Cleaning Symbiosis - Do Cheaters Prosper?

Published: April 1, 2009, 8:31 p.m.

Parasites may be harmful to living organisms. A relationship called the cleaning symbiosis describes how some animals, the cleaners, remove parasites from other animals, the clients. Because of the close interaction between cleaner and client, a question arises: instead of picking off parasites, do cleaners ever bite their clients instead?