Symbiosis: The art of living together

By National Geographic Society on 03.14.19

Word Count 878
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Image 1. Pair of Amphiprion Ocellaris, or ocellaris clownfish, in a bed of anemones near Florida Islands, Solomon Islands. By attracting prey
with their bright colors, clownfish help provide food for sea anemones. On the other hand, anemones provide protection for the clownfish
against predators. This symbiotic relationship is called mutualism. Photo by: Prisma Bildagentur/UIG via Getty Images

Planet Earth is inhabited by millions of species — at least! Because different species often inhabit
the same spaces and share — or compete for — the same resources, they interact in a variety of
ways, known collectively as symbiosis. There are five main symbiotic relationships: mutualism,
commensalism, predation, parasitism and competition.

To explore these relationships, let's consider a natural

ecosystem such as the ocean. Oceanic environments
are known for their species diversity. Imagine we are
on a diving expedition to explore the worlds beneath
the waves. If we were in the warm waters of the Pacific
or Indian Oceans, we'd likely spot an excellent
example of mutualism: the relationship between clownfish and sea anemones. In a mutualistic
relationship, both species benefit. Sea anemones live attached to the surface of coral reefs. They
trap their prey with stinging cells called nematocysts, which are located on their tentacles.

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Nematocysts release toxins when a small animal contacts an anemone's tentacle. This paralyzes
the stung animal, allowing the anemone to easily bring the animal into its mouth for ingestion.

While other fish succumb to these toxic stings, clownfish secrete a substance in the mucus
covering their bodies that suppresses the firing of nematocysts. This allows the clownfish to swim
comfortably between the tentacles of anemones, creating a protected environment in which
potential predators are killed off by anemone stings. This clearly benefits the clownfish, but how
about the sea anemones? The brightly-colored clownfish attract other fish looking for a meal.
These unsuspecting would-be predators are then caught and eaten by the anemones.

As we continue in our imaginary deep-sea voyage, we

may observe the commensalistic relationship that
exists between barnacles and humpback whales.
Commensalism happens when one species lives with,
on or in another species, known as the host. The host
species neither benefits from nor is harmed by the
relationship. In our imagined example, various
species of barnacles attach themselves to the skin of
whales. Scientists have not discovered the exact
mechanism by which barnacles are able to do this, but
it does not appear to bother the whales. How do the
barnacles benefit from this unlikely relationship? The huge whales transport the tiny barnacles to
plankton-rich waters, where both species feast upon the abundant microorganisms that live there.

Of course, some symbiotic relationships do cause harm. In predation, one species (the predator)
hunts and kills another species (the prey). One of the better studied predators in the oceans is the
orca, or killer whale. Found in every ocean on Earth, orcas are categorized as apex predators.
Though they hunt and eat numerous other organisms — over 140 species — orcas themselves are
not hunted by any other predator. In other words, they are at the top of the food chain!

Another harmful relationship is parasitism. This happens when one species (the parasite) lives
with, on or in a host species, at the expense of the host species. Unlike in predation, the host is not
immediately killed by the parasite, though it may sicken and die over time. Examples of common
parasites found in the ocean include nematodes, leeches and barnacles. That's right — though
barnacles exist commensally with whales, they are parasites for swimming crabs. A barnacle may
root itself within a crab's reproductive system. While the crab does not die from this interaction,
its reproductive capabilities are greatly diminished.

The last example of symbiosis we will explore on our imaginary dive is competition — the struggle
among organisms for the same limited resources in an ecosystem. Competition can happen
between members of the same species (intraspecific competition) and between different species
(interspecific competition). An example of interspecific competition in the ocean is the
relationship between corals and sponges. Sponges are very abundant in coral reefs. If they become
too successful, however, they take needed food and other resources from the corals that make up
the reef. Sponges may outcompete corals for resources in the short term, but if too many corals
die, the reef itself becomes damaged. This is bad for the sponges, which may themselves begin to
die off until the reef is balanced again.

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Symbiotic relationships can be useful measures of an
ecosystem's health. For example, large tracts of coral
reefs are severely damaged or dead because of recent
increases in ocean temperature due to climate change.
The temperature increase induces coral to expel the
algae that live mutualistically within them. Without
their algae, the coral turn white and die. This loss of
symbiosis is an early sign of declining coral health and
speaks to the importance not only of studying
symbiosis within marine environments, but also of
examining the negative impacts that humans can have
on these interactions. In the words of National
Geographic Explorer Sylvia Earle: "We need to respect
the oceans and take care of them as if our lives depend
on it. Because they do."

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