commensalism

In ecology, commensalism is a class of relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits but the other is unaffected. There are two other types of association: mutualism (where both organisms benefit) and parasitism (one organsim benefits and the other one is harmed).

Commensalism derives from the English word commensal, meaning "sharing of food" in human social interaction, which in turn derives from the Latin com mensa, meaning "sharing a table".

An example of commensalism would be birds following army ant raids on a forest floor. As the army ant colony travels on the forest floor, they stir up various flying insect species. As the insects flee from the army ants, the birds following the ants catch the fleeing insects. In this way, the army ants and the birds are in a commensal relationship because the birds benefit while the army ants are unaffected. The D. folliculorum mites living in your eyelash follicles share a similar relationship with you.

Types

Phoretic mites on a fly (Pseudolynchia canariensis)

Like all ecological interactions, commensalisms vary in strength and duration from intimate, long-lived symbioses to brief, weak interactions through intermediaries. Originally it was used to describe the use of waste food by second animals, like the carcass eaters that follow hunting animals but wait until they have finished their meal.

Phoresy

One animal attaching to another for transportation only. This concerns mainly arthropods, examples of which are mites on insects (such as beetles, flies, or bees), pseudoscorpions on mammals^[1] or beetles, and millipedes on birds.^[2] Phoresy can be either obligate or facultative (induced by environmental conditions).

Inquilinism

Using a second organism for housing. Examples are epiphytic plants (such as many orchids) which grow on trees, or birds that live in holes in trees.

Metabiosis

A more indirect dependency, in which the second organism uses something the first created, however after the death of the first. An example is the hermit crabs that use gastropod shells to protect their bodies.

Phoretic mites on a damselfly

The question of whether the relationship between humans and some types of our gut flora is commensal or mutualistic is still unanswered.

Some biologists argue that any close interaction between two organisms is unlikely to be completely neutral for either party, and that relationships identified as commensal are likely mutualistic or parasitic in a subtle way that has not been detected. For example, epiphytes are "nutritional pirates" that may intercept substantial amounts of mineral nutrients that would otherwise go to the host plant.^[3] Large numbers of epiphytes can also cause tree limbs to break or shade the host plant and reduce its rate of photosynthesis. Similarly, the phoretic mites in the image above may hinder their host by making flight more difficult, which may affect its aerial hunting ability or cause it to expend extra energy while carrying these passengers.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Commensalism

• Remora - phoretic fishes that may also eat the scraps off their hosts, though they may also be mutualistic cleaners

References

1. ^ Lance A. Durden (2001) Pseudoscorpions Associated With Mammals in Papua New Guinea. Biotropica, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 204–206.
2. ^ Karel Tajovy et al. (2001) Millipedes (Diplopoda) in Dog's’ nests. European Journal of Soil Biology, vol. 37, pp. 321–323.
3. ^ Benzing, D.H. 1980. Biology of the Bromeliads. Eureka, California: Mad River Press.