Difference between saprophytic mode of nutrition and parasitic mode of nutrition
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Answer:
Parasites
Parasites are the entities growing/inhabiting the body of the host, deriving nutrients from them. As a result, they are provided with ready-made food from the host’s body and have the potential to cause considerable harm to the host as they are directly dependent on them. Without a host, parasites cannot thrive and multiply. Hence, they do not kill the host but can harm causing diseases, few of which can be fatal. Unlike predators, parasites are much smaller than their hosts as they rapidly multiply. Cuscuta plant, flukes, ticks are some examples of parasites.
Saprophyte
Saprotrophs, on the other hand, are the living entities that derive their nutrition from the dead and decaying organic matter. Saprothrophs do not require a host. As they derive nutrition from dead matter, they are often termed as cleaning agents. Fungi and a few other bacteria are good examples of saprotrophs.