Question

Association between entomophilous flowers and pollinating agent is-
a. Commensalism
b. Coevolution
c. Mutualism
d. Cooperation

Answer 1

Hint: The different participating organisms in the given association benefit from each other and survive in association with one another.

Complete answer:
Organisms live in an ecosystem in association with both the biotic and abiotic or physical factors. Often, organisms interact with each other in various ways. In nature, it is often observed that two different groups of organisms interact with each other and derive the benefits of survival. This association is called symbiosis. Depending on the nature of symbiotic relation, it can be classified as mutualism, parasitism, commensalism etc.

Commensalism is a type of symbiotic association in which one of the participating organisms derives benefits while the other remains unaffected from the association. In parasitism, one of the members gets benefit at the cost of the other member even causing death of the host.

In the case of the association between entomophilous flower and pollinating agent which is the insect, both get benefits from each other. In this type of association, both get benefitted and none of them are harmed. Thus, this type of relationship can be said to be mutualism.

Mutualism is defined as a type of relationship where one individual get benefited from the activity of one another and neither of them are harmed but continue to live alongside each other.Here, the entomophilous flower gets benefit from the pollinating agent as the agent helps in pollination, and also at the same time the pollinating agent get benefited by the nectar present in the flower.

Hence, option c) Mutualism is the correct option.

Additional information:
Coevolution is the evolutionary phenomena by which two interacting species evolve under the influence of each other. For example the coevolution of rattlesnake and squirrel.

Note: The entomophilous flowers are those flowers where the pollen grains are carried by insects or pollinators. These flowers are usually brightly colored and attractive to attract various insects. The examples of such flowers can be rose, lotus, sunflower, bougainvillea etc.
These plants are mainly pollinated by bees. The bees get attracted by these flowers and take nectar from the flowers and on the other hand, the bees also help in pollination.