Mutualism
cwilcox | January 27, 2010As soon as you put more than one species in an ecosystem, you have species interactions. There are many kinds of these relationships, each defined by what each side gets out of the deal. Many of these you've heard of, though you might not have strict definitions for, like Competition or the Antagonism of predator and prey. One of the most fascinating relationships animals can have, though, is what is called Mutualism, where both sides benefit from the interaction.
Mutualism is very common: the classic example is the relationship pollinators and their plants. Around 70% of land plants require…
awild | January 13, 2010If I were to mention an ant-fungus mutualism- that is, an ecological partnership between an ant and a fungus that benefits both- most biologically literate people might think of the famed leafcutter ants and the edible mycelia they cultivate. But that is just one example.
Several other fungi have entered into productive relationships with ants, assisting especially in ant architecture. Consider:
Lasius umbratus walking in the galleries of an underground carton nest (Illinois)
A larger view of the same nest. The intricate galleries are made from fungal mycelia growing through a…
bleimanb | April 9, 2008Thanks to two readers, the infamous Mike Witherspoon and the illustrious Tanya Poon, we have been alerted to two mega-sweet articles in the New York Times.
The first from the Science Times yesterday tells the story of Cape Coral, Florida, a coastal town that was alarmed by a strange noise coming from the ocean which "reverberat[ed] through their homes." The townsfolk- mostly retirees -almost got their government to dish out $47,000 to an engineering company to fix the municipal utility system that they blamed for the racket. Turns out it was the powerful mating calls of a fish called the…