Question

What is commensalism?

Answer 1

Commensalism:

1. Commensalism is the interaction in which one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited.
2. E.g. cattle and egret, barnacles on the back of a whale, sea anemone, and the clown fish.

There are four types of commensal associations.

1. Inquilinism – An entity occupies the living habitat of another species(burrow, nest)
2. Chemical commensalism – A bacteria produces a chemical that nurtures another bacteria
3. Phoresy - When an organism needs to travel, it tentatively attaches itself to another entity.
4. Metabiosis - occurs when one entity is reliant on another for survival.