1. In the absence of predators, parasitism is a major force of selection in human populations. With millions of kinds of parasites competing for the hospitality of a human host, some interesting relationships exist between parasites that maximize or minimize their access to the human body. The Anopheles mosquito is indigenous to wet, tropical regions of the world. When the female mosquito bites a person, her goal is to suck out the rich, warm blood to incubate the eggs stored inside her abdomen. She may collect blood from several people. At the same time, many people in tropical areas have the parasitic protist Plasmodium in their bloodstreams. The Plasmodium uses human red blood cells as incubators for its young. When the young are mature, the red blood cells (RBCS) burst, releasing the new Plasmodia into the bloodstream where they seek out new RBCS. When the RBCS burst, the host is said to be experiencing the disease malaria –typified as fever, chills, and intense fatigue. If enough RBCS are destroyed, the host dies. When an Anopheles mosquito bites a person who carries the malaria-causing Plasmodium, the mosquito sucks up blood that has the Plasmodium in it. When the mosquito finds a second person to bite, it will unintentionally deposit some of the Plasmodium-laden blood into the second human, spreading malaria quite effectively. Nearly two million people worldwide-most of them children-die from malaria each year. Interestingly, with increasing global temperatures, the range of the Anopheles mosquito is moving northwards through the United States towards Canada. a. Describe the biological interrelationships between the Anopheles mosquito, the malaria Plasmodium, and the human hosts. Consider the concepts of parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, interspecific competition, and intraspecific competition. It may help to draw an arrow diagram to organize your thoughts. Answer: ɔ. Co-evolution is a concept that applies to two organisms whose evolutionary success is linked together. Apply the term co-evolution to the scenario above. Explain your reasoning. Answer: c. Describe two technologies or interventions that would assist in reducing access of the malarial Plasmodium parasite to human populations. Explain how the technologies or interventions would work. Answer: