Tellie Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 What is the difference between a parasite and symbiotic organism? =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokele Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 Parasites are to the detriment of the host, symbiotes are to the host's advantage. Mokele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Demosthenes- Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 Parasitism is a form of Symbiosis. Symbiosis is where two organisms work together in some fashion; usually it is involved in the lifecycle of the species involved. Symbiosis is sometimes confused with Mutualism, which is a type of Symbiosis; when if fact there are three type: The first and most commonly known type of symbiosis is Mutualism. This is where both species benefit. The second is Commensalism where one benefits and one neither benefits nor is harmed. And the last and sometimes part of a misconception is: Parasitism. This is a form of Symbiosis; it is where one species benefits but one is harmed. Some examples of Mutualism are bacteria in some plants (like pea plants) that make nitrogen and the plant "feeds" the bacteria sugar. One of Commensalism is the fish that holds onto a shark and eats the leftover food when a shark is done, it benefits, but does not help or harm the shark. And Parasitism is something like a parasitic worm or a parasitic bacteria/pathogen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tellie Posted May 4, 2005 Author Share Posted May 4, 2005 Thanks a lot for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 A fish attaching itself to a shark is a burden on the shark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Demosthenes- Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 There is very little burden on the shark. There is no perfict example, this is one of the examples in my AP bio text book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 I know, I don't think commensalism exists in any real form, it's just part of the theoretical framework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Demosthenes- Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 There is no relationship where one participant is unaffected in anyway. When the relationship has one being benefited and one being relatively unaffected, then it is called "commensalism". Sorry for the small misconception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyebeh Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 yeah.. commensalism is a kind of grey area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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