Mutualismus est coniunctiosymbiotica inter duosorganismos, ubi uterque beneficiumhabilitatis lucratur, exempli gratia habilitatem superesse. Coniunctiones similes intraspeciem appellanturcooperatio. Mutualismus cumcertamine interspecifico discrepat, in quo uterque species habilitatem imminutam experitur, et cumexploitatione, in quo quaedam species beneficia incommodo aliae lucratur. Mutualismus etsymbiosis aliquando tractantur si sint synonymi, sed hoc accurate est falsum: symbiosis est lata categoria, quae coniunctiones mutualistica,parasitica, velcommensales comprehendit. Mutualismus solum est quoddam harum coniunctionum genus.
Mutualismus partes graves inoecologia etbiologia evolutionaria agit. Exempli gratia, coniunctiones mutualisticae sunt graves pro operationeoecosystematis terrestris, quoniam plus quam 70%plantarum terrestrium coniunctionibusmycorrhizosis cumfungis confidunt ut composita inorganica etelementamineralia adipiscantur. Praeterea, mutualismusevolutionem multumbiologicae mundi diversitatis pepulit, sicut formasflorum (graves pro multispollinationis mutualismis) etcoevolutionem inter greges specierum (Thompson 2005). Nihilominus, mutualismus minus quampraedatio,parasitismus, et aliae coniunctiones interspecificae investigatus est (Begon et al. 1996; Bronstein 1994).
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