A. Commensalisms

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Abstract
Every organism is related in some way to other individuals of the same species and to individuals of other species living in the same area. With dioecious organisms, for example, a relationship must exist between the two sexes, at least at some time of the year, to ensure the continued existence of the race; among predators, recognition factors exist where by the predator preys principally on individuals of other species, although many predators attack and eat the young and weak of their own kind. Molting Crustacea, for example, receive no quarter from their hard-shelled kind. Some of the most striking associations among different organisms are between animals and plants (Chapter 15C). In the present chapter we are concerned with certain relationships, usually distinct from parasitism, which exist between animals of different species in the sea. Although there is a certain amount of competition among most organisms for food and living space, many species have become closely associated, often to mutual advantage. Where the association is clearly to the advantage of one of the members without seriously inconveniencing or harming the other, the relationship is referred to as commensalism. This is to be distinguished from inquilinism, which is a particular kind of commensalism in which one organism lives within another, usually in some part of the alimentary tract or respiratory chamber, without being parasitic on it or causing it any serious harm. It should be pointed out that the alimentary canal is, morphologically, not really inside the animal. This kind of...

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