300838 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Vachellia Cornigera, Beltian Body, Comparative Physiology
31 Mar 2019
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Comparative physiology 7: the word symbiosis literally means "living together," but when we use the word symbiosis in biology, what we"re really talking about is a close, long-term interaction between two different species. There are many different types of symbiotic relationships that occur in nature: in many cases, both species benefit from the interaction. An example of mutualism is the relationship between bullhorn acacia trees and certain species of ants. Each bullhorn acacia tree is home to a colony of stinging ants. True to its name, the tree has very large thorns that look like bull"s horns. The ants hollow out the thorns and use them as shelter. In addition to providing shelter, the acacia tree also provides the ants with two food sources. One food source is a very sweet nectar that oozes from the tree at specialized structures called nectaries.
