Answers To The Question: What is Amensalism?
AMENSALISM – In this article, we will learn about what Amensalism is in the field of biology as well as its importance.
What is amensalism? This is the relationship between organisms of different species where one organism is inhibited or destroyed while the other is unaffected.
Imagine a symbiotic relationship, except it’s not symbiotic at all and the other party is just a selfish organism sucking away your lifeforce. Here are some examples of Amensalism.
The best example of this is actually found in one of the most common medicine out there, penicillin. The Penicillium secretes penicillin which kills bacteria.
Streptomyces an actinomycetes inhibit the growth of bacteria. This is extracted and used as anti-biotic.
Another example is trees who secret substances that actually kill small plants around them. Trees like the black walnut secret Juglon, which kills plants that near it that compete for resources.
According to a forum on Quora, humans also have amensal relationships with numerous other species. In almost all such cases, the other species suffer a detriment as a result of one or more human activities.
For example, air pollution caused by automobiles, electricity-generating stations, or metal smelters often causes severe damage to lichens and plants. Humans receive no direct benefit from this relationship.
Another example is birds, mammals, and other wildlife that suffer habitat loss when forests are clear-cut to provide wood for industrial purposes.
Although humans derive economic benefits from harvesting the timber, there are no particular benefits to people from the damage caused to habitat.
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