"Biological interaction In ecology, a biological interaction is the effect that a pair of organisms living together in a community have on each other. They can be either of the same species (intraspecific interactions), or of different species (interspecific interactions). These effects may be short-term, like pollination and predation, or long-term; both often strongly influence the evolution of the species involved. A long-term interaction is called a symbiosis. Symbioses range from mutualism, beneficial to both partners, to competition, harmful to both partners. Interactions can be indirect, through intermediaries such as shared resources or common enemies. Although biological interactions, more or"
"Mutualism (biology) Mutualism or interspecific cooperation is the way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual fitness benefits from the activity of the other. Similar interactions ""within"" a species are known as co-operation. Mutualism can be contrasted with interspecific competition, in which each species experiences ""reduced"" fitness, and exploitation, or parasitism, in which one species benefits at the ""expense"" of the other. Symbiosis involves two species living in close proximity and may be mutualistic, parasitic, or commensal, so symbiotic relationships are not always mutualistic. A well-known mutualism is the relationship between ungulates (such as"
"between species in which both benefit. Examples include ""Rhizobium"" bacteria growing in nodules on the roots of legumes and insects pollinating the flowers of angiosperms. Commensalism is a type of relationship among organisms in which one organism benefits while the other organism is neither benefited nor harmed. The organism that benefited is called the ""commensal"" while the other organism that is neither benefited nor harmed is called the ""host"". For example, an epiphytic orchid attached to the tree for support benefits the orchid but neither harms nor benefits the tree. The opposite of commensalism is amensalism, an interspecific relationship in"
"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, and parasitism, where one benefits while the other is harmed. The commensal (the species that benefits from the association) may obtain nutrients, shelter, support, or locomotion from the host species, which is substantially unaffected. The commensal relation is often between a larger host and a smaller commensal; the host"
"possible relationships between organisms, differing in their permanence and their effects on the two parties. If one of the partners in an association is much larger than the other, it is generally known as the host. In parasitism, the parasite benefits at the host's expense. In commensalism, the two live together without harming each other, while in mutualism, both parties benefit. Most parasites are only parasitic for part of their life cycle. By comparing parasites with their closest free-living relatives, parasitism has been shown to have evolved on at least 233 separate occasions. Some organisms live in close association with"
"symbiosis is an association between individuals of two species, where one (the cleaner) removes and eats parasites and other materials from the surface of the other (the client). It is putatively mutually beneficial, but biologists have long debated whether it is mutual selfishness, or simply exploitative. Cleaning symbiosis is well-known among marine fish, where some small species of cleaner fish, notably wrasses but also species in other genera, are specialised to feed almost exclusively by cleaning larger fish and other marine animals. Symbiosis is increasingly recognized as an important selective force behind evolution; many species have a long history of"
"and corals with photosynthetic algae. If there is a physical connection between host and associate, the relationship is called symbiosis. Approximately 60% of all plants, for example, have a symbiotic relationship with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi living in their roots forming an exchange network of carbohydrates for mineral nutrients. Indirect mutualisms occur where the organisms live apart. For example, trees living in the equatorial regions of the planet supply oxygen into the atmosphere that sustains species living in distant polar regions of the planet. This relationship is called commensalism; because, many others receive the benefits of clean air at no cost"
"interact closely, often over a long period of time. Symbiosis includes three types of interactions—mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism—of which only mutualism can sometimes qualify as cooperation. Mutualism involves a close, mutually beneficial interaction between two different biological species, whereas ""cooperation"" is a more general term that can involve looser interactions and can be interspecific (between species) or intraspecific (within a species). In commensalism, one of the two participating species benefits, while the other is neither harmed nor benefitted. In parasitism, one of the two participating species benefits at the expense of the other. Symbiosis may be obligate or facultative. In"
