Commensalism: Definition, Examples, Facts, Topics, Relationships
What Is Commensalism?
Commensalism is a kind of symbiosis where one organism gains or is favoured and the other is unaffected or has no advantage or disadvantage. In commensalism, the organism that gains an advantage, often in the form of food, shelter or transportation has no negative impact on the host organism or may even offer some minor service to the host organism. This invites a clear difference from mutualism, where both organisms benefit; parasitism where the predator benefits and the defend gains nothing; and amensalism where the defended gains is harmed but the defender is unharmed.
Latest: NEET 2024 Paper Analysis and Answer Key
Don't Miss: Most scoring concepts for NEET | NEET papers with solutions
New: NEET Syllabus 2025 for Physics, Chemistry, Biology
NEET Important PYQ & Solutions: Physics | Chemistry | Biology | NEET PYQ's (2015-24)
Some examples of commensal relationships are the barnacles that stick on the whales for transport without affecting the whales in any way, the epiphytes that grow on trees while at the same time not affecting it, some bacteria that just reside on the human skin without in any way being parasitic. Commensalism teaches people that the level of interdependence in the natural world is not rigid and that the influence two species can have on each other can be significantly different.
Types Of Commensalism
The types of commensalism is described below-
Inquilinism
Inquilinism, where one organism occupies the home of another organism and does not benefit or harm the host organism is the third type of parasitism.
Examples: Sessile animals live on other animals, for example, barnacles are crustose animals that attach themselves to a larger animal, a ship for instance, and derive their nutrition from the surroundings without harming the host. Barnacles are parasites which affix themselves to a whale or other sea creature and rely on it for mobility and feeding rights but do not harm the host.
Phoresy
Phoresy is one of the types of mutualistic relations where one species utilizes the other to get from one place to another.
Examples: Microorganisms change locations by moving from one place to another on insects or small animals or from one food plant to another. Remoras anchor themselves to sharks or large fish and feed off what is attracted by the motion of the host and pieces of food disturbed by the creature.
Microbiota
Microbiota involves microorganisms that are present on or within larger animals but do not harm the animal.
Examples: The stomach and intestinal bacteria are involved in the process of digesting feed and synthesizing useful products with the help of available nutrients within the host organism. Skin microbial communities encompass bacteria and fungi that live on the skin they act as anti-pathogens and play a role in skin health.
Examples Of Commensalism In Different Ecosystems
The examples are listed below-
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Birds and trees
Some species have the ability to make a tree their home without damaging that tree in the process; they make their nests in trees. It offers a firm base and a source of shelter for the birds and a place where they can lay eggs.
Epiphytes on rainforest trees
The vertical space is characterized by smaller plants that do not need to be rooted in the earth; they live on the trees and obtain both support and light: orchids, bromeliads, ferns and others. Epiphytes do not damage the host trees and may be beneficial to the host by helping to retain moisture.
Marine Ecosystems
Barnacles on whales
Barnacles must adhere to large animals such as whales, and feed with the help of the host’s activity and water rich in nutrients. Barnacles have very little impact on the bodies of the whales and minor skin irritation may occur only when the whales’ skin is heavily infested.
Clownfish and sea anemones
Clownfish form Allies with sea anemones because they cannot be attacked by any predator because of the stinging elements on the tentacles of the sea anemones, in return the sea anemones benefit from feeding on the foods that are brought to them by these clownfish, and the cleaning of the tentacles.
Human Body
Skin flora
Skin microbiota or skin flora is the microorganisms that are present on the human skin which includes bacteria, fungi and many more. The favourable type of bacteria also originates on the skin and helps counterbalance pathogenic microorganisms in terms of habitat and nutrition, thus protecting the skin from infections.
Gut microbiota
Gut microbiota refers to a composition of bacteria and other microorganisms that reside in the human gut and their number approximates trillions. As such, these microorganisms help in digestion, production of vitamins, and the immune system regulation. In turn, they get to support a generally healthy nutrient environment of the gut.
Recommended video for Commensalism
Case Studies
The case studies are explained below-
The Oxpecker And Large Herbivores
Historical views: Mutualism vs. Commensalism
Early, it remains on the verge of mutualism and commensalism between the two, with oxpeckers benefiting from feeding on the large herbivores’ skin especially to remove the ticks and parasites that may be infesting the skin, and at the same time, the oxpecker would sometimes peck on the blood oozing from the wounds on the large herbivore.
Recent studies and findings
Newer studies have established that the association is complex; hence, oxpeckers mainly help herbivores by removing ectoparasites but sometimes harm them slightly. Such dynamics clearly illustrate the presence of more positive than negative interactions with the hosts, which are rather reciprocal and depend on the hosts’ and environmental conditions.
Human Gut Microbiota
Role in human health
The human gut microbiome is trillions of microorganisms which help in digestion, synthesis of vitamins, and immune responses. Imbalances in the composition of the bacterial communities living in the gut resulting from multiple factors – the diet in particular, or taking antibiotics, can cause diseases like inflammation and metabolic disorders.
Balance between commensalism and pathogenicity
The field of commensalism and pathogenicity is based on the observation made by researchers that some microorganisms are capable of living with their host in a mutually non-harmful manner as commensalism while at the same time being capable of being pathogens under certain circumstances. This knowledge is essential in assessing the health hazards and sustaining the control of microbes in environments and, at the same time, in people’s anatomies.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Commensalism is a type of interdependency where one of the organisms benefits and the other is not affected, positively or negatively. WMutualismis the kind of symbiosis in which both the species involved in the relationship derive some kind of benefit from the presence or interaction of each other.
Yes, they are analogous and therefore, if conditions are right, the commensalism relationship can develop into parasitism. For instance, if the commensal organism started to have a pathology or dermic effect on the host or feed parasitically on the host’s products, it would become a parasite.
Commensalism is another interaction that helps in the dynamics of species in an ecosystem by affecting the relationship between species and their abundance. It can improve the intensity and distribution of species mainly by enabling species to offer different jobs without having to compete or fight, which can help to maintain the stability of the ecosystem.
Yes, human available gut bacteria are generally commensal bacteria because they live in the gut and are also beneficial to the human body. They are involved in the digestion process, synthesize some important nutrients such as vitamins play an important role in the immune system formation and do not pose any danger to the organism under standard circumstances.
Barnacles on whales: Sponges attach themselves to whales for transport and to be close to their food source which is particles in the water, without being a burden to the whale.
Epiphytic plants on trees: Some plants such as orchids, and ferns start their lives on trees, in this way, they get both support and light with no harm to the tree.
Human skin flora: Most skin bacteria and fungi are harmless and play a role in defending the skin from sickness and disease-causing germs; that is under normal conditions skin bacteria and fungi are not pathogenic.
Also Read
20 Nov'24 05:01 PM
14 Nov'24 01:41 PM
13 Nov'24 07:09 PM
13 Nov'24 05:19 PM
12 Nov'24 08:45 AM
14 Oct'24 12:46 PM
18 Sep'24 06:22 PM