It is amazing how life has adapted all over our planet from the hot, humid tropics to the icy, cold arctics. All over the world life has found a way to thrive and some species have even found a way to work together in harmony so as to benefit both. This is called a symbiotic relationship and the oceans are full of them! When you take the Underwater Naturalist Adventure Dive with Evolution you will quickly become an expert in symbiosis (and parasitism and commensalism).
So when you come to visit Malapascua, here are some to keep an eye out for:
Our most famous denizen is of course the Thresher shark at Monad Shoal. The sharks go every morning to get a nice cleaning from the wrasse living on the reef. They are not getting their fin pits washed with soap and water, instead they are getting nasty, painful, burrowing parasites removed from their tough skin. As the sharks slow down and circle the cleaning stations, small fish such as the Moon Wrasse come up to chew off the unwanted passengers on the sharks. Soon the sharks leave, nice and parasite-free and the wrasses are left with a full stomach. This is lovely symbiosis as both species are happy.
Next up is the smaller duo of the blind snapping shrimp and the partner goby. As its main occupation, the blind shrimp is digging long tunnels in the sandy bottom where it filters through the sand for microscopic organisms. Unfortunately the shrimp is blind, making it vulnerable to predators as it leaves its hole to push out the left-over sand. To solve this problem the shrimp has joined forces with the keen-eyed partner goby. Sitting outside to have a look for potential dangers, the goby makes sure the shrimp is safe while he works on their hideout. Look closely and you will spot the shrimp’s antenna on the fish’s tail – all the goby has to do is to flick it and the shrimp and his teammate disappear in a sandy flash.
Last up is probably the ocean’s most famous example, that between Clownfish and their Anemones. As seen in Finding Nemo, the Anemones provide a safe heaven for the small fish where they hide amongst the poisonous tentacles. As one of the few animals that can tolerate these stings, the Clownfish live their life protected from predators, leaving only briefly to catch some tiny nearby organism (or nip an unsuspecting diver if they have eggs to guard). As part of the deal the Anemone, which is an animal itself, gets some tasty leftovers from the fish.
The cool thing is that this last relationship is not only found with the Clownfish, but also with different shrimps and crabs and each species has its own favorite partner. Normally you will find Clark’s Anemonefish in flatter Anemones with shorter tentacles together with the Spotted Porcelain Crab, And the more commonly known Eastern Clownfish, the classic Nemo, tend to stay in the Magnificent Anemone.
For a complete understanding of how to see and observe symbiosis at work in the oceans contact us here – info@evolution.com.ph
