Invasion of non-native species can lead to ecosystem shifts

January 28, 2024
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN Topics

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Invasion of non-native species can lead to ecosystem shifts

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context:

At a Kenyan conservancy, the invasive big-headed ant species disrupted a mutualism between native ants and acacia trees, in which the native ants protected trees from grazers in exchange for a place to live.

Details:

When the invasive ants pushed out the native ants, the trees were left vulnerable to overgrazing by elephants, who browsed and broke trees at five to seven times the rate in areas with invasive ants.
Due to a more open landscape, lions were left without hiding places to stalk their preferred prey zebras.

Mutualism:

Mutualism is simply described as a relationship in which both species benefit from one another.
This relationship might exist either inside a species or between two species.
All living organisms, including humans, animals, birds, plants, and other microbes such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, have a mutual interaction.

Types of Mutualism:

Obligate mutualism	The relationship between two species in which both are entirely reliant on each other is known as obligatory mutualism. The best examples of obligate mutualism are most symbiotic and some non-symbiotic symbioses. For instance, consider the Yucca plant and the moth. The yucca plant thrives in the southwestern United States’ dry and arid climate. The pollination mechanism of the yucca flower is dependent on the moth. By laying its eggs on the blossom and feeding the larvae with the seeds, the moth benefits as well.
Facultative mutualism	The partners in facultative mutualism can coexist without relying on each other. They, on the other hand, create a diffuse association with a diverse range of species. Example: Honeybees with plants. Honey bees visit a variety of plant types in search of nectar, and these plants will be visited by a variety of insect pollinators for pollination.
Trophic mutualism	The partners in trophic mutualism are specialized in complementary ways of obtaining energy and nutrients from one another. Take, for example, cows and microbes. The cellulose of the plant is indigestible to cows. The bacteria found in cow rumens aid in the digestion of plant cellulose. Bacteria, on the other hand, receive food and a warm environment, both of which are necessary for their growth and development.
Defensive mutualism	In defensive mutualism, one partner receives food and shelter in exchange for defending the other against herbivores, predators, and parasites. Aphids and ants are two examples. Honeydew is produced by the aphids and delivered to the ants’ nests at night to protect them from predators and accompany them. The following morning, these aphids are brought back to the plant. In exchange, ants benefit from the aphid’s eggs, which they assemble and store in their nest chambers to withstand the chilly winter months.
Dispersive mutualism	In dispersive mutualism, one partner receives nourishment in exchange for assisting flowers in pollen transmission. Honeybees with plants, for example. Honey bees fly from one flower to the next in search of nectar, which is needed to make honey; in exchange, plants benefit from pollination, as the honey bee spreads pollen from one plant to the next.

Significance of Mutualism:

Around 80% of terrestrial plant species rely on mycorrhizal partnerships with fungi to provide them with inorganic compounds and trace elements, making mutualistic interactions critical for the terrestrial ecosystem function.
The proportion of tropical rainforest plants that have seed dispersal mutualisms with animals is estimated to be between 70 and 93.5 per cent.
Furthermore, mutualism is assumed to have fueled the evolution of much of the biological diversity we see today, including flower shapes (which are necessary for pollination mutualisms) and species co-evolution.
Mutualism has also been linked to significant evolutionary events such as the formation of the eukaryotic cell and plant-mycorrhizal fungal colonization of land.

Source: TH