Well, not exactly with men... but definitely with the scientists discovering whale lice.
Lice are known to humans as being parasites on hair, biting and causing itchiness on your head and scalp.
Whale louse (above): It looks like it’s from an alien world, doesn’t it? The species is called Cyamus scammoni and is found on gray whales. Photo credit Gerald & Buff Corsi, location San Ignacio Lagoon.
Whale lice, however, are different. Since whales don’t have hair, they live on the skin of the whale. Also, the relationship between whale lice and whales are not considered parasitic. Instead, their relationship is an example of commensalism, where one species benefits and the other is unaffected.
Commensalism is a relation between individuals of two species in which one species obtains food or other benefits from the other without either harming or benefiting the latter. The commensal (the species that benefits from the association) may obtain nutrients, shelter, support, or locomotion from the host species, which is substantially unaffected. Symbiosis!
Whale lice feed on algae and whale skin, but there is no evidence that whale lice are harmful to whales.
Whale lice are not insects, rather they are tiny crustaceans of the family Cyamidae. Most species of whale lice are associated with a single whale species and remain with their host throughout their life.
Image of the grey whale, Eschrichtius robustus. Photo credit http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2011/12/big-miracle-rescue-adventure-movie.html
A 1995 scientific journal article studying whale lice, and other creatures living on the skin of whales, states that the communities of these whale-skin dwelling animals can serve as indicators of different populations of whales and social structures.
Balbuena, J.A., Aznar, F.J., Fernández, M. and Raga, J.A., 1995. Parasites as indicators of social structure and stock identity of marine mammals. Developments in marine biology, 4, pp.133-139.
http://phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/61632.pdf
Looks like not all lice are bad after all! Then again, not all lice are good either. Such is the complexity of commensal relationships!
