Most people have at least one species of mite living on their foreheads. The mites feed on the dead skin cells of the person and the person isn’t affected. Select the option that best describes this relationship. P.S. This is actually true! You might have mites on your forehead!
A Mutualism
B Parasitism
C Commensalism
D Competition
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is C Commensalism.
Commensalism is a type of symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed. In this case, the mites benefit by feeding on the dead skin cells of the person, while the person remains unaffected. The person doesn’t experience any noticeable harm or benefit from the mites’ presence, which is characteristic of commensalism.
To elaborate, in commensalism, the mites use the skin cells as a food source without causing any obvious negative effects on the human host. The relationship is one-sided, meaning the mites get nourishment, but the human does not gain anything positive from the presence of the mites, nor do they suffer any harm. This contrasts with other types of symbiotic relationships:
- Mutualism: In mutualism, both organisms benefit from the relationship. An example would be bees and flowers; bees pollinate the flowers while obtaining nectar for themselves.
- Parasitism: In parasitism, one organism benefits at the expense of the other. If the mites caused irritation or disease on the person’s skin, this would be considered parasitism.
- Competition: Competition occurs when two organisms vie for the same resource, such as food or space, which doesn’t apply in this scenario because the mites are not competing with the human for resources.
Mites living on human skin are a great example of commensalism because they do not affect the human host in any negative way, and the mites are simply taking advantage of a food source provided by the shedding of skin cells.