How Does Interactions Between Biological Systems Create Complexity?

The interaction between biological systems creates complexity because of the vast interactions in species. There are predator prey relationships that rely on a balance between the two. If there is too many of one and not enough of another there is an imbalance that throws off the food chain. The imbalance of the food chain affects all the organisms in that community. There are many communities where humans are the cause in the imbalance and the food chain flips. Primary consumers over power tertiary consumers and the food chain soon collapse. There has to be all aspects of the tropic levels in order for a community to work. This includes detritivores, things like fungi and bacteria, who transfer the energy from the top of the food chain back to the bottom.

There are many symbiotic relationships in biological systems. There is mutualism which means both sides benefit from the interaction. An example of this is a bird picking an alligator’s teeth clean. The bird benefits with a meal and the alligator gets a healthy mouth. In this case, the alligator’s mouth also serves as resource. Commensalism is when one species benefits and the other sees no effect. An example of this is fish picking up the left overs after a sharks meal, again serving as a resource. Parasitism is when one species benefits and the other is harmed. This is seen in harmful bacteria, such as the ones that cause West Nile, and in harmful worms such as tape worms. These are often the cause of mass deaths in a population and can also collapse a food chain.

There is also interaction between predators. This is when competition arises and there is competitive exclusion. Competitive exclusion is an organism that fails to obtain a competitive resource and can kill of a population in a community or cause migration. When competitive exclusion does not arise character displacement and resource partitioning occurs. Character displacement is a population in a community that adapts to a realized niche in...