Parasitism is a type of biological relationship between two organisms where one benefits and the other is harmed.
🪱 Definition
Parasitism is a relationship in which a parasite lives on or inside a host organism, gaining food or shelter while harming the host.
🧬 Key Features
- ✔ One organism benefits (parasite)
- ❌ The other is harmed (host)
- ♻ Usually long-term interaction
- 🦠 Parasite rarely kills the host immediately (because it depends on it)
🐛 Examples of Parasitism
🐜 Animals & Humans:
- Tapeworm in human intestines
- Head lice living on human scalp
- Mosquito feeding on human blood
🌿 Plants:
- Cuscuta (dodder plant) → wraps around host plants and absorbs nutrients
🐕 Other examples:
- Fleas on dogs or cats
- Ticks feeding on mammals
⚖️ Difference from other relationships:
- Mutualism: both benefit
- Commensalism: one benefits, other is unaffected
- Parasitism: one benefits, other is harmed
If you want, I can also explain parasites in humans, life cycle diagrams, or exam notes in short form.
