Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Symbiosis
The other night I watched a fascinating program on the nature channel about symbiosis. Symbiotic relationships are pairings between two parties where each provides something beneficial for the other and receives something in return - pairings that enable both parties to come out winners.
This informative half-hour program showcased three symbiotic pairings. The first involved little pilot fish and huge masses of sharp serrated teeth commonly known as sharks. Pilot fish are groomers of the ocean. These little fish flit to and fro inside sharks' mouths cleaning bits of food from the sharks' teeth and gums. This makes the sharks smile and improves their breath considerably. But a gourmet meal isn't the only benefit pilot fish get from their relationship with sharks. They also get to taunt predatory fish many times their size with the phrase, "You talkin' to me?" without fear of reprisals.
Another pairing involved ants and the Central American swollen-thorn acacia. The acacia provides the ants with nectar for food and a place to live (in its thorns). In return, the ants keep other insects from eating on the tree and other vegetation from overrunning it. While this relationship is technically symbiotic, it could be more accurately referred to as extortion. This partnership between the two always begins the same way. A boss ant and some of his thugs approach a young acacia who's just starting out and says, "Dis is a rough neighborhood, see? But me and my boys, we can offer youse protection. You pay us (feed us) and give us a place to hide out and we'll see to it dat no one messes wit'cha. You don't, an you'll regret it. Capice?" Naturally, the acacia, being young and unable to relocate to a better neighborhood, almost always decides that it's in his or her best interest to take the boss ant up on his offer.*
The final pairing the program covered was that of a wild and bloodthirsty beast with a weak and helpless creature whose condition was brought on by its own choices: the symbiotic relationship between the collection agent (vampirus moneysucker) and the debtor (emptywalletus idiotus). Interestingly, many of these mutually beneficial relationships have stretched for decades. Collection agents, deranged sadists by nature, derive pleasure from terrorizing poor people who have made the innocent little mistake of purchasing gobs of stuff they couldn't possibly pay for in their lifetimes at their current salaries. Collection agents delight in calling debtors at home at all hours of the day and night as well as contacting the debtor's employers to let them know what kind of a deadbeat they have working for them. They see this as their one and only civic duty. In addition to the joy they derive from their jobs, these individuals also getting paid a percentage of whatever they collect. But before we conclude that the pairing is parasitic and not symbiotic, we must consider the benefits the debtor receives from the coupling. First of all, the debtors get to stay out of jail (you must admit, that's a big one). Second, they get to learn valuable and creative money management skills as they are forced to figure out how to pay bills that they couldn't pay before but now with less money. Third, debtors get to chew yummy citrus-flavored antacids which contain calcium, thereby providing the benefit of lessening their chances of developing osteoporosis when they get old.
See, everybody wins in a symbiotic relationship.
* It's not uncommon for young acacias who refuse protection to suffer acts of violence for which, strangely, there are no witnesses. It's very sad.
This informative half-hour program showcased three symbiotic pairings. The first involved little pilot fish and huge masses of sharp serrated teeth commonly known as sharks. Pilot fish are groomers of the ocean. These little fish flit to and fro inside sharks' mouths cleaning bits of food from the sharks' teeth and gums. This makes the sharks smile and improves their breath considerably. But a gourmet meal isn't the only benefit pilot fish get from their relationship with sharks. They also get to taunt predatory fish many times their size with the phrase, "You talkin' to me?" without fear of reprisals.
Another pairing involved ants and the Central American swollen-thorn acacia. The acacia provides the ants with nectar for food and a place to live (in its thorns). In return, the ants keep other insects from eating on the tree and other vegetation from overrunning it. While this relationship is technically symbiotic, it could be more accurately referred to as extortion. This partnership between the two always begins the same way. A boss ant and some of his thugs approach a young acacia who's just starting out and says, "Dis is a rough neighborhood, see? But me and my boys, we can offer youse protection. You pay us (feed us) and give us a place to hide out and we'll see to it dat no one messes wit'cha. You don't, an you'll regret it. Capice?" Naturally, the acacia, being young and unable to relocate to a better neighborhood, almost always decides that it's in his or her best interest to take the boss ant up on his offer.*
The final pairing the program covered was that of a wild and bloodthirsty beast with a weak and helpless creature whose condition was brought on by its own choices: the symbiotic relationship between the collection agent (vampirus moneysucker) and the debtor (emptywalletus idiotus). Interestingly, many of these mutually beneficial relationships have stretched for decades. Collection agents, deranged sadists by nature, derive pleasure from terrorizing poor people who have made the innocent little mistake of purchasing gobs of stuff they couldn't possibly pay for in their lifetimes at their current salaries. Collection agents delight in calling debtors at home at all hours of the day and night as well as contacting the debtor's employers to let them know what kind of a deadbeat they have working for them. They see this as their one and only civic duty. In addition to the joy they derive from their jobs, these individuals also getting paid a percentage of whatever they collect. But before we conclude that the pairing is parasitic and not symbiotic, we must consider the benefits the debtor receives from the coupling. First of all, the debtors get to stay out of jail (you must admit, that's a big one). Second, they get to learn valuable and creative money management skills as they are forced to figure out how to pay bills that they couldn't pay before but now with less money. Third, debtors get to chew yummy citrus-flavored antacids which contain calcium, thereby providing the benefit of lessening their chances of developing osteoporosis when they get old.
See, everybody wins in a symbiotic relationship.
* It's not uncommon for young acacias who refuse protection to suffer acts of violence for which, strangely, there are no witnesses. It's very sad.
Labels: symbiosis, symbiotic relationships
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