week 7 - symbiosis in behavioural ecology

what is behavioural ecology

it's the relationship between animals behaviour and the conditions of its environment.

what is behaviour?

is the change in activity of an organism or an animal in response to a stimulus.

what is tinbergen’s 4 questions for studying animals behaviour

Function: Why is it behaving in that certain way?

Evolution: How did it evolve over time?

Causation: What causes the behaviour to occur?

Development: How does the behaviour develop over the lifetime of the animal?

How do wildebeests and Thomson's gazelles exhibit commensalism?

Wildebeests graze on long-stemmed grass, leaving smaller stems and stimulating regrowth. Thomson's gazelles benefit by eating the regrowth, which is highly nutritional and easily digestible, but wildebeests do not gain any significant benefit from the gazelles.

How might predators influence the commensalism between wildebeests and Thomson's gazelles?

If a predator appears, it might target the smaller Thomson's gazelle, potentially providing slight protection for the wildebeests, although this is not a consistent benefit.

commensalism in context of free transport

remora fish they can latch on to the shark and get a free ride, to different parts of the sea by floating with the shark, this helps them to travel without burning energy and they also get to eat scraps of food dropped by the shark.

example of mutualism cleaner wrasse and “client” fish

the cleaner wrasse they obtain food by using parasites and dead skin off the clients fish

client fish get health benefits by being cleaned of the parasites and this will reduce the risk of infection or enhance overall well-being.

they both benefit from each other

how do cleaner wrasse position themselves waiting for clients

each wrasse the way it works is it occupies a station on a piece of coral. It doesn't go far. It will stay within its little location and The clients will come and visit them when feeling crusty

Do all clients receive equal treatment from cleaner wrasse?

No, not all clients receive equal treatment. Some may have to wait longer than others for cleaning.

what type of mutualist are cleaners

obligate mutualists, They feed on the client's ecto parasites and dead skin.

What is a cleaner wrasse's preferred food?

The cleaner wrasse prefers healthy scales and mucus over parasites, as they are more nutritious and appealing.

Why must the cleaner wrasse balance its diet preferences with client satisfaction?

If the cleaner wrasse eats too much mucus or scales, it risks upsetting the client, so it must balance feeding preferences with keeping the client happy to maintain the relationship.

name the types of client fish

visitors and resident fishes.

describe visitor client fish

visitors are large bodied fish with larger home ranges.

They can travel between several cleaning stations.

They can choose which cleaner wrasse they want to go to, and they can go away if they don't like it.

describe resident fish

residents are smaller fish and they've got small ranges that are stuck in the same area.

They can't reach more than maybe a single cleaning station.

what type of treatment do visitor fish get from wrasses

the visitors almost always received prompter and gentler or treatment from wrasses.

how would a wrasse would treat visitor and resident fish queuing up together

the cleaners would go and deal with the visitor first and not bite so much.

what type of treatment do resident fish get from wrasses

the residents wait longer for cleaning and cleaners more likely to eat their healthy scales and mucus

how can conflict arise with cleaners

when the cleaners bite skin and mucus, which is preferred over the ectoparasites, this behaviour constitutes cheating because the mucus is protecting the client's skin.

how can clients tell cleaners bit their skin or mucus

A clients body sudden body jolt

how do visitor clients react to cheating cleaners

they will terminate the interaction upon the cheating events, by swimming away or choosing another cleaner.

how do resident clients react to cheating cleaners

Their response to cheating is usually aggressive chasing as they lack the ability to to move on to an alternative partner

describe manipulative cleaners

They will give our service priority to the visitor species over the resident ones.

they manipulate the clients decisions as well by providing tactile stimulation with their pelvic fins. it's like giving them a little massage, this lowers clients stress levels.

what situation would make a cleaner not to take a painful bite from client and why?

if another fish is watching, it knows that its reputation is going to go downhill if seen biting other clients.

