Match List-I with List-II
| List-I Population interactions | List-II Species A/ Species B |
|---|---|
| (A) Amensalism | (I) - / - |
| (B) Commensalism | (II) + / - |
| (C) Predation | (III) + / 0 |
| (D) Competition | (IV) - / 0 |
'-' sign for detrimental interaction '+' sign for beneficial interaction. '0' sign for neutral interaction,
Choose the correct answer from the options given below.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A)-(IV), (B)-(III), (C)-(II), (D)-(I)
(A) Amensalism — this matches (IV) - / 0. In amensalism one species is harmed while the other is not affected. For example, a mould that releases a chemical harms the bacteria around it but gains nothing from it.
(B) Commensalism — this matches (III) + / 0. One species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped. An orchid growing on a mango branch gets support, while the mango tree gains nothing.
(C) Predation — this matches (II) + / -. The predator gains food by killing and eating the prey, so one species benefits and the other is harmed, as when a tiger eats a deer.
(D) Competition — this matches (I) - / -. When two species need the same limited resource, each lowers the fitness of the other, so both are harmed.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 29-05-2025 (Slot 1), on 28-05-2025 (Slot 1), on 27-05-2025 (Slot 2) and on 22-05-2025 (Slot 2).
NCERT Extract:
Population Interactions – “Both the species benefit in mutualism and both lose in competition in their interactions with each other. In both parasitism and predation only one species benefits (parasite and predator, respectively) and the interaction is detrimental to the other species (host and prey, respectively). The interaction where one species is benefitted and the other is neither benefitted nor harmed is called commensalism. In amensalism on the other hand one species is harmed whereas the other is unaffected.”