Biology Essay Example: Facultative Mutualism

Factual mutualism is a condition where living organisms of same or different species interact and thereby both partners benefit in the process. The relationship occurs between the host and the symbiont. In other words, facultative mutualism is a condition in which each organism of different or same species exist, derive benefits from each other but not mutually dependent on each other. Therefore, the species can live without each other. The effectiveness of the mutualistic relationships between different plants, organism and animals depend heavily on the individual species and other species. For instance, the pollination process relies on the facultative mutualism between various plants of the same species.

The process can also be enhanced by the animals that inhabit the ecosystem. Competitive ability and the resistance to herbivores are apparently known for plants in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The facultative mutuality exists when an organism defies the competitive environment by taking part in the consumption of the available resources with the aim of existence. The plant species that colonize an area provide refuge to the herbivores at some mean densities. Nonetheless, the balance of the ecological systems thus relies on the facultative mutualism because plants form a solid environmental base in the ecosystem.

A facultative mutualism existing in an ecological niche is that of the honey bee and flowering plant. The extrafloral nectar secreted by the plant forms a better basis for the facultative mutualism between the plant and the honey bees, for instance, the honey bees extract plant juice from the flowers of a plant to make honey. The facultative mutualism is enabled because of the mutual existence of the plant and the honey bees. However, both the plant and honey bee can live without each other since other species of plants can provide other better options for the honey bees to extract juice to make syrup. The floral damage in the pollination process is an indication of competition and threat exposed to such nectary flowering plants thus need for protection against predators.

Some of the species of insects such as the ants are found in the vexes of swollen processes of Acacia plants. The ants protect the plants against foliage-eating insects or ovule and seed-eating predators. The vetches are palatable to cows, sheep and goats thus the ant's defense against herbivores is compensated by the ants. The facultative mutualism can also exist between plants and insect for habitation. The ants will find glucose acceptable than the sucrose which is advantageous to plants since sucrose is more expensive than the glucose. An example of organisms displaying this kind of facultative mutualism include ants and Acacia plants. The relationship is symbiotic since ants live in the swollen processes of the Acacia plant. The ants obtain shelter and food from the Acacia plant whereas the Acacia plant derives nutrients from the wastes of the ants. Protection is another example of facultative mutualism that exists between the ants and the Acacia plant. Ants get protection from the plants and hence the symbiotic relationship.

Another interesting fact about the animal facultative mutualism is well understood and conspicuously displayed between the red-billed pecker and the impalas. A symbiotic relationship exists where the red-billed pecker birds obtain nutrients from the Impala by feeding on the ticks and other insects such as lice and flee that inhabit the impala's body. The red-billed pecker protects the Impala against attack from bloodsuckers such as tick lice and other insects while the Impala offers food and nutrients since the red-billed pecker feeds on the insects embedded in the Impala's body. Additionally, the impala mutually benefits from the grass and other plants in the grassland thus keeping the grass population in check.

Small cleaner fish helps in cleaning sizeable predatory fish by feeding on the parasites hosted by the giant fish. Moreover, the low fingerlings get nutrients from the predators that inhabit the body of the giant fish. In this kind of relationship, the facultative mutualism and the symbiotic relationship exists. The aquatic ecosystem hosts various species of organisms which may prove to be dangerous to large fish. Therefore, the small fish tend to protect the large ones against attack by the predators while at the same time significant fish offer protection to the little fish against invasion by other predator fish and other organisms as they swim in search of food. The facultative mutualism relationship that exists between the small fish and large fish is beneficial to both the species

Despite the fact that facultative mutualism existence is useful to different species of organism in the ecosystem, the law of nature prevails. The survival of the fittest is applicable, in that the competition weeds out the weak microorganisms while the strong ones survive for the limited resource availability. For instance, regarding the honey bee and the flowering plant, several organism species can take part in the pollination process. Therefore, competition exists among the many organisms for pollination, and only the strong survive in the facultative mutualism existence. In case of the ants and the swollen processes of the acacia plants, the competition for a single host among the organisms of the same species such as the ants only allows the resilient, robust insects to inhabit the acacia plant while the weak ants and other organism species are knocked out of the competition. The weaker organisms are therefore forced to adapt to a newer environment or face extinction.

Facultative mutualism is a continuous evolution process due to the existence of competition. In cases where the benefits exceed the cost of interaction, the organisms are forced to change to become more suited and fit acquire the profits from the relationship of cooperation. Consequently, this leads to the change is evolutionary. In such cases where the organism provides the system, they may end up as mutually or unsuccessful mutualist or entirely non-mutualist in instances of failure to adapt to the drastically competing factors of survival. Moreover, this leads to the extinction or adaptation to other auspicious environments for the weak organisms thus enhancing the evolution of facultative mutualism.

The facultative mutualism is a biological term that refers the mutualism evolution since the existence of different organism on a single host is mutually beneficial to both the host and the organism species. However, despite the mutual survival, competition is a critical factor that determines the continuation of an organism. Nonetheless, the harsh interaction may lead to the extinction of the weaker organism species, or the weak species may, therefore, need to adapt to a new environment. Thus, the biological evolution of mutualism.