1. Compare and contrast obligate mutualists and facultative mutualists.

2. What is the difference between endomycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi?

3. What is the function of protozoan mutualists in the digestive systems of termites?

4. If one species provides a habitat as part of a mutualistic relationship, what is the probable effect on the abundance and distribution of the other species?

5. Explain how ants and acacia trees fulfill the definition of a mutualistic relationship.

6. If cleaner fish consume both parasites and scales from larger fish, what would determine whether the interaction is best categorized as mutualism or parasitism?

7. How might natural selection favor the evolution of flower sizes, shapes, and colors that attract a specific group of pollinators?

8. Explain why a plant would not make its fruit very colorful until the seeds are fully developed.

9. What might prevent a species in a mutualism from reaping the benefits from a partner without providing a benefit in return?

10. In addition to affecting the abundance of species, what other levels of ecology can be affected by a mutualism?