commensalist
One-sided benefit relationship
A commensalist is an organism that benefits from a close relationship with another species while neither helping nor harming its host.
The remora fish attached to a shark is a classic example—it gets transportation and scraps of food while the shark is unaffected.
The term comes from biology's concept of commensalism, one of several types of symbiotic relationships.
Fish with adhesive disc
- sharkCartilaginous marine predator
- pilotfishFish following large sharks
- barnacleSessile marine crustacean
- whaleHuge sea mammal
epiphyte · orchid · buffalo · oxpecker · pseudoscorpion · goby · burdock · moss
One receiving guests
- beneficiaryDesignated asset receiver
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- mutualismTwo-way biological benefit
- parasitismOne benefits, one suffers
neutralism · exploitation · tolerance · cohabitation · attachment · dependency · unharmed
Resident microscopic organisms
- biofilmAdhesive layer of microorganisms
- nicheRecessed wall space
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
- biomeMajor ecological community
habitat · colonization · coexistence · adaptation · detritivore · saprophyte · substrate
remora
Fish with adhesive disc
- sharkCartilaginous marine predator
- pilotfishFish following large sharks
- barnacleSessile marine crustacean
whale · epiphyte · orchid · buffalo · oxpecker · pseudoscorpion · goby · burdock · moss · lichen
host
One receiving guests
- beneficiaryDesignated asset receiver
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- mutualismTwo-way biological benefit
parasitism · neutralism · exploitation · tolerance · cohabitation · attachment · dependency · unharmed
microbiota
Resident microscopic organisms
- biofilmAdhesive layer of microorganisms
- nicheRecessed wall space
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
biome · habitat · colonization · coexistence · adaptation · detritivore · saprophyte · substrate