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Are Oxpeckers Friends or Foes?

An Evaluation of a Symbiotic Relationship

By Andrea M.-K. Bierema

Are Oxpeckers Friends or Foes?


 

Abstract

Symbiotic relationships are interactions between species that live closely with each other and are commonly separated into three types: parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism. Students are often under the impression that these types are distinct and mutually exclusive, but on closer examination some interactions appear to be at times mutualistic, at other times parasitic. Is it perhaps better to think of mutualism and parasitism as two ends of a sliding scale, with commensalism in the middle? In this case study, students consider this question by examining what is often considered to be a classic example of mutualism existing between oxpecker birds and African savanna large mammals. After students examine data from a research study on oxpecker behavior, they then apply a more nuanced understanding of species interactions to a set of additional scenarios. The learning objectives for the case align with the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education Framework. The case was written for an upper-level undergraduate ecology course, but could easily be adapted for an introductory biology course.

   

Date Posted

11/15/2021

Overview

Objectives

  • Use natural history observations, including quantitative data, to explain if a species interaction is more parasitic or mutualistic.
  • Predict how behavioral traits are influenced by mutation and natural selection.
  • Explain how environmental change and behavioral traits affect survival.
  • Predict how resource availability affects habitat selection.
  • Predict how anthropogenic impacts affect ecological community interactions.

Keywords

Ecology; ecology education framework; environmental change; evolution; habitat selection; mutualism; oxpecker; parasitism; species interactions; species relationships; symbiosis

  

Subject Headings

Agriculture
Biology (General)
Ecology
Environmental Science
Evolutionary Biology
Wildlife Management
Zoology

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division

  

FORMAT

PDF

   

TOPICAL AREAS

N/A

   

LANGUAGE

English

   

TYPE/METHODS

Analysis (Issues), Directed

 

 

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