"Syntrophy Syntrophy, synthrophy, cross-feeding, or cross feeding [Greek ""syn"" meaning together, ""trophe"" meaning nourishment] is the phenomenon that one species lives off the products of another species. In this association, the growth of one partner is improved, or depends on the nutrients, growth factors or substrate provided by the other partner. Jan Dolfing described syntrophy as ""the critical interdependency between producer and consumer"". This term for nutritional interdependence is often used in microbiology to describe this symbiotic relationship between bacterial species. Morris ""et al"". have described the process as ""obligately mutualistic metabolism"". Syntrophy plays an important role in a large"
"Cooperation Cooperation (sometimes written as co-operation) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal and plant species cooperate both with other members of their own species and with members of other species (symbiosis or mutualism). Humans cooperate for the same reasons as other animals: immediate benefit, genetic relatedness, and reciprocity, but also for particularly human reasons, such as honesty signaling (indirect reciprocity), cultural group selection, and for reasons having to do with cultural evolution. Language allows humans to cooperate"
"species from artificially provided food, while also profiting by following their recruitment trails to new food sources. In practice parabiosis hardly could be a purely neutral interaction. There can be consequent benefits from shared nest defence and maintenance even when there is neither direct cooperation nor inimical interaction between the two associated populations in a nest. Parabiosis Parabiosis, meaning ""living beside"", is a technical term in various contexts in fields of study related to ecology and physiology. It accordingly has been defined independently in at least three disciplines, namely experimental or medical physiology, the ecology of inactive physiological states, and"
"competition may also exist over other 'amenities', such as females for reproduction (in case of male organisms of the same species). Mutualism or interspecies reciprocal altruism is a long-term relationship between individuals of different species where both individuals benefit. Mutualistic relationships may be either obligate for both species, obligate for one but facultative for the other, or facultative for both. A large percentage of herbivores have mutualistic gut flora to help them digest plant matter, which is more difficult to digest than animal prey. This gut flora is made up of cellulose-digesting protozoans or bacteria living in the herbivores' intestines."
"that is beneficial to both"". Probably the most widespread example in plants is the mutual beneficial relationship between plants and fungi, known as mycorrhizae. The plant is assisted with nutrient uptake, while the fungus receives carbohydrates. Some the earliest known fossil plants even have fossil mycorrhizae on their rhizomes. The flowering plants are a group that have evolved by using two major mutualisms. First, flowers are pollinated by insects. This relationship seems to have its origins in beetles feeding on primitive flowers, eating pollen and also acting (unwittingly) as pollinators. Second, fruits are eaten by animals, and the animals then"
"it becomes selectively advantageous for groups if their members express altruistic behaviours to one another. Groups with predominantly altruistic members survive better than groups with predominantly selfish members. Ecological interactions can be classified broadly into a host and an associate relationship. A host is any entity that harbours another that is called the associate. Relationships within a species that are mutually or reciprocally beneficial are called mutualisms. Examples of mutualism include fungus-growing ants employing agricultural symbiosis, bacteria living in the guts of insects and other organisms, the fig wasp and yucca moth pollination complex, lichens with fungi and photosynthetic algae,"
"where one organism, the parasite, lives on or in another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The parasite either feeds on the host, or, in the case of intestinal parasites, consumes some of its food. Neutralism (a term introduced by Eugene Odum) describes the relationship between two species that interact but do not affect each other. Examples of true neutralism are virtually impossible to prove; the term is in practice used to describe situations where interactions are negligible or insignificant. Amensalism (a term introduced by Haskell) is an interaction where"
"Protocooperation Protocooperation is where two species interact with each other beneficially; they have no need to interact with each other - they interact purely for the gain that they receive from doing this. It is not at all necessary for protocooperation to occur; growth and survival is possible in the absence of the interaction. The interaction that occurs can be between different kingdoms. The term, initially used for intraspecific interactions, was popularized by Eugene Odum (1953), although other authors prefer to use the terms ""cooperation"" or ""mutualism"". Protocooperation is a form of mutualism, but the cooperating species do not depend"
