Commensalism vs. Parasitism

Commensalismnoun

(ecology) A sharing of the same environment by two organisms where one species benefits and the other is unaffected. An example is barnacles on whales.

Commensalismnoun

The act of eating together; table fellowship.

Commensalismnoun

The act of eating together; table fellowship.

Commensalismnoun

the relation between two different kinds of organisms when one receives benefits from the other without damaging it

Commensalism

Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit from each other; amensalism, where one is harmed while the other is unaffected; parasitism, where one is harmed and the other benefits, and parasitoidism, which is similar to parasitism but the parasitoid has a free-living state and instead of just harming its host it eventually ends up killing it.

Parasitismnoun

(ecology) Interaction between two organisms, in which one organism (the parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is harmed.

Parasitismnoun

(figuratively) A similar interaction between people.

Parasitismnoun

The state or behavior of a parasite; the act of a parasite.

Parasitismnoun

The state of being parasitic.

Parasitismnoun

the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it (usually not fatal damage)

Parasitism

Parasitism is a symbiotic 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. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has characterised parasites as .