1	CONSUMPTION Herbivory, Predation and Parasitism Organisms are a desirable resource for other organisms. In a consumption relationship one species benefits (+) and the other is harmed (-).
2	Reading Assignment The Reading for today’s lecture is Chapter 53, especially pages 1220-1227. Review of the disease lectures may be useful. Role of ‘quasi-species’ in disease is a new idea.
3	Herbivory, Parasitism and Predation Because plants are autotrophs and the source of animal food, herbivory is distinguished from predation. Also eaten plant is rarely killed. Predators are generally bigger than their prey and kill the prey instantly. Parasites are smaller than their host and normally do not kill the host.
4	Herbivory Either roots or shoots eaten, not both. Animals consume plants as food, but plants may gain “mobility” in space when animals bring pollen and disperse fruits. Plants have a variety of ways that they defend themselves against being eaten including being hard to digest.
5	Plant defenses against herbivores Prickles, spines and hairs. Compounds that taste bad and/or are harmful. Propagules resistant to desiccation (seeds). Hard structures that make them difficult to consume (silica in grasses). Much of most plants is below ground.
6	Overgrazed Pastures Animals can destroy all the vegetation in a habitat, but only do so when confined to a small area. Too high a stocking rate of grazers will reduce the potential of vegetation to provide nourishment in the future. Grazing is managed to maintain the future productivity of the land.
7	Why is the World green? Top-down model: Herbivore limited by predators Poor nutrition model: animals can’t grow enough Plant defense model: plants aren’t all eaten because they protect themselves Landscape model: Animals move to more favorable patch before present patch gone.
8	Using defensive compounds to one’s own advantage Milkweeds produce a poison that stops many herbivores from eating the plant. Monarch butterfly caterpillars not only have overcome the negative effects of this poison, they store the poison in their own body and it protects the butterfly from birds. Bright colors often signify ‘poison’.
9	Parasitism and Disease Infectious diseases are caused by viruses or organisms. The disease causing organism must be able to find a host (colonization) and then successfully overcome host defenses. Air, water, and animal vectors potentially bring disease to an individual.
10	Malaria as a parasite A protista, Plasmodium, that infects two hosts Humans Mosquitoes Multiple morphological forms in both hosts Multiple defenses are known in humans Sickle cell allele of beta hemoglobin HLA-B53 individuals with this allele display a protein on cell surface that causes other cells to kill that cell.
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12	How do individuals defend themselves
13	Quasi-species A new concept of viral diseases looks at the virus not as a genotype but rather as a population of genotypes. The virus has a high mutation rate and it needs the variation generated by mutation to effectively colonize diverse tissues.
14	Meta-analysis Studies which make observations and measurements of the natural world are called primary research Studies of models are called theoretical research Studies of primary studies, looking for consistent patterns are known as ‘meta-analysis’
15	Parasites may manipulate the host Infected individuals may behave differently than uninfected ones. If the altered behavior benefits the parasite, we say the parasite manipulated the host. Flatworm presence results in snail behavior that increases risk snail will be eaten by hawk which is next host in a complex life cycle.
16	Predation Organisms are a rich source of material and food for other organisms. Predators are fast and powerful with good senses of a wide environment, but they have low abundances. Prey defend themselves in diverse ways.
17	Including Camouflage
18	Mimicry Black, yellow and white – not a tasty sight.
19	Inducible Defenses When changes in the environment result in changes in an individual, the response of the individual is said to be inducible. The example discussed in the book is shell thickness in mussels. Plants respond to leaf damage by producing defensive compounds.
20	Predator Control Humans have hunted animals for food for many years. Plant eating animals are the preferred food source. Animals that eat the same animals as humans hunt are viewed as competitors. Control of other predators has increased the abundance of many prey species.
21	Vocabulary Producer Herbivore Parasite Predator Vector Disease Inducible defenses Camouflage Keystone species Meta-analysis Over-fishing Predator control