SYMBIOTIC PARTNERSHIP
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3286 ▶ |
| Object type | Human sciences, Methodology or model |
The association of two or more distinct vegetal and/or animal species producing benefits and/or protection to both.
This seems to be a step previous to integrated symbiosis , or at least could be.
An example at a practically automatic level is the reaction of a tree, parasited by some insect. The tree emits pheromones as a response to the attack and these attract parasites of the parasite.
P. CORNING (2001, p.8-9) gives examples of symbiotic partnership. One is between the African honey guide bird, who discovers a hive and a badger, who is able to dismember it. The bird gets the beeswax and the badger eats the honey.
Corning also cites the partnership of the same honeyguide bird with the nomadic northern Kenyan Boran people, with similar results.
Symbiotic partnership also exist at the simplest biological level. Corning even gives an example of multiple partnership in a single-celled protist: Mixotricha paradoxa.
Symbiotic partnership, whatever its level or complexity , is clearly a socializing mechanism , leading to living systems of higher degrees of integrated organization.
It is however different in nature from herd effects or swarms which gather individuals of the same species, mainly for reciprocal protection.