A cleaner shrimp reaches into a moray eel's mouth. The shrimp uses its claws to pick stuff off the eel's body. That can include dead skin, tiny pieces of food, and even little creatures that can hurt the fish.

Question

1. Who benefits?
2. Who is harmed?
3. Who is neutral?
4. What relationship is this?

Answer 1

1. Who benefits? The cleaner shrimp benefits by getting food and nutrients off the moray eel’s body, while the moray eel benefits by having parasites, dead skin, and debris removed, which promotes its health.

2. Who is harmed? In this mutualistic relationship, neither the cleaner shrimp nor the moray eel is harmed. The interaction is beneficial to both parties.

3. Who is neutral? There are no participants in the immediate scenario that are neutral in this specific relationship, as both species benefit from the interaction.

4. What relationship is this? This is an example of mutualism, a type of symbiotic relationship where both species involved benefit from the interaction.