What is tenantism and examples

Tenarism is a type of dmentationthat is, a interspecific relationship in which one species feeds on the leftover food of another, or use the second as a means of transport. Specifically, the tenant consists of a relationship between two individuals of different species in which one of them, the tenant, lives on or inside another organism, which acts as a host.

The key aspect of a tenant relationship is that The tenant benefits By obtaining protection, a means of transport or even host food, without this implying any benefit or damage to the latter.

To expand this knowledge, you can consult these other ecology articles about interspecific relationships: types and examples and what is dinerism: definition and examples.

Here are some simple teninsm examples to better understand this type of relationship between species.

Examples of tenantism in plants

The epiphytic plants They are those that live on the surface of other plants, such as numerous orchid species, some ferns, lichens, mosses, cactus, and so on. Epiphytic plants have the ability to hold vertical surfaces and capture water and much of their nutrients from sources other than the soil, such as air or even fog in the case of species that live in desert environments. Epiphytic plants can grow in branches, trunk or other plant structures, without causing any damage to the host plant. Within the wide variety of epiphytic species, many inhabit tropical and cloudy forests.

Examples of marine tenant

In the marine environment there are several examples of tenant, such as Balanus, which are crustaceans that inhabit the skin of whales or in the Bivalve shells. In the first case, a means of transport are guaranteed. Sometimes, Hermite crabs are included as an example of tenantism although the term “metabiota” is more accurate, which refers to those organisms that use parts of other dead organisms in their own benefit, as in the case of the use of abandoned shells.

Examples of tenantism in mammals

An example of tenant within the group of mammals is that of The squirrelsthat inhabit the trunks of the trees, where they find shelter and protection. Another case of tenant in mammals could be the case of rodents such as mice living in humans, looking for shelter and protection while feeding on food remains, all without causing direct damages to people who live there or, in the first case, without the squirrel harming or giving a great benefit to the tree.

Examples of tenant in insects

In the group of insects there are several examples of tenant, especially in diptera and coleopteros, where there are several cases of organisms that exploit other social insects when living in their nests, feeding on their food or using them for protection purposes. There are several Types of tenant that they receive the name derived from the social insect they involve, as is the case of the seternophilia that, as the name implies, is related to the termites.

The colonies of social insects are sources of abundant food and that, in addition, have protection, so that guests or tenants benefit from them, having developed various adaptations and strategies that allow them to overcome their barriers. This is the case of Beetles staphylinids Ateles Pubicollis Briswho live in ants colonies And they adopt a “food request” as well as that of the ant of the host species to receive food from adult individuals. Another example of this relationship is some mosquitoes that inhabit and reproduce in the liquid contained in insectivorous plants, but with an adaptation to this that allows them to benefit from the protection they provide and of the nutrients from the dams captured by said plants.

To conclude this explanation about what is the tenant and examples of this, we cite some examples of animal and plant vegetable species:

• Common squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).
• North American Picamadero (Dryocopus pileatus).
• Balans or Balanus that live on the shell of bivalve or embedded in the skin of whales (Balanus sp.).
• Epiphytic orchid species such as Bulbophyllum Sandersonii.
• Lichens living on tree trunks, such as Pulmonary lobaria.
• Epiphytes cactus, such as Lepismium Houlletianum.
• Bromelias (Tillandsia usneoids).
• Ferns like Asplenio (Asplenium nidus).
• Beetles of the species Ateles Pubicollis.
• The mosquito species Wyeomyia Smithii, which completes its phase in the plant.
• The species of termites Ahamitermes Hilliithat inhabits the nests of other species of termites of the genus Coptotermes.

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