the client fish can observe this behaviour. It's important for cleaners to have a good reputation, Otherwise they'll miss out on clients.

what type of fish do cleaners appear not to bite

predatory fish, they will also give extra massages to the predator fish. this high service quality, probably makes it less likely the cleaner is going to get eaten by the predator.

explain biological market theory

ecological and evolutionary concept and explains how organisms engage in mutualistic interactions similar to the economic markets.

how is biological market theory like the human market

just like the human market the organisms, the animals are trading goods or services for mutual benefits.

biological market theory focus on?

what things influence mutualistic relationships

focuses on things like supply and demand, how much competition there is, the choice of trading partner all of these things is going to influence this mutualistic relationship.

What are the possible outcomes of a mutualistic relationship based on the biological market theory focus points?

The relationship can either:

1. Work well, leading to a stable and successful mutualistic partnership.

2. Break down if one partner exploits the relationship, such as "biting everybody all the time."

how can biological market theory be applied to cleaner fish

the client fish, you can choose amongst multiple cleaner fish, leading to competition amongst the cleaners, the cleaners, have to provide really good service to attract and retain the clients

in biological theory is the exchange rate for cleaner fish is fixed or contingent?

exchange rate is contingent on the supply of available partners. It's essentially a supply and demand signals. it will change depending on the number of clients .

how biological marker theory apply to cleaner fish

using supply and demand

supply and demand, in areas with high parasite loads, the demand for cleaning services is high.

The cleaners may become choosier and prioritising larger, more parasite labelled clients, so they can get more food.

how biological marker theory apply to cleaner fish

when supply and demand is low

if there's low parasite environments. The cleaners have to compete more intensively for clients.

so you'll maybe get more co-operative behaviour for some.

how biological marker theory apply to cleaner fish

context The cheating and punishment

Cheating cleaners are likely to lose clients while those with a reputation for honesty will gain clients.

why is mutualism rare with organisms from different species

mutualism is rare because its unstable, possibly due to the cheating,

describe a cheater in a symbiotic relationship

the cheaters the individuals to avoid the cost of being mutualistic, but still receive the benefits But, they're not actually, you know, playing their part properly

problem with cheating animals

cheating animals have an advantage over the others who are all playing the game fairly. they're getting more benefit, than everyone else. But the whole interaction could break them

Is mutualism a fixed interaction?

No, mutualism, like parasitism and other interactions, is not fixed. These relationships can shift back and forth depending on the situation. The answer to whether a relationship is mutualistic is often, "It depends."

symbiotic relationships are context dependent

how are inter-species relationships context dependent.

If the context and conditions change, the interaction can change, shifting fluidly between commensalism, parasitism, mutualism, and it's because of behaviour that allows these changes to happen.

example of human animal commensalism with animal benefitting

pigeons roosting in town centres, they found a good place to live

robins benefitting from worms dug up by human gardener

seagulls following fishing boat

example of human animal commensalism with humans benefitting

context locating food

people who are fishing notice birds or dolphins activity to identify location of fish

describe human animal commensalism with humans benefitting

context natural disasters

animals detecting disasters, where there's tsunami or an earthquake for example animals tend to be alert to it before the humans are.

give a real life example of human animal commensalism with humans benefitting

context natural disasters

In 1975, people in Haicheng, China, observed unusual snake behaviour in the wild, leading to the evacuation of the city before an earthquake struck. This saved many lives. China now monitors snake behaviour in quake-prone areas, using their superior sensory abilities for early warnings, while the snakes remain unaffected.

