Defensive mutualism occurs when one species receives food and shelter in return for protecting its partner from predators. For example, with the mutualism between the sea star and the scale worm, the scale worm lives in or near the sea star's mouth. As the sea star eats, the scale worm g...
The genome size of the fig waspC. solmsiis typical of insects, but has undergone dramatic reductions of gene families involved in environmental sensing and detoxification. The streamlined chemosensory ability reflects the overwhelming importance of females finding trees of their only host species,Ficus ...
Bees and flowers have a mutualistic relationship since the bee gets nectar and the flowers are pollinated in the process. A clownfish and a sea anemone are an example of mutualism because the clownfish receives protection from predators while the anemone is cleaned and receives nutrients from the...
Over 125 million years of ant-plant interactions have culminated in one of the most intriguing evolutionary outcomes in life history. The myrmecophyteDuroia hirsuta(Rubiaceae) is known for its mutualistic association with the antMyrmelachista schumanniand several other species, mainlyAzteca, in the ...
Domesticator-domesticate relationships are specialized mutualisms where one species provides multigenerational support to another in exchange for a resource or service, and through which both partners gain an advantage over individuals outside the relati
DanielDefoeprovidedanexample,whenhe wrote aboutfarmersinEssex,Kent,and theIsleof Ely, whowerejointlymaintaining wallsagainstfloods:theyall contributed to thekeepingupofthosewalls:“andif Ihaveapieceof landin anylevel or marsh,though it bondsno-whereonthe seaor river, yetIpaymyproportionto the ...
Grutter AS (2005) Cleaning mutualism in the sea. In: Rohde K (ed) Marine Parasitology. CSIRO Publishing, pp 264–278 Grutter AS, Poulin R (1998) Cleaning of coral reef fishes by the wrasse Labroides dimidiatus: influence of client body size and phylogeny. Copeia 1998:120–127. https://...
appear to have lost out in the more open regions of reefs to superior competitors such as the scleractinian corals (Jackson,et al, 1971). Still others have evolved mechanisms which enable them to utilize other organisms as substrate for attachment. Such associations are often complex in nature,...
(Rubiaceae) is known for its mutualistic association with the antMyrmelachista schumanniand several other species, mainlyAzteca, in the north-western Amazon. While both ants provide indirect defences to plants, onlyM. schumanninests in plant domatia and has the unique behaviour of clearing the ...