Name _____________________________________ Form _______ Date _________________________
BIOLOGY
Symbiotic Relationships
Instructions: Identify the type of symbiosis in the table below.
Organisms
Parasitism,
Mutualism, or
Commensalism?
Description of Relationship
1.Barnacles
and Whale
Barnacles create home sites by attaching
themselves to whales. The barnacle gets food by
filter-feeding as well as a home. The whale is
unaffected.
2.Remora and
Shark
Remoras attach themselves to a shark’s body.
They travel with the shark and feed on the
leftover food scraps after the shark has finished
its meal. The shark is unaffected.
3.Ostrich and
Gazelle
Ostriches and gazelles feed next to each other.
They both watch for predators. Because the visual
abilities of the two species are different, they are
able to identify different predators. Both animals
benefit by keeping each other safe.
4.Mistletoe
and Spruce
tree
5.Oxpecker
bird and Rhino
Mistletoe steals water and nutrients from the
spruce tree.
6.Mouse and
Flea
7.Honey Guide
Bird and
Badger
Oxpeckers feed on the insects that bother rhinos.
Both species benefit because the bird gets food
and the rhino gets pest control.
A flea feeds on a mouse’s blood and harms the
mouse.
Honey guide birds alert and direct badgers to bee
hives. The badger gets the nest down, and the
bird eats the beeswax while the badger eats the
honey.
8.Cowbird and
Bison
As bison walk through grass, insects become more
active and are seen and eaten by cowbirds. This
relationship neither harms nor helps the bison.
9.Yucca plant
and yucca
moth
Yucca flowers are pollinated by yucca moths. The
moths lay their eggs in the flowers where the
larvae hatch and eat some of the developing
seeds. The moths get food and the flowers get
pollinated.
10.Wrasse fish
and black sea
bass
Wrasse fish feed on the parasites found on the
black sea bass’s body. It is like dental floss for the
black sea bass, and the wrasse fish get a meal.