Question

We think of termites as insects that eat wood. However, termites cannot digest the wood and rely on a variety of eukaryotic and prokaryotic gut microbes to digest cellulose. Without the microbes, the termites will still ingest wood but will starve. This, then, is an example of a(n); obligate mutualism. obligate antagonism. facultative mutualism. facultative antagonism. None of the answer options is correct.

Answer 1

Answer:

Obligate mutualism.

Explanation:

Obligate mutualism: It is defined as each organisms are obligated to each other, they rely on one another, means one species cannot survive without the other species. It may involve the interchange of resources, for example food, shelter, and nutrients or may interchange services like transportation, and protection.

Termites are mutualistic related to protozoa which lives inside the insects gut. Termite gets benefits from the bacterial symbiont ability which is present in the protozoa to digest the cellulose. The termites do not have this ability to do this, without the help of protozoa. They are not able to use their energy from the food which is wood, cellulose comes from wood it chews.

So, termites are mutualistic related to protozoans and showing obligate mutualism.