Give a real-life example of human-animal commensalism with animal and human benefitting

(context: vultures).

in Tibet there are Sky burials This is a funeral where a dead person's body gets left out for the vultures to eat.

symbolically feeding the deceased, to vultures that carry the soul into the intermediate realm between death and rebirth.

describe human-wide life mutualism

mutualism can be passive and voluntary and is quite uncommon

human wildlife cooperation It's a type of mutualism in which a human and a free living wild animal actively coordinate their behaviour to achieve a common beneficial outcome.

exaMPLE of human-wide life mutualism that is still going on today

context honey guide

in sub-Saharan Africa the greater honeyguide It cooperates regularly with human honey hunters, to locate and access the nests of these species.

how do honeyguide and honey hunter meet each other

the honeyguide Will actually approach a human (Honey Hunter) sometimes the humans will attract them by producing stereotypical noise like whistling or shouting, the bird will come along, in response to that.

how do honey guide help honey hunter to find honey

the honey guide signals to the human with a chattering call, flies off in the direction of the bees nest, the honey hunter will follow the little bird until they locate the bees nest, Then they harvest the nest using tools and fire and smoke to subdue the bees in order to get the honey.

what happens after honey hunter harvest the bees nest

after the humans have harvested all the honey that they want, the honeyguide can feed on the beeswax (unlike humans it can digest it),

how do honeyguide benefit from relationship with hunter

The honey guy wouldn't be able to get into the bees nest itself, but would get stung to death, a lot of the bees nest are inside hollow trees, that it can’t access till hunters arrive

what is believed in the culture if honeyguide sends human to danger

rarely honeyguides will guide humans to dangerous wild animals. in some culture its believed its a punishment for not sharing the beeswax on previous occasions.

What is an example of human-wildlife commensalism that is present today involving dolphins?

Humans fishing cooperate with dolphins, who herd fish from deeper waters to the surface and give signals about where fish are concentrated.

How do dolphins help humans catch fish?

Dolphins herd fish toward shorelines and signal humans when to cast their nets, allowing humans to target concentrated schools of fish.

Who initiates the cooperative fishing interaction, humans or dolphins?

Dolphins typically initiate the fishing practice by herding fish toward the humans and signalling where to cast the nets. Sometimes the humans will actually use signals to attract the dolphins

How is cooperative fishing passed on among dolphins?

The behaviour is likely passed through social learning, from parent dolphins to offspring.

Why is the relationship between humans and dolphins in cooperative fishing considered commensalism?

The dolphins voluntarily engage in the interaction without dependence, while humans benefit significantly by catching more fish.

What is an example of a now-extinct human-wildlife mutualism?

context orcas

Humans and orcas cooperated during whale hunts. Orcas would herd whales and other marine mammals to the surface or shore, making them accessible to hunters, starting around the 1830s.

How did orcas signal humans during this mutualistic relationship?

Orcas signalled humans by splashing and leading them to trapped prey, such as baleen whales or local whalers

What did orcas gain from their cooperation with humans?

Orcas were allowed to eat the tongues of the harpooned whales before humans harvested the rest.

What does this example of human-orcas teach us about mutualism in wildlife?

It shows that mutualism depends on trust and cooperation. Human betrayal of orcas dissolved the relationship, demonstrating how fragile mutualistic interactions can be.

Why did the human-orca mutualistic relationship end?

The relationship ended after settlers deliberately killed two orcas, which led to the pod’s departure

What is an example of a now-extinct human-wildlife mutualism?

context wolves

Humans and wolves once cooperated during hunts, with wolves locating, pursuing, and exhausting large prey while humans delivered the final kill.

Why did wolves and humans benefit from this mutualism?

Wolves avoided injuries from finishing off prey, and humans saved energy by not having to engage in lengthy pursuits.

How did indigenous people ensure fairness in the human-wolf mutualistic relationship?

They always left a share of the meat for the wolves after the hunt.

Why is this human-wolf mutualism no longer seen?

It ended due to widespread wolf persecution and the displacement of indigenous populations in North America.

benefits of mutualistic human-wide life cooperation

There are material benefits to both the wild animal and the humans involved in these interactions.

