The three types of symbiotic relationships are commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism. In commensalism, one organism benefits, while the other is neither harmed nor helped. Barnacles on a whale are an example. The whale provides a safe home for the barnacles, while the barnacles don't help or hurt the whale.
There are three general types of symbiosis: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Based on the nature of the interaction between organisms, symbiotic relationships are loosely grouped into one of these types.
One example of symbiosis is the relationship between certain species of ants and acacia trees. The ants live in the hollow thorns of the acacia tree and help to protect the tree from herbivores by attacking any that try to eat the leaves or bark.
The 5 examples of symbiosis are Mutualism, Commensalism, Amensalism, Parasitism, and Predation.
If we were in the warm waters of the Pacific or Indian Oceans, we'd likely spot an excellent example of mutualism: the relationship between clownfish and sea anemones. In a mutualistic relationship, both species benefit. Sea anemones live attached to the surface of coral reefs.
Examples of parasitism are the helminths (worms) in the intestines of the host, lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) in human head, Plasmodium species transmitted by anopheline mosquito and causing malaria in humans.
The simplest example of commensalism is a bird making a nest in a tree. The tree provides shelter and protection to the bird without getting significantly harmed or affected by the bird. Another typical example is the cattle egrets (birds) that feed upon the insects stirred up by the feeding cattle.
Examples of marine commensalism include sea anemones and clownfish, barnacles and the various larger creatures they grow on, some shrimp and gobies, and remoras and sharks.
The best-known examples of predation involve carnivorous interactions, in which one animal consumes another. Think of wolves hunting moose, owls hunting mice, or shrews hunting worms and insects. Less obvious carnivorous interactions involve many small individuals consuming a larger one.
Another example of mutualism can be seen with the Leopard shark and remora fish that swim next to it, sometimes attached to the body. The remoras swim very close to the sharks, feeding off scraps of food dropped by the shark and also gaining some protection from predators.
A similar symbiotic relationship is found in clams and mussels that have chemosynthetic bacteria living in association with their gills. A variety of other organisms found in cold seep communities also use tubeworms, mussels, and hard and soft corals as sources of food or shelter or both.
Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship where all species involved benefit from their interactions.
Parasitism. A symbiotic relationship in which a symbiont lives all or part of its life in or on a living host, usually benefiting while harming the host in some way and usually having a higher reproductive potential than the host.
Parasitism-a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed. Mutualism-a symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit. Commensalism-a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.
This is a type of suckerfish that will attach itself to sharks and other big fish to catch an underwater ride. This in and of itself is an example of commensalism since only the remora really benefits, but this relationship can change to mutualism when the remora feed on the parasites on the backs of these big fish.
Commensalism and Amensalism
The opposite of commensalism is amensalism, where one organism is harmed while the other is unaffected. A good example of this interaction is when one organism produces an antibiotic against another organism. Such an interaction is often the basis of biological control.
Summary: Commensalism Definition Biology
The simplest commensalism definition is that it's a type of symbiosis where one organism benefits and the other neither benefits nor is harmed. The three main types of commensalism are inquilinism, metabiosis, and phoresy.
There are many examples of parasitism around us. For instance, like remoras, leeches also have sucking disks. When a leech finds an ideal host, say a little boy named Frank, it fastens itself firmly onto his skin and starts sucking blood. Amazingly, it can consume about 3 times its weight of blood in one feeding!
An example of obligatory multiparasitism is provided by the tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma, which normally encapsulates and destroys eggs of Hyposoter species, resulting in unsuccessful parasitism.
There are three main classes of parasites that can cause disease in humans: protozoa, helminths, and ectoparasites.
One example of a mutualistic relationship is that of the oxpecker (a kind of bird) and the rhinoceros or zebra. Oxpeckers land on rhinos or zebras and eat ticks and other parasites that live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food and the beasts get pest control.