Species Interaction Exercise
Homework 4, which calls for three observations of species interacting with other species.
The first observation is of a child and his dog. Easy enough, a species (dog) that has been domesticated so much by another species (human) as to be totally dependent upon the human for food and shelter and entertainment and love.
The second observation is of a manzantia tree growing in such as way as to rest upon the coast live oak tree. It's an example of commensalism.
The third observation is of two squirrels exploring around and on the tree for food. These squirrels rely on the tree for food (like nuts) as well as shelter.
(Homework 4, Fed. 28)
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris)Observer
agerlachDescription
saw this dog and this boy playing on the field near vlsb on campus. the dog was entirely dependent on the boy in terms of entertainment (in this case, playing fetch) and also probably food and shelter. the dog in question was also a labrador retriever, a particularly happy-go-lucky and loyal breed that essentially lives to please its humans.
Photos / Sounds
What
Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)Observer
agerlachDescription
saw two squirrels interacting with each other. they were kind of on their own until a human being (me) approached them to take pictures, then they moved closer to each other and the tree. the tree seemed to be an object of security and protection for them -- which makes sense since squirrels make homes and storage centers out of trees.
Photos / Sounds
What
Dicots (Class Magnoliopsida)Observer
agerlachDescription
saw this tree a while ago and then remembered it for this exercise. what i liked was that it was two tree species interacting in a commensalism relationship. like, the tree on top is clearly using the bottom tree for support, but the bottom tree's health doesn't really seem affected by this weird growth pattern.
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