Question

Explain the following ecological associations and give examples: symbiosis, synergism, commensalism, mutualism, antagonism, parasitism.

Answer 1

Symbiosis is a relationship between two or more organisms, which live closely together.

Example: The relationship between cattle egrets and cattle.

Synergism is the interaction of two or more organizations, substances and agents, which generate a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.

Example: Carbon tetrachloride and ethanol are individually toxic to the liver, while they produce together more liver injury than the sum of their individual effects on the liver.

Commensalism is an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other neither benefit nor harm.

Examples of Commensalism: Remora Fish and Sharks, Cattle Egrets and Livestock.

Mutualism is a long-term association between different species where both individuals benefit. It is the way by which each individual benefits from the activity of the other.

Example: The relationship between oxpecker (bird) and the zebra. Oxpeckers land on zebras and eat ticks and other parasites, which live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food and the beasts get pest control.

Antagonism is hostility, which results in active resistance, opposition and contentiousness.

Example: When a group of students repeatedly intimidate another group.

Parasitism is the relationship between two species of plants or animals, where one benefits at the expense of the other. In this relationship, the parasite lives on or in another organism, this another organism is known as host. Parasites cause it harm and adapted structurally to this way of life.

Examples: Tapeworms are segmented flatworms, which found insides of the intestines of vertebrates. They get food by eating the host's partly digested food and cause diseases.