Question

Mistletoe is a green plant that can make its own food, but also derives food from the mesquite tree on which it lives. In this way mistletoe is able to steal water and valuable minerals from the tree. 1. What is the advantage and disadvantage of this relationship to each organism? 2. What would happen to the mistletoe population if mesquite trees increase in number? 3. What type of symbiosis is this?

Answer 1

Answer:

1. Mistletoe is parasitic to the mesquite tree, it steals from the tree without giving anything valuable back to it. In this case, only the mistletoe gains an advantage.

2. If the mistletoe population on the tree were to increase, the mistletoe would probably end up slowly killing the tree. I say this because its a parasite to the tree. Its constantly stealing water and valuable minerals that it needs and doesnt give back anything that could help the tree. With all the water and minerals being stolen and an uneven rate with no way for the tree to replenish it all quickly enough it'll die.

3. Its parasitic since the mistletoe just takes and takes harmfully