Biological Interaction - Interactions Categorized By Effect

Interactions Categorized By Effect

Effect on X Effect on Y Type of interaction
0 0 Neutralism
0 - Amensalism
+ 0 Commensalism
- - Competition
+ + Mutualism
+ - Predation or Parasitism
Some types of relationships listed by the effect they have on each partner. '0' is no effect, '-' is detrimental, and '+' is beneficial.

Terms which explicitly indicate the quality of benefit or harm in terms of fitness experienced by participants in an interaction are listed in the chart. There are six possible combinations, ranging from mutually beneficial through neutral to mutually harmful interactions. The level of benefit or harm is continuous and not discrete, so a particular interaction may be have a range from trivially harmful through to deadly, for example. It is important to note that these interactions are not always static. In many cases, two species will interact differently under different conditions. This is particularly true in, but not limited to, cases where species have multiple, drastically different life stages.

Read more about this topic:  Biological Interaction

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