Cattle and Egrets: A Commensalism Relationship

Answered using GPT-4o mini by AI Answer Generator

Question:

Cattle egrets are large, white birds that follow grazing cattle. The cattle disturb the grass and stir up insects upon which the egrets feed. The cattle do not seem to mind the birds and gain nothing from this relationship. This relationship between cattle and cattle egrets is a type of:

mimicry. parasitism. mutualism. commensalism.

Answer:

The relationship between cattle and cattle egrets is a type of commensalism. In this relationship, the egrets benefit by feeding on the insects stirred up by the grazing cattle, while the cattle are neither helped nor harmed by the presence of the egrets.