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Symbiosis

All articles tagged with #symbiosis

Unlikely hitchhiker: remora clings to turtle ashore for 19 minutes in Costa Rica study
science29 days ago

Unlikely hitchhiker: remora clings to turtle ashore for 19 minutes in Costa Rica study

Researchers in Costa Rica observed a remora clinging to an olive ridley sea turtle as it left the water to nest, surviving about 19 minutes out of water—a rare, prolonged land encounter suggesting a possible longer-term host–remora relationship. The team briefly removed the remora to measure the turtle’s shell before returning it to the ocean, and the fish remained energetic, prompting questions about how remoras survive air and the dynamics of their association with hosts.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|
#costa-rica#hitchhiker#remora
Desert moss hosts surprising fungal partners, reshaping plant history
science1 month ago

Desert moss hosts surprising fungal partners, reshaping plant history

Researchers found mycorrhizal fungi inside desert moss, with branching structures in the moss leaves suggesting a potential moss–fungi symbiosis. The fungal communities inside moss differed from surrounding soil, implying a deliberate association rather than contamination. If confirmed, this could reshape moss biology and illuminate how plants first moved from sea to land.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|
#desert-biocrusts#early-plant-evolution#moss
Face Mites May Be Evolving Into a Symbiotic Partnership With Humans
science1 month ago

Face Mites May Be Evolving Into a Symbiotic Partnership With Humans

New genomic work on Demodex folliculorum, the tiny facial mite living in human hair follicles, shows humans are its primary habitat and that the mite’s genome has shrunk to essentials, likely tied to a sheltered, night-time lifestyle. The study suggests these mites may be evolving from parasites toward obligate symbionts, potentially even offering benefits like keeping facial pores clear, while their limited gene pool could push them toward an evolutionary dead end. Researchers highlight unusual body features and a mating pattern that occurs at night, underscoring how intimately these mites coexist with us.

via ScienceAlert|
#demodex-folliculorum#genome-reduction#human-skin
Cockroaches Harbor Thousands of Bacterial DNA Fragments in Their Genomes
science2 months ago

Cockroaches Harbor Thousands of Bacterial DNA Fragments in Their Genomes

A University of Sydney-led study analyzing 18 cockroach and termite genomes finds pervasive horizontal gene transfer from the bacterial endosymbiont Blattabacterium cuenoti, with about 40,485 DNA fragments (including non-coding bits) embedded in cockroach DNA—some persisting for up to ~28.7 million years—raising questions about their function and suggesting HGT may be more common in eukaryotes than previously thought.

via ScienceAlert|
#cockroaches#evolution#genomics
Remoras: From Helpful Hitchhikers to Potential Parasites
science3 months ago

Remoras: From Helpful Hitchhikers to Potential Parasites

Remoras, long seen as mutualistic hitchhikers that clean and shield their hosts, may be more parasitic than previously thought. New research notes reduced grazing by hosts with remoras present and rare cases of remoras entering manta rays’ cloacae, a behavior dubbed “cloacal diving” that challenges the traditional view of a beneficial relationship and highlights the parasite-like potential of these clingy fish.

via Defector|
#cloacal-diving#marine-biology#parasitism
Remoras Dive Deep: New Findings Reframe Hitchhiking With Manta Rays
science3 months ago

Remoras Dive Deep: New Findings Reframe Hitchhiking With Manta Rays

A new study documents remoras diving into manta ray cloacas and attaching beneath gill slits across manta species, suggesting these hitchhikers may be more invasive than previously thought. While remoras can help by cleaning parasites, their aggressive attachment can increase drag and cause injuries, pushing the relationship along a spectrum from mutualism to parasitism and raising concerns for manta rays already facing threats from fishing, habitat loss, and climate change. Researchers emphasize the interaction is nuanced and context-dependent, potentially beneficial in some cases and costly in others.

via Yahoo News UK|
#cloaca#manta-rays#parasitism
Color-changing surgeonfish signals for a clean at the Great Barrier Reef
science4 months ago

Color-changing surgeonfish signals for a clean at the Great Barrier Reef

Diver Jamie Wilson filming the Great Barrier Reef captured hundreds of pale surgeonfish visiting a cleaning station, and one fish abruptly darkened from white to black. Scientists say such color changes may signal to cleaner wrasse that the fish is ready for a cleaning and not a threat, aiding parasite removal and communication in reef ecosystems.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|
#animal-behavior#coral-reef#great-barrier-reef
The living trap: how ants and fungus rig a plant to catch prey
science7 months ago

The living trap: how ants and fungus rig a plant to catch prey

Researchers describe a three-way symbiosis in the Amazon between the shrub Hirtella physophora, the ant Allomerus decemarticulatus, and a cultivated fungus. The ants fashion a trap by cutting plant hairs and using fungal adhesive to build a stem platform with pores, where they ambush prey much larger than themselves; crickets are overcome and consumed. The plant gains defense and sugar rewards; the ants get prey, and the fungus feeds on waste, making a rare win-win-win interaction.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|
#ants#ecology#myrmecophily