Examples of sponging in nature

Living beings in nature react to each otherand enter into a relationship in many ways. One such type of communication between the two organisms is commensalism or sponging. Examples of such relationships are found in nature quite often. Let us consider the brightest of them.

The definition of sponging (commensalism)

Relations formed between organisms,which interact in nature, can have a symbiotic character. One type of symbiosis is called sponging, where one organism benefits from a relationship, while other species do not receive either benefits or harm. There are four directions for obtaining benefits:

1. Food.
2. Housing.
3. Transportation.
4. Dissipation of seeds.

Types of Commensalism

Most experts in the field of ecology group commensal relations in the following types:

• Chemical commensalism is most often observed between two kinds of bacteria, one of which feeds on chemical substances or the waste of another.
• Inquilism - one animal uses the body or body cavity of another organism as a shelter or living space.
• Entoykiya is a form of commensalism that occurs when one species inadvertently creates a house inside the cavity of another, but has an outlet to the external environment.
• Phoresia occurs when one organism is attached to another organism for the purpose of transportation.
• Sinoykia (lodging) arises when one living being uses another creature or his dwelling as his home.

Examples of sponging

Commensalism is a scientific term thatcharacterizes the relationship between two living beings from different species, in which one of the organisms derives benefit, while the other, as the saying goes, neither hot nor cold. Often commensalism occurs between a large animal and a smaller one. Here are some examples of sponging:

• Some shells can not independentlymove and attach to certain inhabitants of the sea elements, such as whales. The first benefit is that they are able to transport around the ocean. The latter from this connection receive neither benefit nor harm.
• The white heron follows the herds of cattle and feeds on insects that will persecute them.
• The monarch butterfly extracts a toxic chemical from the spurge and stores it in its body to protect it from predators.
• Fish remora and shark are a good example of commensalism.

The term "commensalism"

Commensalism is the scientific term forconcepts of sponging. By the time this type of relationship can be quite short, and can be a kind of lifelong symbiosis. This term was coined in 1876 by the Belgian paleontologist and zoologist Pierre-Joseph van Beneden, who originally used this word to describe the activities of accompanying animals that followed predators to eat up their prey. The word "commensalism" comes from the Latin word commensalis, which means "sharing, at the same table" (com - together, mensa - meal).

Examples of sponging are very common. Forest frogs use plants as protection. Jackals, excluded from the pack, will follow the tiger to take possession of the remains of his meal. Small fishes live on other marine animals, changing color to merge with the owner, thereby gaining protection from predators.

Burdock produces prickly seeds, whichcling to the wool of animals or people's clothing. Plants rely on this method of seed dispersal for reproduction, while animals are not affected by any influence.

Spongation: examples of animals and plants

Often one organism uses another forpermanent housing. An example is a bird that lives in a hollow tree. Sometimes epiphytic plants growing on trees do not harm the host, while others can be real parasites and adversely affect the tree, taking away nutrients from it.

Also commensalistic relations arethose in which one organism forms a habitat for another. An example of sponging in this case is a hermit crab - here a shell from a dead gastropod is used for protection. Another example may be larvae living on a dead body.

Animal is attached to another fortransportation. This type of commensalism is most often found in arthropods, such as ticks that inhabit insects. Other examples include anemonic attachment to the shells of hermit crabs, pseudoscorpions living on mammals, and millipedes traveling through birds.

Commensal organisms can formcommunity within the host organism. An example of such sponging can serve as a bacterial flora found on human skin. Scientists are arguing about whether the microbiota is really a type of commensalism. For example, in the case of skin flora, there is evidence that bacteria give some protection to the host (which would be reciprocity).

Pets and Commensalism

Dogs, cats and other animals, it seems, alsoare in commensal relations with people. It is believed that the ancestors of the dogs followed the hunters to eat the remains of carcasses. Over time, "cooperation" became mutual, when people also used the relationship to get protection from other predators and help in tracking production.

Marine "freeloaders"

Examples of sponging in nature are relationshipsbetween individuals of two kinds in which one species receives food or other benefits from the other without harming or benefiting the latter. The pilot fish is floating next to the white shark. Due to the flat oval sucking disk structure on the top of the head, the fish of the reminder sticks to the body of its owner. Both these fish-spongers eat the remains of their owners' food. One of the most famous examples of commensalism in the ocean is the relationship that exists between clones and sea anemones.

Examples of sponging in biology clearlyshow a symbiotic relationship between organisms, which is beneficial for one of them, and neutral for the other. Many cases of commensalism are surrounded by contradictions, since there is always the likelihood that the commensal owner also benefits or is harmed while still unknown to science.

Relations of this type are of great importance innature, as they contribute to closer cooperation of species, more effective development of space and enriching the diversity of food resources.