Living organisms constantly interact with each other, but the result of this is different for everyone. Some get benefits, others get nothing, and still others lose their ability to exist normally. A negative relationship when one of the organisms necessarily "loses" from communication with the other is an antibiosis. Let's talk about how it manifests itself and what, in general, its essence.
What is antibiosis? Relationship types of living things
Surviving and spreading your genes is the most important task of any organism on our planet. For his sake, he does not hesitate to fight with competitors, suppress the weak, or, conversely, unite with other individuals in order to act more effectively. Based on this, the relationship between living things can be:
- positive - where one or both benefit;
- neutral - where no one affects anyone;
- negative - where someone is inevitably harmed.
The last type of cooperation is antibiosis, which literally translates “against life” from the Greek language. With this interaction, one organism does not allow another to develop, poisoning it, suppressing or blocking access to the necessary resources. Antibiosis can occur in various forms, unilaterally and bilaterally. Among its main varieties distinguish:
- amensalism;
- allelopathy;
- the competition.
Often parasitism and predation are also attributed to him.
Antibiosis can exist both in the form of a behavioral model of animals, and at the microbiological level, where the main participants in the relationship are bacteria, viruses, fungi and other organisms. It arises in the struggle for a resource or territory, in the confrontation for dominance, and also manifests itself as a preventive measure to prevent possible negative consequences.
Amensalism
At its core, amenismism is an antibiosis in which a negative influence affects only one participant in the relationship. At the same time, the other participant does not always get tangible benefits for himself. So, animals or people, walking along the same natural routes, crush grass and prevent it from developing normally. Over time, she completely disappears from the path, forming bald, lifeless paths.
Another example of antibiosis is the relationship of plants in the forest. Fast-growing trees with tall trunks and a branched crown obscure smaller species, preventing the sun from reaching the lower tiers. As a result, only those who manage to adapt to a small amount of light survive, while the rest die from a lack of this resource. The same thing happens with plants whose root system is less developed than their neighbors.
Allelopathy
Allelopathy is one of the most sophisticated types of antibiosis, because the negative influence of organisms on each other is due to their physiological characteristics. It manifests itself in the form of secretions and various fluids that interfere with the development of other species. For example, the acid of lactic acid bacteria creates an unfavorable environment for the life of putrefactive bacteria and prevents them from multiplying. A number of mold fungi secrete penicillin, which suppresses many neighboring microorganisms.
More often, allelopathy is observed in fungi, plants and bacteria. The main harmful substances they produce are:
- Marazmins. Substances like ammonia and aldehydes, which produce microorganisms to inhibit the growth and reproduction of higher plants.
- Colins. Produced by higher plants and directed against other higher plants.
- Antibiotics. They are secreted by actinomycetes and non-mycelial bacteria and act against other bacteria and some viruses.
- Volatile Volatile substances that inhibit the vital activity of simple microorganisms, bacteria and microscopic fungi.
Competition
Competition between animals and plants is everywhere. This is a fairly common form of antibiosis, in which organisms confront each other, competing for food, territory and other benefits. Competition can occur among representatives of the same species, one flock or population, and may also be interspecific.
In wildlife, it can often be observed during mating, when animals fight for dominance and the right to possess a female. In each species, competition takes on completely different forms. For example, in deer it manifests itself in large and branched horns, the size of which is important for females to make a decision, as well as in skirmishes between males. In lions, the essence is reduced to a duel and splendor of mane, in birds - to splendor of plumage and the beauty of singing.
An example of interspecific competition is the indirect struggle for food between locusts and ground squirrels, sheep and other animals. The plaque of large swarms of locusts can completely destroy hectares of meadows and fields, leaving no food for herbivores, mammals, birds and insects.
Predation
Predators are called organisms that feed on other organisms. Previously, they usually kill them. This type of relationship is characteristic mainly for animals, but it also occurs among plants and fungi.
The tactics of catching and killing a victim can be very different. Representatives of cats prefer to wait for prey, hiding in an ambush, and then abruptly attack it with a long sudden jump. Wolves and other canines identify the victim by smell and track it. Snakes, spiders and some insects use poison, which paralyzes the prey, making it completely motionless. The venus flytrap plant lures insects with a bright smell, and when they sit on its bivalve flower, it closes it like a wallet.
Parasitism
Parasitism is an example of antibiosis in which one organism uses the other as a source of necessary resources or habitat. It is characteristic of bacteria, fungi, some plants, as well as invertebrates, such as annelids, mollusks, protozoa, arthropods.
Mosquitoes and ticks bite the host, feeding on its blood. Various worms and mollusks can settle in the body of animals to feed on them and lay larvae in them. Thus, tapeworm larvae enter the host organism from water or soil and develop in its intestines. Some gastropods live on the needles of sea urchins, invading their base, and laying eggs there.
Many parasites harm the host and even lead to his death. They deplete the body in which they live, damage its organs, and are also carriers of dangerous diseases. Some mosquitoes carry fever and malaria, and ticks infect animals with encephalitis and Lyme disease.