12th Biology Notes – Parasitism – MH-CET 2014 by ednexa.com

1. 12th Biology Notes – Parasitism – MH-CET 2014
Describe the types of parasitism.
The type of parasitism depends upon the basis of interaction of parasites with the hosts and
also on their life cycles. There are two types of parasites, viz., ectoparasites and
endoparasites.
Ectoparasites :
Parasites living on the surface of the host body are called enctoparasites. E.g. Flea, mosquito,
lice, etc.
Endoparasites :
Parasites seen in the interior of the host body are called endoparasites. E.g. Flat worm,
tapeworm, round worm, Entamoeba, etc.
Endoparasites are of two types, viz. intercellular and intracellular. Intercellular endoparasites
inhabit intercellular spaces whereas intracellular endoparasites live within the cells of the host
body.
Parasites involving vectors :
Some bacterial and viral parasites involve a third organism called a vector or a carrier. The
vector transmits the parasite to the host body. E.g. Parasite Plasmodium is transmitted by
female Anopheles mosquito from one human host to the other.
Epiparasite or hyperparasite :
This type of parasite feeds on another parasite which in turn feeds upon the host organism. A
hyperparasite protozoan living in the digestive tract of flea which in turn lives on the host dog
is an example of epiparasitism.
Social Parasite :
Social parasites take advantage of interaction between different social organisms such as ants
or termites.

2. Kleptoparasitism :
In kleptoparasitism, para-sites steal the food which is gathered by the host.
Brood parasitism :
This type of parasitism is shown by cuckoo who keeps her eggs for incubation in the crow’s
nest.
Adelpho-parasite :
In this type, the parasite is closely associated with the host species. Many a time, the
parasite and the host belong to the same species or same genus. E.g. Unmated females of
Citrus black fly parasitoid, Encarsia perplexa, lay haploid eggs in the fully developed larvae of
their own species. This is adelpho para-sitism. These larvae develop into offspring.
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