In a biological community, living beings establish relations with the environment in which they live and with the rest of the organisms that inhabit it, whether or not they are the same species. Many individuals of the same species live in groups and therefore interact with each other. The comparative method between species suggests that group formation is due to two main pressures: predation and limitation of resources. Thus, life in groups seems to be a response to security and the defense of resources. These interactions are called intra -specific relationships and if you want to know more about them in ecology, we explain to you What are intraespecific relationships with examples.
What are intraespecific relationships
The Intraespecific relationships are those that appear between individuals of the same speciesbeing able to be also within the same population or between different populations. Due to these relationships, individuals are organized in temporary or more durable group associations, even throughout life, temporary and perennial groups are respectively called.
These relationships have a series of consequences in the lives of individuals. There are a series of pros and cons, but the fact that these associations exist means that the pros are very beneficial. Among the pros, or Benefits of intra -specific relationshipsinclude:
- A greater capacity to defend against predators or adverse environmental conditions.
- Greater ease to find a partner and reproduce.
- A greater capacity to search and find food.
- A greater capacity to divide the work.
Likewise, you also have some consespecially the Competition for resources (Water, nutrients, light, shadow, etc.) and the territory when there are too many individuals in the group.
In most associations, “friction of coexistence” occurs, either because of the resources, by the couple or the territory, and are usually resolved agonisticly, that is, through fights. In some associations they are established complex social relations where there is a social hierarchy (dominant and subordinate) and individual recognition.
Types of intraespecific relationships and examples
In broad strokes we differentiate Two types of intra -specific relationshipscompetition and cooperation:
- The competence It occurs when there are no resources (food, territory) enough for everyone, to reproduce or for being the dominant or marking the social range. The result is usually a conflict that ends the expulsion of the group, submission or even with the death of the individuals who fight.
- However, in the cooperation relationships Individuals are grouped to increase their survival rate. Depending on the relationships established by individuals, we distinguish family, gregarious, state and colonial associations.
Family associations
In them individuals are related. They originate with the formation of one or several couples that when procrear have a offspring. The maintenance of the family association is related to the mating, food, defense and care of young. Within these associations several are distinguished Types of family associations:
- Monogamous parental: Constituted by a couple and their offspring. It occurs above all in birds such as the grown vulture in which the union of the couple usually lasts for almost a lifetime and takes care of the chick together.
- Parental Polygam: It can be polyginic or polyndic. It is Poental Polygin if it is formed by a male with many females and their children. As in the case of deer, where a single male has a harem of several females and they take care of the cervatillos. It is parental polyndic if the female looks with several males as is the case of the Jacana. The female of this species leaves the eggs in nests that build males which are also responsible for raising chickens.
- Matriarchal: It is only formed by the mother and her offspring. This is the case of elephants, in which the herd is only formed by females; Grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, etc., and there is also usually an alpha matriarch or female. Only the approach of males is allowed, which are lonely nomads, to reproduce.
- Patriarchal: It is only formed by the father and his children. This would be the case of hippocampos or seahorses, in which males carry the eggs inside until they hatch and go to the outside world through childbirth.
- Subsidiary: Only integrated by the young. It occurs in fish and some amphibians. The parents put many eggs and leave them, when all the brothers enhance the family association
In the event that within an association the children continue to reproduce and more family ties are created, the term clan is used to refer to these family associations.
Gregarious associations
Unlike the previous ones, in this type of groups There are no parental or family ties. They are normally temporary. Are produced by the accumulation of individuals in a certain place previously transported by the wind or by water (insect or cyanobacteria larvae), or by their own will, either following a stimulus such as light or food, or to fight for survival, defend themselves against predators and seek food as in the case of fish banks, bird floods or mammalian herds.
In the case of the peak these associations occur during the time of abundance of resources. Monitoring and eating at the same time is a difficult task so the individual is more exposed to predation, but when associated with other individuals, the surveillance rate increases and correlatively increases the food ingestion rate. When resources are scarce the side dissolves due to internal fights for food.
State associations
They are given in response to the division of labor in the population. The individuals that make it up They present morphological differences revealing the different functions they perform. These associations are typical in well -known social insects such as termites, bees or ants. Individuals cannot survive outside the society they have created.
For example, in a hive of bees there may be up to 50,000 individuals who descend from the queen bee, in charge of putting the eggs. In the hives there are other individuals such as the Zánganos, who are the males that fertilize the queen, and finally we find the workers, females that do not reproduce and whose mission is the care of the panels and the eggs, the pollination, the production of honey and feed the zánganos and the queen.
Colonial associations
The colonies are formed by individuals or zooids who are physically joined with each other and connected by a series of channels appearing to be a unique individual. The colonies originate When individuals present asexual reproductionnormally due to geming, bipartition or fragmentation. Several types of colonies are distinguished.
- Homomorphic colonies: All individuals or zoooids are the same. This is the case of Madrépolas, a type of coral capable of forming biogeological structures such as reefs and atolls and even islands.
- Heteromorphic colonies: Zooids have different physical forms. The existence of different forms is due to a specialization of the colony resulting from the need for labor division. Siphonophas colonies are an example of heteromorphic colonies. These animals belonging to the group of CNIDARIES have zooides of reproduction, food and defense among others.
If you want to read more articles similar to What are intraespecific relationships and exampleswe recommend that you enter our biology category.




