Match List-I with List-II
| List-I Population interaction | List-II Species A/Species B |
|---|---|
| (A) Mutualism | (I) + / 0 |
| (B) Competition | (II) + / + |
| (C) Commensalism | (III) - / 0 |
| (D) Amensalism | (IV) - / - |
'-' sign for detrimental interaction, '0' sign for neutral interaction, '+' sign for beneficial interaction
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (A)-(II), (B)-(IV), (C)-(I), (D)-(III)
(A) Mutualism — this matches (II) + / +. In mutualism both species gain. A lichen is an example: the fungus gives shelter and the alga makes food for both.
(B) Competition — this matches (IV) - / -. Two species that need the same limited resource, such as food or space, both lose. Each gets less than it would get alone.
(C) Commensalism — this matches (I) + / 0. One species gains and the other is neither harmed nor helped. An orchid growing on a mango branch gets a place in the light, and the mango tree is not affected.
(D) Amensalism — this matches (III) - / 0. Here one species is harmed and the other is unaffected. It is the opposite case of commensalism.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 02-06-2025 (Slot 2), on 28-05-2025 (Slot 1), on 27-05-2025 (Slot 2) and on 22-05-2025 (Slot 2), and in CUET (UG) 2023 on 12-06-2023 (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.”