It’s not always such a savage world out there. Different species don’t only interact on a predator-and-prey level. Two species can provide a mutually useful service for each other (also called symbiosis). There are many examples of this:
- Sea anemones hitchhike on the backs of hermit crabs, enabling them to travel further and eat the crab’s leftover food. But the crab also gains something too. Having these tentacled creatures on their backs fend off octopuses and other predators who might otherwise eat the hermit crab. Watch this guy moving his anemone friend from an old shell to a new.
- African oxpeckers eat ticks off the backs of zebras and elephants. This enables the birds to eat but also does the bigger animals the service of removing parasites off their backs.
- The classic example of symbiosis is often easily forgotten: simple insect pollination. The bees uses the flower’s pollen to make honey, while spreading the pollen further, enabling the plant to reproduce.
If your pupils are interested in learning more about different species, our brand new app Sorting for Early Science can introduce them to the foundation science vocabulary to get them started!
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