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Whether the relationship between humans and some types of gut flora is commensal or mutualistic is still unanswered. Some biologists argue that any close interaction between two organisms is unlikely to be completely neutral for either party, and that relationships identified as commensal are likely mutualistic or parasitic in a subtle way that ...
Mutualism is an interaction between two or more species, where species derive a mutual benefit, for example an increased carrying capacity. Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation. Mutualism may be classified in terms of the closeness of association, the closest being symbiosis, which is often confused with mutualism.
For instance, barnacles on whales is an example of an ectosymbiotic relationship where the whale provides the barnacle with a home, a ride, and access to food. The whale is not harmed, but it also does not receive any benefits so this is also an example of commensalism. An example of ectosymbiotic bacteria is cutibacterium acnes. These bacteria ...
The definition of symbiosis was a matter of debate for 130 years. [7] In 1877, Albert Bernhard Frank used the term symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens. [8] [9] In 1878, the German mycologist Heinrich Anton de Bary defined it as "the living together of unlike organisms".
Between these extremes many different types of interaction are possible. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The degree of change between mutualism or parasitism varies depending on the availability of resources, where there is environmental stress generated by few resources, symbiotic relationships are formed while in environments where there is an excess of ...
Symbiosis includes three types of interactions—mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism—of which only mutualism can sometimes qualify as cooperation. Mutualism involves a close, mutually beneficial interaction between two different biological species, whereas "cooperation" is a more general term that can involve looser interactions and can ...
Mutualism is a form of ectosymbiosis where both the host and parasitic species benefit from the interaction. There are many examples of mutualistic ectosymbiosis that occur in nature. One such relationship is between Branchiobdellida and crayfish in which the Branchiobdellida acts as a bacterial gut cleaner for the crayfish species. [10]
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. [1] The entomologist E. O. Wilson characterised parasites as "predators that eat prey in units of less than one". [2]