commensal
Sharing without harming
Commensal describes a biological relationship where one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.
Barnacles on a whale get transportation; the whale is unaffected.
The term extends to bacteria living harmlessly in or on the body: commensal gut flora.
In ecology, commensal contrasts with parasitic (one benefits, one suffers) and mutualistic (both benefit).
Two-way biological benefit
- parasitismOne benefits, one suffers
- hostOne receiving guests
- microbiotaResident microscopic organisms
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
biotic · interspecies · niche · ecological · biodiversity · flora · fauna · habitat
Horizontal furniture surface
- feastElaborate ceremonial meal
- banquetFormal celebratory meal
- companionOne who keeps company
- guestWelcomed visitor
hospitality · convivial · mess · meal · fellowship · communal · tablecloth · dinnerware
mutualism
Two-way biological benefit
- parasitismOne benefits, one suffers
- hostOne receiving guests
- microbiotaResident microscopic organisms
ecosystem · biotic · interspecies · niche · ecological · biodiversity · flora · fauna · habitat · coexistence
table
Horizontal furniture surface
guest · hospitality · convivial · mess · meal · fellowship · communal · tablecloth · dinnerware · cutlery
- Microbesbacteria, bacterium, virus, mold, prokaryote
- symbiosissymbiosis, mycorrhizae, symbiont, symbiotic, mutualism
- microbiologybacteria, bacterium, microbe, microbes, microorganisms
- ecological rolesproducer, consumer, decomposer, predator, prey
- feedersbird feeder, pet feeder, hummingbird feeder, tube feeder, hanging feeder
- fungal ecologymycelium, mycorrhizae, decomposers, soil fungi, fungal networks
commensalparasitic
Exploiting a host organism
parasitism · parasite · mutualistic · mutualism · mutualist
commensalparasitic
Exploiting a host organism
harmful · detrimental · pathogenic · injurious · destructive