 | This article reads like a term paper and may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help to improve this article by making it neutral in tone. |
Any action or influence that species have on each other is considered a biological interaction. These interactions between species can be considered in several ways. One such way is to depict interactions in the form of a network, which identifies the members and the patterns that connect them. Species interactions are considered primarily in terms of trophic interactions, which depict which species feed on others.
Currently, ecological networks that integrate non-trophic interactions are being built. The type of interactions they can contain can be classified into six categories: mutualism, commensalism, neutralism, amensalism, antagonism, and competition.
Observing and estimating the fitness costs and benefits of species interactions can be very problematic. The way interactions are interpreted can profoundly affect the ensuing conclusions.