COMMENSALISM

SYMBIOSIS | COMMENSALISM | MUTUALISM | PARISITISM | AMENSALISM | COEVOLUTION

~Commensalism is a type of symbiosis in which the symbiont benefits from the situation and the host is neither harmed nor benefited. The term commensalism comes from the latin phrase "com mesa," which means "sharing a table." Those crafty scientists come up with the most fun words for parasites, I'll tell ya.
 * General Information: What is Commensalism?**

~Here are some examples of commensalism, as stated in the title. Redundant!
 * Common Examples of Commensalism:**

~The Cattle Egret is a type of long legged bird that follows herds of cattle and livestock and eats the insects that are stirred up by the moving herd. The Cattle Egret is benefitted by a good meal and full belly, while the cattle and livestock are completely unaffected.

~The barnacle! Barnacles are immobile crustaceans that cling to a surface to live upon and filter feed with long feather appendages. The barnacle has a place to live by attaching itself to anything from a rock or submarine to a shell or whale. The host is then unaffected by this.

~Pseudoscorpions are cousins to their more famous cousins but lack some thing that most of everyone thinks about when thinking of scorpions. They have no stinger. They are also only about 1 cm in length. Some of these little guys hide themsleves under the wings of larger beetles. This gives them protection but does not affect such beetles.

~the remora attaches itself to the shark and gets the bits of food it scatters. (posted by andie)

~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commensalism ~http://www.nearctica.com/ecology/pops/commens.htm