4 Types of Ecological Interactions
4 Types of Ecological Interactions
Parasitism is a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed, but
not always killed. The organism that benefits is called the parasite, and the one that is harmed is
the host. Parasitism is different from parasitoidism, which is when the host is always killed, such
as when one organism lays its egg inside another organism that is later eaten by the hatchlings.
Parasites can be ectoparasites -- such as ticks, fleas, and leeches -- that live on the surface of the
host. Parasites can also be endoparasites -- such as intestinal worms – that live inside the host.
Endoparasites can be further categorized into intercellular parasites, that live in the space
between cells, or intracellular parasites, which live inside of cells. There is also something called
hyperparasitism, which is when a parasite is infected by another parasite, such as a
microorganism living in a flea, which lives on a dog. Lastly, a relationship called social
parasitism is exemplified by an ant species that does not have worker ants, living among another
ant species that do, by using the host species’ workers.