"one another) or the biological intimacy of the relationship in relation to physical closeness (""e.g."", one species living within the tissues of the other species). The term ""mutualism"" was introduced by Pierre-Joseph van Beneden in his 1876 book ""Animal Parasites and Messmates"". Mutualistic relationships can be thought of as a form of ""biological barter"" in mycorrhizal associations between plant roots and fungi, with the plant providing carbohydrates to the fungus in return for primarily phosphate but also nitrogenous compounds. Other examples include rhizobia bacteria that fix nitrogen for leguminous plants (family Fabaceae) in return for energy-containing carbohydrates. Service-resource relationships are"
"ecology. Examples include cleaning symbiosis, gut flora, Müllerian mimicry, and nitrogen fixation by bacteria in the root nodules of legumes. Commensalism benefits one organism and the other organism is neither benefited nor harmed. It occurs when one organism takes benefits by interacting with another organism by which the host organism is not affected. A good example is a remora living with a shark. Remoras eat leftover food from the shark. The shark is not affected in the process, as remoras eat only leftover food of the shark, which does not deplete the shark's resources. Parasitism is a relationship between species,"
"Ecology Ecology (from , ""house"", or ""environment""; -λογία, ""study of"") is the branch of biology which studies the interactions among organisms and their environment. Objects of study include interactions of organisms with each other and with abiotic components of their environment. Topics of interest include the biodiversity, distribution, biomass, and populations of organisms, as well as cooperation and competition within and between species. Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production, pedogenesis, nutrient cycling, and niche construction, regulate the flux of energy and"
"which to explore the magnitude, dynamics, and frequency of mutualism in nature. Myrmecophily Myrmecophily ( ; literally """"ant-love"""") is the term applied to positive interspecies associations between ants and a variety of other organisms such as plants, other arthropods, and fungi. Myrmecophily refers to mutualistic associations with ants, though in its more general use the term may also refer to commensal or even parasitic interactions. The term ""myrmecophile"" is used mainly for animals that associate with ants. There are an estimated 10,000 species of ants (Formicidae), with a higher diversity in the tropics. In most terrestrial ecosystems ants are ecologically"
"Epibiont An epibiont (from the Ancient Greek meaning ""living on top of"") is an organism that lives on the surface of another living organism. An epibiont is, by definition, harmless to its host and in this sense, the interaction between the two organisms can be considered neutralistic or commensalistic (as opposed to, for example, parasitic, in which case one organism benefits at the expense of the other, or mutualistic, in which both organisms obtain some explicit benefit from their coexistence). Although there is no direct effect of the epibiont to the host, there are often indirect effects resulting from this"
"plants have mutualist as companion plants, providing each other with shelter, soil fertility and/or natural pest control. For example, beans may grow up cornstalks as a trellis, while fixing nitrogen in the soil for the corn, a phenomenon that is used in Three Sisters farming. One researcher has proposed that the key advantage ""Homo sapiens"" had over Neanderthals in competing over similar habitats was the former's mutualism with dogs. Mutualism (biology) Mutualism or interspecific cooperation is the way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual fitness benefits from the activity of the other. Similar"
"the non-essential genes of the intracellular bacteria. This can be due to lack of selection mechanisms prevailing in the relatively ""rich"" host environment. Commensalism describes a relationship between two living organisms where one benefits and the other is not significantly harmed or helped. It is derived from the English word commensal, used of human social interaction. It derives from a medieval Latin word meaning sharing food, formed from ""com-"" (with) and ""mensa"" (table). Commensal relationships may involve one organism using another for transportation (phoresy) or for housing (inquilinism), or it may also involve one organism using something another created, after"
"relationship between humans with plants and animals, but their differences lay in who was considered as the lead partner in the relationship. This new definition recognizes a mutualistic relationship in which both partners gain benefits. Domestication has vastly enhanced the reproductive output of crop plants, livestock, and pets far beyond that of their wild progenitors. Domesticates have provided humans with resources that they could more predictably and securely control, move, and redistribute, which has been the advantage that had fueled a population explosion of the agro-pastoralists and their spread to all corners of the planet. Houseplants and ornamentals are plants"
"Interaction Interaction is a kind of action that occur as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect. A closely related term is interconnectivity, which deals with the interactions of interactions within systems: combinations of many simple interactions can lead to surprising emergent phenomena. ""Interaction"" has different tailored meanings in various sciences. Changes can also involve interaction. Casual examples of interaction outside science include: In physics, a fundamental interaction (depending on the nature of the interaction, it might"
