Good Buddies 

 Introduction:

Many organisms live together in extremely close relationships within an ecosystem.  Symbiosis is the term for any biological relationship between organisms living in close association or direct contact with each other.  These relationships play an important part of the community structure in ecosystems.  There are three distinctly different types of symbiotic relationships depending on the nature of the benefits and costs to those organisms involved.  Mutualism describes a case in which both organisms benefit from the association.  Commensalism concerns an interaction that benefits one organism but does not harm the other.  In Parasitism, one organism is dependent on another for its energy supply and usually harms its host or exists at its expense to some extent.  The complex interplay of these relationships demonstrates the intricate nature of the interdependence of organisms within any environment.

National Standards Addressed:

The standard of Regulation and Behavior fits under the category of life science because this lesson helps to describe behaviors of organisms and how they can help, harm, or have no effect on other organisms in their environment.  Scientists who are trying to discover the reasoning behind the relationship often study these behaviors.

Populations and Ecosystems is another standard in the category of life science.  This lesson fits this standard because it involves showing how populations living in an ecosystem effect each other.

Objectives and Benchmarks:

This activity explores a wide variety of symbiotic relationships within different ecosystems and demonstrates how these contribute to the intricate interdependent structures of living communities.   Students will be able to recognize symbiosis and identify examples of mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

Materials:

Good Buddy Cards            Reference Materials

Advanced Preparation:

            Make Good Buddy Cards from the List on the Next Page 

            Print Just the Paired Organism Terms that are Appropriate for Your Students

            (The Symbiosis Key is for A Teacher Reference)

            You Can Add More By Expanding Examples They Understand (Dogs & Fleas, Zebras & Ticks)

Use Large Type and Put One Pair per Line Across the Page

            Space Lines Apart on Sheets so they can be cut apart into Strips by Pairs

            Laminate Sheets or Cover with Clear Contact Paper and Cut into Strips with Pairs

            Make a Unique Jagged or Curved Cut Between each Pair

Procedure:

Each student will receive a card with the name of an organism.  Each of these organisms is part of a pair of organisms that live in some sort of symbiotic relationship with each other.  Have the students find the two other people in the class whose cards match up with theirs by comparing the unique separation patterns in the middle of the names of the living things. 

Have students go to the library, or use class books and spend 15 minutes with their partner researching the nature of the symbiotic relationship.

In each case be sure that students describe how the organisms live together.  Also they should identify the nature of the interdependence as mutualism, commensalism, or parasitism.  They should describe the advantages and/or disadvantages to each participant and indicate the ecosystems where these pairs would be found. 

Members of the class should share their symbiotic relationships by describing the organisms, telling where they are found and discussing the type and nature of their relationship.

Things to Consider:

List symbiotic relationships that fall into each of the three categories: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

For at least one of each type of symbiotic relationship, consider a food web that these organisms are involved in. 

Integration:

English can be integrated into this lesson because students will need library and writing skills to complete the lesson.

Critical Concepts:

Symbiosis            Commensalism             Mutualism            Parasitises

Good Buddy Pairs                                                                Type of Symbiosis (FYI)

Barnacle                            Whale                                      Commensalism

Algae                                Aquatic Turtles                      Commensalism

Remora                             Shark                                       Mutualism

Eel                                     Coral                                      Mutualism

Hermit Crab                   Sea Anemone                         Mutualism

Bass                                 Wrasse Fish                             Mutualism

Clownfish                       Sea Anemone                           Mutualism

Blood Fluke                     Snail                                         Parasitism

Flea                                  Mouse                                    Parasitism

Deer                                Tick                                            Parasitism

Honey Bees                    Flowers                                   Mutualism  

Monarch Butterfly         Milkweed                                   Mutualism

Yucca                             Yucca Moth                               Mutualism

Ants                                 Acacia                                       Mutualism

Lice                                Horses                                     Parasitism

Nematodes                    Sheep                                       Parasitism

Enteric Bacteria             Cows                                       Mutualism

Saguaro Cactus             Gila Woodpeckers                  Commensalism

Honey Guide Bird          Badger                                    Mutualism

Cowbird                          Bison                                      Commensalism

Human                           Tapeworm                               Parasitism                 

Honey Bees                   Flowers                                    Mutualism

Mycorrhizal Fungus     Corn                                          Mutualism

Lichen Algae                  Lichen Fungus                       Mutualism

Shelf Fungus                Hickory Tree                         Parasitism

Spanish Moss             Oak Tree                                Commensalism

Orchids                          Trees                                    Commensalism

Spruce                          Mistletoe                               Parasitism

Rhizobium Bacteria      Legumes                                Mutualism

Crocodile Bird              Crocodile                            Commensalism

Rhinoceros                    Oxpecker Bird                     Mutualism

Algae                             Sloth                                     Mutualism

E. coli                            Humans                               Mutualism

Moss                              Maple Tree                         Commensalism

Leaf-cutter Ants           Fungus                                Mutualism

Algae                            Convoluta Flat worm           Mutualism

Woodpecker                   Pine Tree                            Parasitism

Wren                               Osprey                              Commensalism

White Rot Fungus          Oak Tree                            Parasitism

Starling                           Mite                                     Parasitism