Synonyms
Definition
Mutualism is a positive reciprocal relationship between two individuals where both may live together in close physical association.
Introduction
Every other organism on the planet is an intricate part of the ecosystem and has to interact with various other organisms in the environment for their requisite survival. This biological interaction not just encourages the survival of species but ensures the smooth functioning of the ecosystem as a whole. Margulis (1971) described the basis of all eukaryotic life, i.e., endosymbiotic mutualism between independent microbes and their cells. Mutualism is one of the three fundamental ways of interaction between two different species of organisms, the two other being commensalism and parasitism. The term “mutualism” was introduced by Pierre-Joseph van Beneden in 1876. This relationship can be within the species, between living things from two different...
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References
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Ghosh, AP., Singh, D., Singh, A.K. (2019). Mutualism. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1377-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1377-1
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