Parasite
An organism that lives in or on a host organism, deriving nutrients at the host's expense. Parasites typically harm but don't immediately kill their hosts.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 10 chapters:
"The grouper, possessing 700 pounds of bite force, freezes. Mouth agape. Gills flared. Fighting every predatory instinct. The wrasse picks parasites from between teeth designed to crush crustaceans. One twitch of the grouper's jaw would mean death. But the grouper holds still."
"Explains how the Red Queen framework revolutionized thinking about selection - emphasizing biotic interactions (predator-prey, host-parasite) over abiotic factors in driving continuous evolution. Documents arms race dynamics in various systems.* Wikipedia. "r/K Selection Theory." http..."
"Diagnose your true position in the ecosystem - Are you keystone infrastructure, a symbiont, or a parasite? Your real position determines your leverage. 2. Identify dependencies that could kill you - Single points of failure, power asymmetries, and suc..."
"The grooming sessions were meticulous. Yeroen spent 30% of his daily time budget on Nikkie - picking parasites, social huddling, playing with Nikkie's offspring. The investment was massive. The return was precise."
"...hird-Party Enforcement (When Watchdogs Become Cheaters) Biological Foundation: Some species have specialized cheater detectors. Cleaner fish eat parasites off larger fish (mutualism). But some cleaners bite and eat mucus instead (cheating). Client fish punish cheaters by chasing them away and refusing t..."
And 5 more chapters...
Biological Context
Parasitism is enormously common—possibly most species are parasites. Parasites evolve to exploit hosts while avoiding killing them (which would end the relationship). Host-parasite coevolution drives rapid evolutionary change in both parties.
Business Application
Parasitic business relationships extract value without providing commensurate benefit. Rent-seeking, exploitative contracts, and value-extracting intermediaries are parasitic. Unlike predators, parasites prefer their hosts alive—they extract continuously rather than consuming entirely.