Question

what is an organism that benefits at the expense of its host is called

Answer 1

I believe its called a parasite:)) hope it helps:))

Answer 2

And organism that benefits from its host --->but the does not benefit at all, is called a Parasite :)

Answer 3

host*

Answer 4

Thaknx for the medal @Destinymasha :))

Answer 5

You're very welcome :)

Answer 6

hehe:))

Answer 7

And thank you too :3

Answer 8

your very welcome..Anytime:))

Answer 9

@Destinymasha It is a bit more complicated than that. In order for it to be a parasite it has to cause actual harm to the host. In symbiosis biology the relationships are described by the fitness costs on the involved species. The names are based on size of the involved organisms.

Mutualism=>both have a net fitness increase
Commensalism=>One benefits one has a neutral net fitness effect. The others are not that important.

An example of a mutualist would be mycorrhizae. 96% of all surveyed plant species for mutualistic relationships with fungi. This is why find some species of fungi sexual structures (essentially mushrooms) only near specific trees. The porcini mushroom is particularly found of norway spruce.

For commensalisms it could be things like spiders making webs on plants. The spiders benefit but most of the time the plants are not affected.