Host

Definition

A host is an organism that provides resources or a habitat to another organism, often in a symbiotic relationship. The host can be affected positively, negatively, or neutrally by this interaction.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The host is central to various symbiotic relationships such as parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism.
2. In parasitic interactions, the host is typically harmed by the parasite which gains benefits from the host's resources.
3. Hosts can provide shelter, nutrients, and transportation to their symbionts.
4. The health and population dynamics of hosts can significantly impact the community structure and biodiversity.
5. Host specificity refers to how selective a symbiont is in choosing its host species.

Review Questions

• What roles can a host play in different types of symbiotic relationships?
• How does a parasitic relationship affect the host?
• Why is understanding host specificity important in studying community ecology?

Related terms

Parasite: An organism that lives on or inside a host and benefits at the expense of the host.

Symbiosis:

A close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms.

Mutualism:

A type of symbiotic relationship where both organisms involved benefit from the interaction.