A Fascinating Relationship Between Sloths and Algae

The Sloth and Algae Relationship

A sloth is a tree-dwelling animal that lives in the jungle of Central and South America. It's diet mainly consists of leaves and insects. Sloths have a greenish shaggy coat that contains grooves where two types of blue green algae live. This provides the sloth with a greenish coat that camouflages it from its predators and enables the photosynthetic algae to get closer to the sun since the sloth lives up in the trees.

Identify the type of relationship shared by the sloth and the algae.

Mutualism

Answer:

Mutualism

Explanation:

This is a symbiotic relationship between the algae and the sloth. The algae provides cover for the sloth, and the sloth allows the algae to photosynthesize easier.

Commensalism is a one-sided benefit, which would occur if the sloth helped the algae and received nothing in return.

Parasitism is a harmful form of commensalism, which would occur if the sloth took the algae and used it as cover for its body but killed it in the process.

Competition would occur if they consumed the same of something, which they don't. Instead they are benefiting each other.

And predation isn't occurring because the sloth doesn't eat the algae, and the algae doesn't eat the sloth.