral species to fish species to the single-
celled, photosynthetic algae living in the corals. For a healthy reef, that comes out to a
whole lot of different species!
Community ecologists seek to understand what drive the patterns of species
coexistence, diversity, and distribution that we see in nature. A core part of how they
address these questions is by examining how different species in a community interact
with each other. Interactions between two or more species are called interspecific
interactions – inert means “between”.

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 6

Chapter 3
Species Interaction, Populations, & Communities
Overview
Ecological interactions can be defined as either intra-specific or inter-specific.
Intra-specific interactions are those that occur between individuals of the same species,
while interactions that occur between two or more species are called inter-specific
interactions. However, since most species occur within ecological communities, these
interactions can be affected by, and indirectly influence, other species and their
interactions. The ones that will be discussed in this article are competition, predation,
herbivory and symbiosis. These are not the only types of species interactions, just the
most studied — and they are all parts of a larger network of interactions that make up the
complex relationships occurring in nature.
Time Allotment: 2 hrs.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the chapter, the students can;
1. Differentiate the species interactions,
2. Identify organisms that exhibit J and S population growth curve and to which
strategists it belongs to,
3. Explain the importance of understanding population in the context of diversity.
Pre-test
Try to answer honestly the following given below. Don’t you worry this is not included to
your grade.
1. It requires one individual, the predator, to kill and eat another individual, the prey.
a. Predator c. Cannibalism
b. Predation d. Canibal

2. It is actually quite common in both aquatic and terrestrial food webs.

a. Predator c. Cannibalism
b. Predation d. Canibal
3. It is most typically considered the interaction of individuals that vie for a common
resource that is in limited supply, but more generally can be defined as the direct or
indirect interaction of organisms that leads to a change in fitness when the
organisms share the same resource.
a. Predation c. competition
b. Symbiosis d. None of the above
4. An interaction characterized by two or more species living purposefully in direct
contact with each other.
a. Predation c. competition
b. Symbiosis d. None of the above
5. An interaction in which one individual benefit while the other is neither helped nor
harmed.
a. Commensalism c. Parasitism
b. Mutualism d. Herbivory

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 7

Lesson 1
A. Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, you can;
1. Differentiate and describe the three species interactions,
2. Define the three major types of symbiosis

B. Discussion
SPECIES INTERACTIONS

PREDATION AND HERBIVORY

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 8

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 9

Another interaction that is much like predation is herbivory, which is

when an individual feeds on all or part of a photosynthetic organism (plant or
algae), possibly killing it (Gurevitch et al. 2006). An important difference
between herbivory and predation is that herbivory does not always lead to the
death of the individual. Herbivory is often the foundation of food webs since it
involves the consumption of primary producers (organisms that convert light
energy to chemical energy through photosynthesis).
Herbivores are classified based on
the part of the plant consumed.
Granivores eat seeds; grazers eat grasses
and low shrubs; browsers eat leaves
from trees or shrubs; and frugivores eat
fruits. Plants, like prey, also have
evolved adaptations to herbivory.
Tolerance is the ability to minimize
negative effects resulting from
herbivory, while resistance means that
plants use defenses to avoid being
consumed. Physical (for example,
thorns, tough material, sticky
substances) and chemical adaptations
(for example, irritating toxins on
piercing structures, and bad-tasting
chemicals in leaves) are two common
types of plant defenses (Gurevitch et al. 2006).

SYMBIOSIS:

MUTUALISM, COMMENSALISM AND PARASITISM

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 10

Symbiosis is an interaction characterized by two or more species living

purposefully in direct contact with each other. The term "symbiosis" includes a
broad range of species interactions but typically refers to three major types:
mutualism, commensalism and parasitism. Mutualism is a symbiotic
interaction where both or all individuals benefit from the relationship.
Mutualism can be considered obligate or facultative. (Be aware that sometimes
the term "symbiosis" is used specifically to mean mutualism.) Species involved
in obligate mutualism cannot survive without the relationship, while
facultative mutualistic species can survive individually when separated but
often not as well (Aaron et al. 1996).
For example, leafcutter ants and certain fungi have an obligate
mutualistic relationship. The ant larvae eat only one kind of fungi, and the
fungi cannot survive without the
constant care of the ants. As a result, the
colonies activities revolve around
cultivating the fungi. They provide it
with digested leaf material, can sense if a
leaf species is harmful to the fungi, and
keep it free from pests.
A good example of a facultative
mutualistic relationship is found
between mycorrhizal fungi and plant
roots. It has been suggested that 80% of
vascular plants form relationships with
mycorrhizal fungi (Deacon 2006). Yet
the relationship can turn parasitic when
the environment of the fungi is nutrient
rich, because the plant no longer
provides a benefit (Johnson et al. 1997).

Commensalism

Commensalism is an interaction in which one individual benefits while

the other is neither helped nor harmed. For example, orchids (examples of
epiphytes) found in tropical rainforests grow on the branches of trees in order
to access light, but the presence
of the orchids does not affect
the trees (Figure 7).
Commensalism can be difficult
to identify because the
individual that benefits may
have indirect effects on the
other individual that are not
readily noticeable or
detectable. If the orchid from
the previous example grew too

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 11

large and broke off the branch or shaded the tree, then the relationship would
become parasitic.

