• What is amensalism?
• Examples of amensalism
• Commensalism and amensalism

We explain what amensalism is and some examples of this biological relationship. Also, what is commensalism?

In amensalism, the individual who is harmed is usually the smallest.

What is amensalism?

Amensalism is a biological relationship that is established between two organisms in which one prevents the other from growing and developing (or even surviving).

In amensalism, the individual who is harmed is usually the smallest or the weakest, while the other organism it doesn't even register its presence.

This relationship is the result of the survival instinct that many species have and that occurs at the moment in which a certain organism is installed in a habitat. Once there, it makes an effort so that other individuals or species do not manage to survive in the same space, which hurts these others. species.

Usually this survival instinct is produced from the generation of toxic substances which come from microorganisms and that prevent other species from developing in nearby areas.

The term "amensalism" is not synonymous of competition. Although both are biological relationships that are recorded in the nature, on the competence two individuals confront each other to obtain the same resource, which is essential for the subsistence of both. In this relationship, always one of the individuals benefits and the other harmed. On the other hand, in amensalism the organism that carries out the delimiting action does not acquire any type of benefit.

Examples of amensalism

The toxicity of pine needles prevents the seeds in the area from germinating.

• When pine leaves fall to the ground, their toxicity prevents the seeds in the area from germinating.
• The mushrooms they feed from organic material, that is, they absorb nutrients from other populations those that harm, weaken or neutralize.
• A animal it crushes the grasses that grow in its habitat with its legs and this prevents the rest of the species from using them for food.
• The overpopulation of algae leads to an increase in its toxicity and this harms the fish or plants that grow or develop around it.
• The substance that eucalyptus produces complicates and even prevents other plants from developing near it.
• Like eucalyptus, black walnut generates a toxin known as juglone, which disables other plants to develop, which generates very little competition for survival.
• The redwoods block the passage of the sunlight with its branches, which causes plants to not grow near them.
• The urine and fecal matter of elephants contain substances that attract pathogens that contaminate the I usually and the Water, and make it difficult for other species to survive.

Commensalism and amensalism

An example of commensalism is when bees build their honeycomb on a tree.

Commensalism and amensalism are two types of interactions that occur between different organisms in the environment.

The difference between commensalism and amensalism has to do with the fact that, in the first case, one of the individuals benefits from the relationship while, in amensalism, none of the members of the relationship obtains any advantage from that link.

In commensalism, one of the individuals is benefited while the other is neither benefited nor harmed: the link is neutral.

Some examples of commensalism may be when bees they build their honeycomb in a tree, when remoras are mounted on sharks for transport or when birds build their nests in any tree.