To Symbiosis or Not To Symbiosis
I’m almost certain this is an unpopular opinion, but the terminology for symbiosis is horrible. The textbook explains symbiosis is a close and long-term biological interaction between two organisms. There are three types of symbiosis: mutualism, in which both species benefit; commensalism, in which one benefits and the influence on the other is neutral; and parasitism, in which one benefits and the other is harmed. First, let’s get rid of parasitism. I don’t mean cut the word, but let’s delete it from the lexicon of symbiosis. Most parasitism is more akin to predation, others…wait, let me get away from this line, let’s just call parasites their own thing. There is no need for layers of terminology. Second, commensalism- ugh, what a horrible word. It means together (com) and table (mensa); thus, it means shared table, WTF. Does this meaning fit commensal organisms, or, more importantly, are there any commensal organisms? I hypothesize that...