Parasitism occurs when one individual, the parasite, benefits from

another individual, the host, while harming the host in the process. Parasites
feed on host tissue or fluids and can be found within (endoparasites) or outside
(ectoparasites) of the host body (Holomuzki et al. 2010). For example,
different species of ticks are common ectoparasites on animals and humans.
Parasitism of prey species can indirectly alter the interactions of associated
predators, other prey of the predators, and their own prey. When a parasite
influences the competitive interaction between two species, it is termed
parasite-mediated competition (Figure 8).

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 12

Lesson 2
A. Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, you can;
1. Define and differentiate the two population growth models,
2. Discuss the J and S curve, and K and r strategists.

B. Discussion
POPULATION GROWTH MODELS

Population Growth
The two simplest models of population growth use deterministic
equations (equations that do not account for random events) to describe
the rate of change in the size of a population over time. The first of these
models, exponential growth, describes populations that increase in
numbers without any limits to their growth. The second model, logistic

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 13

growth, introduces limits to reproductive growth that become more intense

as the population size increases.
Exponential Growth - population that increases at a fixed rate
Charles Darwin, in developing his theory of natural selection, was
influenced by the English clergyman Thomas Malthus. Malthus published
his book in 1798 stating that populations with abundant nnatural resources
grow very rapidly. However, they limit further growth by depleting their
resources. The early pattern of accelerating population size is called
exponential growth (Figure 1).
The best example of exponential growth in organisms is seen in
bacteria. Bacteria are prokaryotes that reproduce quickly, about an hour for
many species. If 1000 bacteria are placed in a large flask with an abundant
supply of nutrients (so the nutrients will not become quickly depleted), the
number of bacteria will have doubled from 1000 to 2000 after just an hour.
In another hour, each of the 2000 bacteria will divide, producing 4000
bacteria. After the third hour, there should be 8000 bacteria in the flask.
The important concept of exponential growth is that the growth rate—the
number of organisms added in each reproductive generation—is itself
increasing; that is, the population size is increasing at a greater and greater
rate. After 24 of these cycles, the population would have increased from
1000 to more than 16 billion bacteria. When the population size, N, is
plotted over time, a J-shaped growth curve is produced (Figure 1).

J-Curve

Intrinsic rate of increase (r) – rate the

population of a species would grow if it had
unlimited resources
Individuals in populations with high r
– Reproduce early in life
– Have short generation times
– Can reproduce many times
– Have many offspring each time
they reproduce

Logistic Growth - rapid exponential population growth followed

by a steady decrease in population growth
- S-Curve
• Environmental resistance – combination of all factors
that act to limit the growth of a population
• Carrying capacity (K) – maximum population of a
given species that a habitat can sustain indefinitely
without being degraded

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 14

Extended exponential growth is possible only when infinite natural

resources are available; this is not the case in the real world. Charles
Darwin recognized this fact in his description of the “struggle for
existence,” which states that individuals will compete, with members of
their own or other species, for limited resources. The successful ones are
more likely to survive and pass on the traits that made them successful to
the next generation at a greater rate (natural selection). To model the
reality of limited resources, population ecologists developed the logistic
growth model.

Carrying Capacity and the Logistic Model

In the real world, with its limited resources, exponential growth cannot
continue indefinitely. Exponential growth may occur in environments
where there are few individuals and plentiful resources, but when the
number of individuals gets large enough, resources will be depleted and the
growth rate will slow down. Eventually, the growth rate will plateau or level
off (Figure 1). This population size, which is determined by the maximum
population size that a particular environment can sustain, is called the
carrying capacity, symbolized as K. In real populations, a growing
population often overshoots its carrying capacity and the death rate
increases beyond the birth rate causing the population size to decline back
to the carrying capacity or below it. Most populations usually fluctuate
around the carrying capacity in an undulating fashion rather than existing
right at it.
A graph of logistic growth yields the S-shaped curve (Figure 1). It is a more
realistic model of population growth than exponential growth. There are
three different sections to an S-shaped curve. Initially, growth is
exponential because there are few individuals and ample resources
available. Then, as resources begin to become limited, the growth rate
decreases. Finally, the growth rate levels off at the carrying capacity of the
environment, with little change in population number over time.

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 15

Examples of Logistic Growth

Yeast, a unicellular fungus used to make bread and alcoholic beverages,
exhibits the classical S-shaped curve when grown in a test tube (Figure 2a). Its
growth levels off as the population depletes the nutrients that are necessary for
its growth. In the real world, however, there are variations to this idealized
curve. Examples in wild populations include sheep and harbor seals (Figure
2b). In both examples, the population size exceeds the carrying capacity for
short periods of time and then falls below the carrying capacity afterwards.
This fluctuation in population size continues to occur as the population
oscillates around its carrying capacity. Still, even with this oscillation the
logistic model is confirmed.

