All living organisms in nature are interconnected by a variety of relationships called biotic. Their appearance is due to the need to obtain food, to facilitate reproduction and distribution, to eliminate competitors. No type of biotic connection is useless or meaningless, for which there are numerous examples. Protocooperation - one of the types of biotic interaction - is considered by scientists to be almost the most curious connection between organisms.
What it is
Protocooperation is a biotic relationship in which cooperation of different types brings substantial benefits to all parties, but is not required for any of them. That is, the participants in the interaction are able to exist separately, however, the joint functioning greatly improves the quality of their life. Another name for the type of connection is optional symbiosis. Examples of protocooperation in nature show that such relationships are very important and very common. They arise both within the various kingdoms of living organisms, and between them.
Protocooperation: animal examples
One of the most famous examples of facultative symbiosis is the association of hermit crabs and sea anemones. In the crayfish themselves, the shell is very soft, and without a “neighbor” they have less chance of survival. Actinium has a small space for food production. Protocooperation gives the cancer protection from predators, and sea anemones increase the hunting space.
Examples of protocooperation among marine animals are very diverse. So, large predators, including moray eels, often suffer from skin parasites. To get rid of them, predators come to the habitat of settling gubans, which cleanse hunters from an unpleasant and harmful "neighborhood". Moreover, there are cases when the gubans swam in the mouth to the predator, and he did not try to "dine" lunch.
Some species of birds provide similar services to rhinos. Moreover, they voluntarily perform protective functions, screaming warning rhinos about danger.
Protocooperation: plant examples
It is readily used by farmers, planting beans along with cereals. The former provide the latter with easily digestible nitrogen, the latter provide the beans with a support to resist the winds and receive more sunlight.
Optional symbiosis between different kingdoms
Very often between plants and insects occurs protocooperation. Examples can be given a variety of. The most striking illustration is the optional symbiosis between ants and some herbs, in particular, thyme and European ungulate. The latter flowers are inconspicuous, inconspicuous, and even located very close to the ground. But they are rich in nectar, for which ants come, pollinating flowers at the same time. Note that the hoof can do without pollination without these insects, in their absence the wind serves as a tool, although with a noticeably lower efficiency. Ants also contribute to the spread of seeds: they contain an aryllus, for the sake of which insects pull away planting material without damaging it.
Protocooperation between higher plants (oak, pine, birch and many perennial herbs) and mushrooms is very common. This connection is called mycorrhiza. When it is established, the fungal mycelium can even penetrate inside the root, on which the hairs stop developing. The mushroom is fed from a higher plant, supplying it with water and mineral salts in return. Moreover, both parties to the communication can do without each other, but in the aggregate they develop much better and faster.
Features of protocooperation
The protocooperation, the examples of which we have cited, is characterized by the non-specificity of species entering into such relationships. This means that participants are able to unite with different partners, often temporarily, while they need some specific qualities of the second side. For example, birds in winter, finding food in non-snowy areas, often combine with ungulates. Those provide access to feeding, breaking a layer of snow or ice, and birds warn "associates" of possible dangers.
Unsteady line
It is often difficult for biologists to determine where commensalism is, where mutualism is, and where is protocooperation. There are many examples of such vague relationships. Mention may be made of the pollination of flowers by flying insects. On the one hand, this process is side-effect when feeding the same bees, so that it can be attributed to protocooperation. On the other hand, insects cannot survive without pollen, so the connection can be considered as mutualistic. To simplify the understanding of the fine line between these two types of biotic connections, it is generally accepted that if a plant is pollinated by only one type of insect or an insect can feed on only one type of plant, then this relationship refers to mutualism. If pollinators are different, as are the types of vegetation, then this is a protocooperation.
The same remark applies to commensalism, in which cooperation is beneficial to one side and indifferent to the other. For example, the existence of non-pathogenic microorganisms in the human body. They eat at the expense of the carrier, they do no harm, but the person receives far from all benefits and unequal: some to some extent protect him from pathogens, some retain neutrality.
Biologists are also aware of intermediate examples between mutualism and protocooperation. One of the species involved in the communication can do without the second, but its “partner” cannot survive without the other side.