{"id":116486,"date":"2024-02-15T08:11:46","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T13:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=116486"},"modified":"2024-02-15T08:11:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T13:11:46","slug":"valentines-day-the-interspecies-relationships-that-evolved-in-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2024\/02\/15\/valentines-day-the-interspecies-relationships-that-evolved-in-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"Valentine’s Day: The interspecies relationships that evolved in nature"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"BBC \u2014 From bats and carnivorous plants to crocodiles and birds, nature is full of remarkable pairings that depend on each other to survive.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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A green-brown spongy sludge congregates en masse across the surface of the Everglades’ shallow marshes in southern Florida. At first glance, it may look like\u00a0a harmful algal bloom<\/a>\u00a0that sucks oxygen from the water, suffocating the surrounding ecosystem and\u00a0releasing toxins<\/a>. But it is in fact a beautifully productive coupling of algae, fungi and a few other third, fourth and fifth wheels, such as plant detritus, microbes and bacteria.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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This cluster of beings forms a perfectly matched relationship, known as a\u00a0periphyton<\/a>, and provides the cornerstone of the Everglades’ highly biodiverse ecosystem explains Meenakshi Chabba, a scientist with the non-profit Florida’s Everglades Foundation. “It’s incredible because you have this community of organisms coming together and they form this matter which is the basis of the entire food chain here.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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A periphyton<\/a>\u00a0is an example of\u00a0mutualism<\/a>; an unexpectedly close cross-species relationship. As with any relationship, mutualism involves various, complex types of codependency and benefits \u2013 yet it roughly breaks down into two types:\u00a0species that are highly dependent on each other, known as obligate mutualism; and species that have a friends-with-benefits approach, known as facultative mutualism. This latter type gets something out of the relationship, but they’d survive without each other just fine.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Periphytons are formed from a cross-species coupling of algae and fungi, together with plant detritus, microbes and bacteria (Credit: Getty Images)<\/span><\/section>\n
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In this sense, while periphyton’s slimy mixing of algae and fungal matter perhaps isn’t nature’s most glamourous pairing, it has resulted in a symbiotic romance which has lasted for “probably hundreds of millions of years” says Chabba.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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