Symbiotic Relationships

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What is mutualism?

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A type of symbiotic relationship where both species benefit from the interaction. Example: Hummingbirds pollinating flowers while feeding on nectar.

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What is commensalism?

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A type of symbiotic relationship where one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed. Example: Cowbirds eating insects stirred up by bison.

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What is parasitism?

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A type of symbiotic relationship where one species benefits at the expense of the other. Example: Mistletoe extracting nutrients from a spruce tree.

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What is endoparasitism?

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A type of parasitism where the parasite lives inside the host. Example: Bacteria on teeth that decay enamel.

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What is ectoparasitism?

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A type of parasitism where the parasite lives on the outside of the host. Example: Fleas on a dog.

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What is predation?

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An interaction where one organism (the predator) kills and eats another organism (the prey). Example: A lion hunting a zebra.

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What is a symbiotic relationship?

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A close and long-term interaction between two different species, which can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral.

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What is an example of mutualism in nature?

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Bees pollinating flowers while collecting nectar.

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What is an example of commensalism in nature?

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Barnacles attaching to a whale; the barnacles benefit while the whale is unaffected.

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What is an example of parasitism in nature?

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Tapeworms living in the intestines of mammals, absorbing nutrients at the host's expense.