It's also possible that participating in human-wide life cooperation may itself be a pleasurable experience OR strengthened social bonds, for both species

cost of mutualistic human-wide life cooperation

takes time to locate a partner and learn to work with a partner

danger - humans could kill the animal. Like what happened with the orcas or the honeyguide or wolves could kill the humans

In many cases these costs can be reduced by including signals of willingness to cooperate

negative ecological impacts of human-wide life cooperation

all pieces of human level of cooperation increase access to a prey species could therefore reduce the abundance of this species and affect its associated of food web.

So a slightly negative aspect if they are working together they're going to out, complete the prey and perhaps destabilise the food webs.

positive environmental ecological impacts of human-wide life cooperation

the honeyguide bird they influence which bees next get targeted where fires might be ignited

human dolphin fisheries in Brazil, produce almost no bycatch of unwanted species compared to humans fishing by themselves often capture bycatches

it's possible that human level of cooperation can result in smaller ecological impacts, than alternative practices where humans are not working with wide life.

why do we domesticate

meat

manure - fertiliser and fuel

other products - milk wool leather

food bee (honey), poultry (meat nd eggs)

hunting - hawks ferrets dogs

pets

guarding - dogs and geese

science - research animals

why are so few species domesticated

maybe religious taboos or cultural preferences.

some species are to wild making it impossible to domesticate

there are certain characteristics necessary in order to become domesticated.

traits required for domestication

social

non-aggressive natures. They aren’t predators

readily breed in captivity.

Precocious young. -up, running around feeding themselves at a young age don’t require intense sort of nursery care, and are not incredibly vulnerable.

easy to tame- less neophobic.

Tolerant of environmental changes.

limited agility

not too specialised diet

is farming animals mutualistic for animals

this mutualistic relationship protects animals from predators,

caring for pasture land

providing food, shelter.

is farming animals mutualistic for humans

they graze areas for us

transport grass, which we can't digest into protein now we can eat

is farming animals can be parasitic

cow

most dairy cows are kept indoors in America, they really keep everything together under a roof where there's very little movement of things.

cows typically have less opportunity to, naturally mix and exercise when they're indoors compared to when they're outdoors

cows kept indoors all year round, are called zero. Grazing is increasingly used for large and high yielding herds worldwide.

In the us cows are injected regularly with growth hormones to increase the milk yield. which is illegal in eu and

it is common for dairy cows to suffer from mastitis very regularly which is inflammation of uthers they have to keep getting antibiotics, which is then going into the milk that we're drinking, causing all sorts of antibiotic resistance problems. and laziness

is farming animals can be parasitic

pigs

The majority. The vast majority of pork production is intensive they are all cooped inside

newborn neonatal piglets. mutilations -they dock their tails, their teeth, castrate them, really, when they're just newly born. cus they bored and cramped up they bite one another to prevent they mutilate

Um, in the UK, in the EU, the weaving age, that is where they're taken away from parents is 28 the U.S. its 7 days old

early warning results in a lot of stress.

is farming animals can be parasitic

broiler chicken used for meat

they’ve been breed over time to be huge, chickens can live for six or more years under natural conditions, however those used for intensive farming They get slaughtered before they reach six weeks old.

this shows how they’ve Manipulated the. Morphology of the animal to make it grow really big.

But the the broiler chicken. It's just there's so big that they can't bear the weight.

how is life stock farming parasitic

humans are raising and harvesting and look for other product

They get a lot of benefit out of that. The animals usually don't get very much.

The key thing for me is for the US to really get choice in the matter.

They're absolutely dependent on us, so they'll be able to negotiate the terms of the relationship and walk out.

The humans are benefiting by exploiting animals for food and other products.

human life stock moving from parasitism to mutualism

So ethical farming practices, can mitigate the negative impacts and create a a more balanced relationship.

farms prioritise animal welfare. Could create more mutualistic relationships.

Moving away from intensive farming practices,

stop breeding for exaggerated features, breeding has been such exaggerated features that the dairy cow wouldn't last long as others its utters would burst. the broiler chicken can’t walk because they've been bred way out of what's natural for them go back to more traditional breeds,