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 16

Population Dynamics and Regulation

The logistic model of population growth, while valid in many natural

populations and a useful model, is a simplification of real-world population
dynamics. Implicit in the model is that the carrying capacity of the
environment does not change, which is not the case. The carrying capacity
varies annually.

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 17

Demographic-Based Population Models

Population ecologists have hypothesized that suites of characteristics

may evolve in species that lead to particular adaptations to their environments.
These adaptations impact the kind of population growth their species
experience. Life history characteristics such as birth rates, age at first
reproduction, the numbers of offspring, and even death rates evolve just like
anatomy or behavior, leading to adaptations that affect population growth.
Population ecologists have described a continuum of life-history “strategies”
with K-selected species on one end and r-selected species on the other. K-
selected species are adapted to stable, predictable environments. Populations
of K-selected species tend to exist close to their carrying capacity. These
species tend to have larger, but fewer, offspring and contribute large amounts
of resources to each offspring. Elephants would be an example of a K-selected
species. r-selected species are adapted to unstable and unpredictable
environments. They have large numbers of small offspring. Animals that are r-
selected do not provide a lot of resources or parental care to offspring, and the
offspring are relatively self-sufficient at birth.

Life Histories of K-selected and r-selected Species

While reproductive strategies play a key role in life histories, they do not
account for important factors like limited resources and competition. The
regulation of population growth by these factors can be used to introduce a
classical concept in population biology, that of K-selected versus r-selected
species.

Early Theories about Life History: K-selected and r-selected Species

By the second half of the twentieth century, the concept of K- and r-selected
species was used extensively and successfully to study populations. The
concept relates not only reproductive strategies, but also to a species’ habitat
and behavior, especially in the way that they obtain resources and care for
their young. It includes length of life and survivorship factors as well. For this
analysis, population biologists have grouped species into the two large
categories—K-selected and r-selected—although they are really two ends of a
continuum.

Phases of Logistic Growth Curve

1. Lag Phase – little initial growth.
2. Rapid Growth Phase
3. Stable Phase – stabilizing factors limit
growth
Species Reproductive Patterns
• r-Selected species, opportunists – species with a capacity for a high rate
of population increase
 Many small offspring
 Little to no parental care or protection

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 18

 Reproductive opportunists

• K-selected species, competitors – reproduce later in life and have a

small number of offspring with fairly long life spans
 Few large offspring
 High parental care

Positions of r- and K-Selected Species on the S-Shaped Population Growth

Curve

Transitioning between J and S curves…

Carry capacity isn’t fixed
– Varies depending on climate and season
– Unpredictable changes can be devastating to the species AND
the habitat
– Reproductive time lag – period needed for the birth rate to fall and
the death rate to rise in response to resource overconsumption
– May lead to overshoot
– Dieback (crash)

r-Curve Fluctuations

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 19

C. Evaluation/Post-test
DIRECTION: Choose the correct answer. Write your answer in the space
provided.

1. It requires one individual, the predator, to kill and eat another individual,
the prey.
a. Predator
b. Predation
c. Cannibalism
d. Canibal
2. It is actually quite common in both aquatic and terrestrial food webs.

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 20

a. Predator
b. Predation
c. Cannibalism
d. Canibal
3. It is most typically considered the interaction of individuals that vie for a
common resource that is in limited supply, but more generally can be defined
as the direct or indirect interaction of organisms that leads to a change in
fitness when the organisms share the same resource.
a. Predation
b. Symbiosis
c. competition
d. None of the above
4. An interaction characterized by two or more species living purposefully in
direct contact with each other.
a. Predation
b. Symbiosis
c. competition
d. None of the above
5. Commensalism is an interaction in which one individual benefit while the
other is neither helped nor harmed.
a. Commensalism
b. Mutualism
c. Parasitism
d. Herbivory

References
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/species-interactions-and-
competition-102131429/#:~:text=Symbiosis%20is%20an%20interaction
%20characterized,%3A%20mutualism%2C%20commensalism%20and
%20parasitism.
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/ecology-ap/community-
ecology/a/interactions-in-communities#:~:text=Together%2C%20the
%20populations%20of%20all,what's%20called%20an%20ecological
%20community.&text=Interactions%20between%20two%20or%20more,inter
%2D%20means%20%22between.%22

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 21

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/ecology-ap/population-
ecology-ap/a/exponential-logistic-growth
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-monroe-environmentalbiology/
chapter/4-2-population-growth-and-regulation/

Congratulations for completing this module!

Privacy Notice for Module

For this Module, we collect your name, program, year and section, contact number, email
address, Facebook and messenger account when you submit your printed module for
purposes of coordination and communication.

All personal information collected will be stored in a secure location and only authorized
staff will have access to them.

Student’s Information

Name:
Program:
Year and Section:
Contact No.:
E-mail address:
Facebook Account:
Messenger Account:

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

Vision 2020
WPU: the leading knowledge center for sustainable
development of West Philippines and beyond.

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

 22

Mission
WPU commits to develop quality human resource and green
technologies for a dynamic economy and sustainable
development through relevant instruction,
research and extension services.

Core Values (3CT)

Culture of Excellence
Commitment
Creativity
Teamwork

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)

WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)