Symbolic relationships Symbolic relationships are Relationships that can effect its Partner. There are three types of symbolic relationships. Mutualism, commensalism, and Parasitism.

mutualism »Mutualism is the symbolic relationship where two organisms live or benefit one another. An example would be termites and intestinal flagellates Although termites can physically chew and ingest wood, they are incapable of chemically digesting cellulose into sugars. They rely on intestinal flagellates, spp. which are capable of producing cellulose. These genera of flagellates reside in the hindgut of termites and provide nutrition for them. They are not found anywhere else in nature. When a termite molts, it loses its hindgut and therefore loses its population of flagellates. It reinfects itself by ingesting its (or some other termite’s) hindgut that has been eliminated.

commensalism Commensalism is a symbolic relationship where unlike mutualism Commensalism is where one organism lives with the other but neither Organism effects the other. An example would be like when barnacles attach to the side of a whale or mollusk. A mollusk is a marine animal that may have a shell but has a soft vulnerable body, like a clam or oyster. This picture shows a moray eel hunting its prey while the shrimp is picking up the scraps.

Parasitism –Parasitism is a symbolic relationship where one benefits from the other. An example would be active trophazites that live in the lower intestine. Some parasites are large worms that feed off the blood and nutrients in the large intestine. A trophozoite (is the activated, feeding stage in the life cycle of protozoan parasites such as the malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum (the opposite of the trophozoite state is the thick-walled cyst form). The trophozoite undergoes (reproduction) and develops into a schizont which contains merozoites. Another type of Balantidium coli is cysts.

Down on the left is a picture of active trophaziots. A trophozoite (is the activated, feeding stage in the life cycle of protozoan parasites such as the malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum (the opposite of the trophozoite state is the thick-walled cyst form). The trophozoite undergoes (reproduction) and develops into a schizont which contains merozoites. Another type of Balantidium coli is cysts.