Interdependent Relationships
In a complex forest system, there is a constant fight and struggle for the necessities of life such as light, water, nutrients, food, protection, energy etc. Surviving individually is ineffective as the animal or plant is exposed to all sorts of dangers. In the forest, animals are interdependent and their relationships can be described as symbiosis and antagonism.
Mutualism: an association between 2 organisms of different species whereby both benefit.
Mutualism occurs all the time in the forest. A common example is that the insects feed on nectar of flowers, and in the same time, carry pollen from one flower to another, pollinating the flowers. Some plants in the forest have ant holes to providing a home to certain species of ants. In turn, the soldier ants will protect the leaves of the trees from being eaten by other insects. Some plants even have special troughs full of sugar solution to attract ants.
Commensalism: a relationship between 2 species whereby one (the commensal) benefits from the association and the other neither benefits nor suffers.
Some species of millipede and silverfish inhabit the nests of army ants. They feed on the leftovers of the ants without disturbing them.
Parasitism: a relationship whereby 1 species (parasite) lives on or in another organism (the host) for, often harming the host during the process. Parasites living in the host are called endoparasites and those living on the host are called ectoparasites. Endoparasites include liver flukes, tapeworm etc. and ectoparasites include fleas, lice etc.