Ancient 16m-yr-old beastie caught riding on much bigger flying mount A new 3D x-ray technique has revealed a tiny jumping wingless arthropod making a break for freedom after hitching a ride on a mayfly's wing - only to be caught in a drop of amber and frozen for the next 16 million years. Scientists at Manchester University uncovered the ancient story when Dr David Penney and colleagues decided …
Things like this make me wish I'd continued my career in Biology - I never got to play with the big toys, but I did get to gold plate a wasp once.
And I'll need to read that PLoS article - they say symbiosis, but I don't really see the advantage for the mayfly in having prehensile antennae thrust into its wing. Unless it's having company for the long lonely minutes before the poor ephemeropteran shuffles off its mortal coil (or spring).
One party benefits - commensalism
one benefits at exense of other - parasitism
both benefit - mutualism
symbiosis generally is used to mean long-term extensive co-dependent mutualism although as always there are lots of obsessives arguing about usage/defintions
I was not confused. I remembered the list you give as being subcategories of symbiosis. I then looked up the term rather than assumed my memory was all it ought to be (e.g. http://krupp.wcc.hawaii.edu/BIOL200/powerpnt/symbcomp/tsld003.htm). While I agree that most people would use symbiosis exactly as you state, the authors of the PLoS One article would seem to fall within your definition of "obsessives." In this case, though, the relationship is indeed commensalism (phoresy is not parasitism as I initially assumed).
"a tiny jumping wingless arthropod making a break for freedom after hitching a ride on a mayfly's wing - only to be caught in a drop of amber and frozen for the next 16 million years."
amber yet again. But if amber is a natural force and isn't alive how does it catch so many animals? All I know is amber will get me in the end if nothing else will. even if science develops an elixir of eternal life and gives it to me I will still know that one day I will be caught by amber. No-one ever sees amber coming, i dont even know what it looks like. poor wingless arthropod. bloody amber!
It still happens everywhere pine, sugar maple, sugar palms, and other Green Stuff of that ilk grow. Insects get trapped and engulfed, and if we wouldn't use most of those shrubs and trees as product crops, eventually the resin buildup would be covered up and with a bit of luck, fossilise.
The Green Stuff nowadays may be quite different from the Carniforous era, but the principle is the same.
P1 = Probability of getting trapped in amber: fairly small number (like 0.0000001)
B = Number of bugs at any one time: very large number (like 1 billion)
T = Amount of time available for it to happen (when trees and bugs exist at the same time): large number (say, 100 billion seconds)
P2 = Probability of that blob of amber fossilizing, and being found by someone: small number (like 0.0000001)
Therefore, expected number of bugs in amber = B * P1 * T * P1 = modest number (about a million)
These numbers are guesses, but you get the idea...
Don't you just hate it when another person does an action that causes you to be late for something?
Mayfly: OMG, amber is coming!
Springtail: *jumps* WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE *thunk!*
Mayfly: WTF, get offa me! *glubglubglub*
Springtail: *glubglubglub*
amber: I guess you can say that both of you are *takes off sunglasses* late for the party (or something equally lame)
Thumbs down, because that's the only direction amber can travel, right?
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
