I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends.... Or Maybe Not.....

The second assignment for this week was to show how organisms interact in our ecosystem.  There are multiple types of ecological interactions.  In some of them, both organisms benefit.  In others, one benefits and the other is either not affected or negatively affected.

I was able to catch a perfect example of mutualism when I got home from school.  Mutualism is the interaction where both species are able to benefit from the relationship.  In this picture, you see a yellow swallowtail butterfly lit on a lilac bush.  The butterfly was flitting all around the bush collecting nectar from this bunch of flowers and then on to another bunch.  It was fascinating to watch.  With each landing, it would quickly dart its proboscis into the flower to collect the nectar. 

Now this sounds all well and good for the butterfly, but how does the lilac benefit?  While the butterfly is drinking, pollen sticks to its legs.  As the butterfly moves around the flowers, the pollen is transferred to the other flowers.  Pollination takes place and new seeds are produced enabling the  plant to reproduce.  In this case, it's a colorful (and fragrant) example of mutualism.

Until next time,

Clara