In every community, there are many different kinds of relationships in which species work together, or the other way around. Usually it is in the form of competition or symbiosis. Interspecific competition is competition between two different species, and intraspecific competition is between two organisms of the same species. The competitive exclusion principle comes from this, in which no two species can occupy the same niche in the same place at the same time. One will always out - compete the other, and the more successful organism will take over. In symbiosis, two species willl live very close together and interact with them daily.
Competition and Symbiosis
As in any other community, there is competition in Haiti. After the earthquake, the competition increased since resources were limited. Both interspecific and intraspecific competition can be found there. In interspecfic competition, the humans compete for the resouces with all the other animal species in the area. This would include all the animals in the ecological pyramid, such as the insects, lizard, fish, shrimp, mice, chicken, goat, birds, mongoose, dogs, cats, badgers, flamingo, and any other animal. They all compete for food, water, and space; all the resouces that were affected by the earthquake. For interspecfic competition, the humans compete between themselves, and families will fight for space, food, water, and other resources. The same goes between all the different animal species, who have their own interspecfic competition relationships.
In this competition, it can be either predation or herbivory. In predation, which is when a consumer or predator kills and eats another, an example for Haiti could be when the humans catch and trap small animals such as squirrels, chimpmunks, lizards, and birds. Sometimes they cook them and eat them, and at other times they may not. This was affected because the amount of animals decreased, therefore the amount of predation decreased as it became harder to find prey, and the humans turned to herbivory instead. This did not help much since herbs were destroyed in the earthquake as well, so the demand for them was increased. In herbivory, the humans ate the few cocoa, rice, radish, okra, coffee, and other plants left, and didn't plant any as they were consuming.
In symbiosis, there are three different kinds of relationships that can occur between two different organisms:
Parasitism - (One organism or parasite will live on or in another host, harming the host.) One example of many is how the humans eat the eggs of animals in the area, but since the bird population decreased so did their eggs, so humans may not have as many eggs to eat anymore, therfore forcing them to find a different food source. [ +/ - ]
Mutualism - (Both species benifit.) In Haiti, the humans attempted to plant herbs and trees and the bees or bird population tried to pollinate and spread the seeds. Because of the earthquake, supplies decreased as well as the species population, therefore the planting cycle was affected. No one was growing new plants, and if they were, there were not enough bees or birds to spread the seeds to make more plants. [ +/+ ]
Commensalism - (One species benifits, other is unaffected.) The humans used the dead and fallen trees after the earthquake to their benifit by using them to make their houses or shelter, or as firewood for heat and cooking. This was not harming the trees since they would have died anyway and they wern't rooted into the ground. This was affected because after the earthquake there was an increased amount of fallen trees, but it was so great that it harmed the ecosystem since many animals lost their shelter and food source. The fallen trees could not pollinate, spread, or grow anymore, and this affected the resource usage. [ - /o ]
In this competition, it can be either predation or herbivory. In predation, which is when a consumer or predator kills and eats another, an example for Haiti could be when the humans catch and trap small animals such as squirrels, chimpmunks, lizards, and birds. Sometimes they cook them and eat them, and at other times they may not. This was affected because the amount of animals decreased, therefore the amount of predation decreased as it became harder to find prey, and the humans turned to herbivory instead. This did not help much since herbs were destroyed in the earthquake as well, so the demand for them was increased. In herbivory, the humans ate the few cocoa, rice, radish, okra, coffee, and other plants left, and didn't plant any as they were consuming.
In symbiosis, there are three different kinds of relationships that can occur between two different organisms:
Parasitism - (One organism or parasite will live on or in another host, harming the host.) One example of many is how the humans eat the eggs of animals in the area, but since the bird population decreased so did their eggs, so humans may not have as many eggs to eat anymore, therfore forcing them to find a different food source. [ +/ - ]
Mutualism - (Both species benifit.) In Haiti, the humans attempted to plant herbs and trees and the bees or bird population tried to pollinate and spread the seeds. Because of the earthquake, supplies decreased as well as the species population, therefore the planting cycle was affected. No one was growing new plants, and if they were, there were not enough bees or birds to spread the seeds to make more plants. [ +/+ ]
Commensalism - (One species benifits, other is unaffected.) The humans used the dead and fallen trees after the earthquake to their benifit by using them to make their houses or shelter, or as firewood for heat and cooking. This was not harming the trees since they would have died anyway and they wern't rooted into the ground. This was affected because after the earthquake there was an increased amount of fallen trees, but it was so great that it harmed the ecosystem since many animals lost their shelter and food source. The fallen trees could not pollinate, spread, or grow anymore, and this affected the resource usage. [ - /o ]