Question

What is a protozoan living in the digestive tract of a flea living on a dog is an example of?

(a) Endo-parasitism

(b) Klepto-parasitism

(c) Hyper-parasitism

(d) Ecto-parasitism

This question was posed to me in a national level competition.

This is a very interesting question from Population Interactions-2 in chapter Organisms and Populations of Biology – Class 12

Answer 1

Right answer is (c) Hyper-parasitism

The best I can explain: A protozoan living in the digestive tract of a flea living on a dog is an example of Hyper-parasitism. It is also known as secondary or epi-parasite. It is a relationship in which one parasite feeds on another parasite which in turn feeds on its host.