Symbiotic Relationships
There are three different types of symbiotic relationships. Mutualism is where two different species are benefiting from eachother. In a commensalism relationship one organism is benefiting while the other is having no harm done to it but also not benefiting. The last type of relationship is parasitism. Parasitism is where one organism is benefiting but the other is being harmed. An example of mutualism in the desert is when birds eat insects off of rhinos. Both the bird and rhino are benefiting. An example of commensalism is a Cactus Wren building a nest in a Cholla Cacuts to protect the babies from predators. The Cactus Wren is benefiting but the Cholla Cacuts is not being harmed. Finally, an example of parasitism is a Desert Mistletow extracting the nutrients from a Desert Willow. The Desert Mistletoe is benefiting from the nutrients but the Desert Willow is being harmed.