parasitics are no strangers to us.
As a close relationship between species, among the parasites we are familiar with, the parasites are often hurt, from parasitics that have become biological control sentries to roundworms that have basically moved out of the human body; from household cuckoos to imaginary classic face-hugging worms in old-fashioned pediatric science fiction - alien.
Like predation, parasitism is a consumer-resource interaction, but unlike predators, parasitism is often highly specialized, with one thing decreasing the rhythm of one thing.
The charm of vampire
On two remote islands in the Galapagos Islands, there is a blood-sucking finches that have evolved to drink the blood of larger seabirds— boobies .
The most strange thing is that when the little bird crawled on its body to suck blood, the boobies didn't seem to care, nor did they try to get rid of the bird - it seems that in the fantasy work, the "lost lamb" who was fascinated by the vampire and took the initiative to sacrifice himself.
How did this blood-sucking and docile non-resistance evolve?
Evolution researchers believe it may begin with a "mutually beneficial" process in which both finch and boobies can benefit from the relationship.
The most interesting contrast example is the Buphagus Africanus on the African savanna, which forage in a very similar way to the blood-sucking finches.
Cowpeckers remove parasites from large mammals (such as giraffes or rhinos), but at the same time they often peck scabs and expand the wounds on mammals to feed on their blood.
But, like a blood-sucking bird, the cow pecking bird will not be driven away by mammals. Researchers found that the cow pecking bird also provides an additional service - acting as an alarm. When predators are found approaching, they will warn their hosts - "Be careful, my meal bowl is not cèi anymore."
The relationship between the blood-sucking croaker and the boobies is likely to be a mutually beneficial relationship at first, but later it became a different story. The same parasitic stories are happening elsewhere in the world.
Parasitic whole and last
For example, cleaning fish usually establishes cleaning stations in coral reefs. Larger fish, octopus or turtle will go to the cleaning station like you drive into a car wash center, allowing the small fish to remove dead skin, infected tissue or external parasites.
Clean the relationship between fish and their "customers" is beneficial to customers, "vehicles" are cleaned, and the cost is those garbage that is removed, a win-win situation.
However, like the blood-sucking zombie, some relationships may become "bad" on the road of evolution.
Let us imagine it. One day, a clean fish, who was born "clutty", inadvertently "breaked off a reflector" - biting the customer. The client didn’t take it seriously, however, the clumsy cleaner benefited a lot from a meal of nutritious meat.
This "stupid" behavior that hurts the customer will continue, and the individual will always receive more nutrition than his or her, giving him an advantage. This advantage allows it to be strong and survive longer to reproduce and pass on its "crazy and reckless" genes to the next generation.
"Clumsy Gene" produces more clean fish that eats customer meat, and over time all individuals in the species eat meat because it is more beneficial - this is the process of natural selection evolution.
These clumsy cleansing fish ended up becoming several species of birds, such as bluestriped fangblenny, a type of imitation that looks the same as blue-textured clean wrasses. They never clean up the patiently waiting customers of big fish, but open their mouths and bite off a large piece of meat. Short-banded birds have even evolved alkaloid-based venoms that can make customers feel painless when they are bitten.
The result is that the big fish customer who entered the "fake car washing station" said, "the car is still dirty and the mirror is gone" - in addition to the parasites on his body, there are also injuries.
is right. Since the cleaning station is mentioned, let me say one more thing: the cleaning myth of crocodile and toothpick birds has not been proven to be real today. All the pictures and videos existing on the Internet are just advertising CG clips - after all, crocodile has no gaps in teeth, so what toothpicks do you want?
Parasitism is the norm
There are many parasite species in nature, and almost all animals that live freely have at least one parasite (both in vivo or in vitro).
parasitic strategies are all kinds of strange: skua (Stercorarius) that specializes in beating and robbing other seabirds to eat; male anglerfish (Ceratias holboelli); fungi that infects and manipulates "zombie" ants to climb trees... No matter how weird it is, it is the result of the long-term co-evolution of between species.
Here, there is a "Red Queen hypothesis".
Biologists quoted " Alice in Wonderland " Red Queen - Species must run (evolve) to stay in the same place (survival). The competition between species creates each other, which is what we commonly call the arms race.
Of course, no theory can be perfect, which also causes scientists to especially like to do it. In evolution theory , the court clown hypothesis contrasts with the Red Queen hypothesis, emphasizing that abiotic power (including climate ) is the main driving force of evolution. What's the point of noticing ? Let's combine it.
written at the end
Even the most authoritative science is often temporary and partially correct. There is always something new that jumps out to replace the old one.
. In parasitism, after long-term and relatively stable co-evolution, parasitism relationships will often be transformed into symbiosis - fusion of water and milk, and no longer distinguishing each other. Isn't this? Is there anyone who takes the initiative to let parasites get on their body in order to lose weight...
The author thanks for your attention (- _-)
