Read the following examples and choose appropriate population-interaction ?

1. Epiphyte on a mango branch .
2. Cattle egret and grazing cattle.
3. Sea anemone and the clown fish.

Commensalism.

The correct answer is Option (3) -Commensalism.

Commensalism: This is the interaction in which one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited.

1. An orchid growing as an epiphyte on a mango branch, and barnacles growing on the back of a whale benefit while neither the mango tree nor the whale derives any apparent benefit.
2. The cattle egret and grazing cattle in close association, a sight you are most likely to catch if you live in farmed rural areas, is a classic example of commensalism. The egrets always forage close to where the cattle are grazing because the cattle, as they move, stir up and flush out insects from the vegetation that otherwise might be difficult for the egrets to find and catch.
3. Another example of commensalism is the interaction between sea anemone that has stinging tentacles and the clown fish that lives among them. The fish gets protection from predators which stay away from the stinging tentacles. The anemone does not appear to derive any benefit by hosting the clown fish.