Question

Define parasitism and give any two types with suitable examples of each.

Answer 1

Hint: Symbiosis refers to any long-term relationship between two organisms which share a close physical space. Parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism all are symbiosis of various forms. The different species seen within a single ecosystem can relate in a variety of ways to one another.

Complete Answer:
Parasitism is the relationship between two organisms, where the parasite gets the gain at the host’s expense. In other words, it is an interaction between two separate living organisms in which one organism named as the parasite, directly obtains its food from another living organism, called the host.
Parasites typically don't aim to kill their host as this essentially harms them of a nutrient source. Killing their host implies they would struggle to find a new host, possibly dying when looking for one. Many hosts are accidentally killed. While this is real, some parasites wind up deliberately destroying their host. If a parasite actively kills its host it is a necrotrophic parasite.

Parasites can be composed of the following types and they are ectoparasites and endoparasites.
1) Ectoparasites are the parasites which live outside the host.
For eg, lice in the human body.
2) Endoparasites are the parasites that reside within the host in the host's digestive tract, body cavities, different organs or other tissues.
For example: Taenia solium.

Note: Parasitic relationships are ones that include one organism feeding off another organism, to the loss of the other organism, including possibly the demise of the other. The parasite also lives aggressively on the host's body, absorbing nutrients from its blood or from other areas of the body.