Crossword clues for commensalism
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Commensalism \Com*men"sal*ism\, n. The act of eating together; table fellowship.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context biology English) A sharing of the same environment by two organisms where one species benefits and the other is unaffected. An example is barnacles on whales. 2 The act of eating together; table fellowship.
WordNet
n. the relation between two different kinds of organisms when one receives benefits from the other without damaging it
Wikipedia
Commensalism, in ecology, is a class of relationships between two organisms where one organism benefits from the other without affecting it. 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 word "commensalism" is derived from the word "commensal", meaning "eating at the same table" in human social interaction, which in turn comes through French from the Medieval Latin commensalis, meaning "sharing a table", from the prefix com-, meaning "together", and mensa, meaning "table" or "meal". Originally, the term was used to describe the use of waste food by second animals, like the carcass eaters that follow hunting animals, but wait until they have finished their meal.
Commensalism, in biology, is a relation between individuals of two species in which one species obtains food or other benefits from the other without either harming or benefiting the latter. 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 organism is unmodified, whereas the commensal species may show great structural adaptation consonant with its habits, as in the remoras that ride attached to sharks and other fishes. Both remora and pilot fish feed on the leftovers of their hosts’ meals. Numerous birds feed on the insects turned up by grazing mammals, while other birds obtain soil organisms stirred up by the plow. Various biting lice, fleas, and louse flies are commensals in that they feed harmlessly on the feathers of birds and on sloughed-off flakes of skin from mammals
Pierre-Joseph van Beneden introduced the term "commensalism" in 1876.
Usage examples of "commensalism".
For each, we have to ask, is this parasitism, commensalism, or symbiosis?
Yet the crux of it was this: If Fee was right and the Extro had indeed taken possession of Guess, plus all the other electronics in the world, what would be the outcome of this commensalism, collaboration, symbiosis or, most probably, parasitism?
Then there is commensalism, where two organisms coexist but provide neither harm nor obvious benefit.
Who knows, maybe it's even reached a level of commensalism with its hosts -- attacking invading organisms for them, or .