A parasitic relationship is one in which one organism, the parasite, lives off of another organism, the host, harming it and possibly causing death. The parasite lives on or in the body of the host. A few examples of parasites are tapeworms, fleas, and barnacles.

How many types of host-parasite relationship are there?

Host-parasite associations usually give rise to four main relationships namely parasitism, mutualism, commensalism and phoresis.

What factors determine host-parasite relationship?

Specific factors influencing host–parasite associations are, among others, climate conditions, behavioral traits, host sociality, population density, diet, habitat, age, sex, host immunocompetence, supplementary feeding, and animal translocations (e.g., Cornell et al. 2008; Kołodziej-Sobocińska et al.