"Ecological facilitation Ecological facilitation or probiosis describes species interactions that benefit at least one of the participants and cause harm to neither. Facilitations can be categorized as mutualisms, in which both species benefit, or commensalisms, in which one species benefits and the other is unaffected. Much of classic ecological theory (""e.g."", natural selection, niche separation, metapopulation dynamics) has focused on negative interactions such as predation and competition, but positive interactions (facilitation) are receiving increasing focus in ecological research. This article addresses both the mechanisms of facilitation and the increasing information available concerning the impacts of facilitation on community ecology. There"
"""Symboisis"" is the close bond relationship between the two individuals of two different species. ""Commensalism"" is when organisms make similar demands on the environment often resulting in competition. Hawley believed humanity was dominant in the ecosystem due to advances in technology and humanity's control over the habitat. He contended that through culture humanity is able to modify its subsistence to match its needs and desires. Hawley writes ""thus the development of human dominance through the agency of culture involves a reconstruction of the biotic community. Instead of accommodating his activities, as do primitive peoples, to the natural life association, civilized"
"Endosymbiont An endosymbiont or endobiont is any organism that lives within the body or cells of another organism in a mutualistic (formerly called symbiotic) relationship with the host body or cell, often but not always to mutual benefit. The term endosymbiosis is from the Greek: ἔνδον ""endon"" ""within"", σύν ""syn"" ""together"" and βίωσις ""biosis"" ""living""). Examples are nitrogen-fixing bacteria (called rhizobia), which live in root nodules on legume roots, single-cell algae inside reef-building corals, and bacterial endosymbionts that provide essential nutrients to about 10–15% of insects. Many instances of endosymbiosis are obligate; that is, either the endosymbiont or the host"
"the single-shot version of the problem would suggest. It has been suggested that this is one reason for the evolution of complex emotions in higher life forms. Cooperation Cooperation (sometimes written as co-operation) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal and plant species cooperate both with other members of their own species and with members of other species (symbiosis or mutualism). Humans cooperate for the same reasons as other animals: immediate benefit, genetic relatedness, and reciprocity, but also"
"Biointerface A biointerface is the region of contact between a biomolecule, cell, biological tissue or living organism or organic material considered living with another biomaterial or inorganic/organic material. The motivation for biointerface science stems from the urgent need to increase the understanding of interactions between biomolecules and surfaces. The behavior of complex macromolecular systems at materials interfaces are important in the fields of biology, biotechnology, diagnostics, and medicine. Biointerface science is a multidisciplinary field in which (bio)chemists who synthesize novel classes of biomolecules (PNA, peptidomimetics, aptamers, ribozymes, and engineered proteins) cooperate with scientists who have developed the tools to position"
"Mating In biology, mating (or mateing in British English) is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms, usually for the purposes of sexual reproduction. Some definitions limit the term to pairing between animals, while other definitions extend the term to mating in plants and fungi. ""Fertilization"" is the fusion of both sex cell or gamete. ""Copulation"" is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization. Mating may also lead to external fertilization, as seen in amphibians, fishes and plants. For the majority of species, mating is between two individuals of"
"interactions necessary to maintain the metastable equilibrium of the entities that compose the holobiont—the ""modus vivendi""—we can use the image of a cursor moving between two extremities: on one end, when the association inexorably leads to the death of one of the partners by the ultimate exploitation of the other (parasitism) and at the other end, the ultimate cooperative association where the resources of the partners are shared and confer reciprocal benefits. However recent works show that defining the ""modus vivendi"" with a notion of perfect equality and reciprocal exchanges is overused and that the photosymbionts are generally exploited by"
"mutualism (biology) in that two individuals from different species exist in a relationship where each organism benefits from the activity of the other. Reasons for the formation of interspecies friendships include domestication, interspecies communication, mutually beneficial exchanges, desire for social bonding, protection, or is often unknown. The relationship between a human and a household dog (""Canis familiaris"") is quite common and said to be similar to the relationship seen between a parent and child. Many people agree that there is an emotional bond between themselves and their dog. An important indicator of the bond between a dog and its caregiver"