Mutualism (biology)
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چکیده
Mutualism is the way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other. Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation. Mutualism can be contrasted with interspecific competition, in which each species experiences reduced fitness, and exploitation, or parasitism, in which one species benefits at the expense of the other. Mutualism is a type of symbiosis. Symbiosis is a broad category, defined to include relationships that are mutualistic, parasitic, or commensal. Mutualism is only one type.
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Behavioral Ecology: Manipulative Mutualism
A new study reveals that an apparent mutualism between lycaenid caterpillars and their attendant ants may not be all it seems, as the caterpillars produce secretions that modify the brains and behavior of their attendant ants.
متن کاملHerbivory in a spider through exploitation of an ant–plant mutualism
Spiders are thought to be strict predators. We describe a novel exception: Bagheera kiplingi, a Neotropical jumping spider (Salticidae) that exploits a well-studied ant-plant mutualism, is predominantly herbivorous. From behavioral field observations and stable-isotope analyses, we show that the main diet of this host-specific spider comprises specialized leaf tips (Beltian food bodies; Figure ...
متن کاملImmune function keeps endosymbionts under control
How does an animal host prevent intracellular symbionts getting out of hand? A new paper in BMC Biology provides evidence that the mutualism between a beetle and its bacterial endosymbiont could be mediated through the expression of host immune genes.
متن کاملThe iterated continuous prisoner's dilemma game cannot explain the evolution of interspecific mutualism in unstructured populations.
The evolutionionary origin of inter- and intra-specific cooperation among non-related individuals has been a great challenge for biologists for decades. Recently, the continuous prisoner's dilemma game has been introduced to study this problem. In function of previous payoffs, individuals can change their cooperative investment iteratively in this model system. Killingback and Doebeli (Am. Nat....
متن کاملAs you reap, so shall you sow: coupling of harvesting and inoculating stabilizes the mutualism between termites and fungi.
At present there is no consensus theory explaining the evolutionary stability of mutualistic interactions. However, the question is whether there are general 'rules', or whether each particular mutualism needs a unique explanation. Here, I address the ultimate evolutionary stability of the 'agricultural' mutualism between fungus-growing termites and Termitomyces fungi, and provide a proximate m...
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