PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Specialist
A specialist is a species that can only thrive in a narrow range of environmental conditions or has a limited diet. An example of this is the orchid mantis that can only thrive in places where orchids are common.
Generalists
A generalist is a species that is able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources. An example of this is the raccoon because they anything from blueberries to trash and live in many locations across the world.
Comformers
A conformer is any organism whose internal environment is highly influenced by external factors. An example of this is the black mamba because it is a cold-blooded animal which means its body temperature is based on the temperature in the biosphere at the time.
Regulators
Regulators are any organism that can maintain a constant internal environment largely independently of the external environment. An example of this is a human because we can maintain an average 98.6 body temperature in any weather conditions.
Mutualism
Mutualism is the way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other. An example of this is the zebra and the oxpecker because the oxpecker picks gnats and ticks carrying parasites off the zebra which gives them food.
Parasitism
Parasitism describes a relationship between two organisms where one benefits, and the other is harmed. An example of this is the mosquito because it sucks our blood and gets food from us and other animals while we get a swollen, itchy bug bite on our body for the next couple of days.
Commensalism
Commensalism is a relationship between individuals of two species in which one species obtains food or other benefits from the other without either harming or benefiting the latter. An example of this is the clownfish because they hide sea anemones to protect themselves from their predators.
Predation
Predation is a form of symbiotic relationship between two organisms of unlike species in which one of them acts as predator that captures and feeds on the other organism that serves as the prey. An example of this is a fox eating a rabbit.
Competition
Competition is an interaction between organisms or species in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another. An example of this is a squirrel and a chipmunk because they both live off of eating the same things and if they are in the same habitat, they have to compete to survive.
