Question

Dentify the interaction used to describe each type of interdependence among organisms. The red-billed oxpecker (a bird) eats ticks off the fur of an impala (a type of antelope). The oxpecker receives food and removes the ticks from the impala. Titan triggerfish move large rocks in the ocean to find food. In return, smaller fish are able to eat because the moved rocks expose food. The titan triggerfish are not affected.

Answer 1

The correct answer is mutualism and commensalism.

Step-by-step explanation:

An ecological relationship is the interaction of species or organisms living in an ecosystem depending on environmental conditions and food webs. This interaction could be inter-specific (between two species) or intra-specific (among same species).

According to the question, there are two cases of interaction which shows the following interaction:

1. The Oxpecker and Impala- an example of "mutualism" as both the bird and impala are benefited as bird receives food and ticks are removed from impala.

2. Titan Triggerfish and smaller fish- an example of "commensalism" as Tigerfish is not affected while small fishes get benefited by the movement of large fish.

Thus, mutualism and commensalism is the correct answer.

Answer 2

The type of the interaction that defines the type of interdependent relationship among the given organism is as follows:

1. The red-billed oxpecker eating ticks off the fur of the impala shows mutualism. The oxpecker receives food by eating the ticks and the impala get rids of the ticks. Here, both the organisms are benefiting from their relationship, and hence, it is mutualism.

2. The titan triggerfish moves large rocks to find food, which in turn helps other smaller fishes to eat the exposed food. In this relationship, the smaller fishes are benefiting while the triggerfish is neither harmed or benefited. Hence, this shows commensalism.