Epibiont


An epibiont. Examples of common epibionts are barnacles, remoras, and algae, many of which live on the surfaces of larger marine organisms such as whales, sharks, sea turtles, and mangrove trees. The host of the epibiont is typically referred to as the basibiont.
Although there is no direct effect of the epibiont to the host, there are often indirect effects resulting from this interaction and change in the surface of the host. This has been found to be especially important to marine organisms and aquatic ecosystems, as surface qualities do impact necessary ecological functions such as drag, radiation absorption, nutrient uptake, etc.

Types