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Posted by John Blatchford Jun 17, 2008 |
Every cell of an animal is actually a co-operative venture between organisms – the powerhouses (mitochondria) came onboard when animal cells first made their appearance on the planet. With such an intimate relationship within every cell of an animal it should not surprise us when we find strange associations of whole animals themselves – but it does!
Coral reefs are extremely old – the habitat they provide has been around for ages. Many animals have adapted to profit from this very stable and predictable environment, and the various cleaner fish (and cleaner shrimps for that matter) show just how far behaviours can be modified if there is the potential for mutual gain. The Cleaner Fish have found a niche where they eat the parasites of other fish – many other species of big fish use the services of the cleaners, and in return do not eat them! This sort of co-operative behaviour is ‘hard-wired’ and written into the DNA of the species involved. A ‘Cleaner Fish’ does not decide to behave in this way – it’s just what it is and what it does.
Helpful Whales
There is a completely different type of association between animals, where animals with intelligence and self-awareness actually decide to become involved. We know this full-well for ourselves – we can make a choice as to whether we help out or not. But what about dolphins, for example? Did ‘Pelorus Jack’ make a conscious decision to help sailing boats? Do dolphins who help swimming humans and other whales know what they are doing? I would like to think they do, maybe we have moved on to a whole new ball-game with some of the more intelligent creatures on the planet actually deciding to work together. This would be good news!