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One partner abandons the mutualism and lives autonomously [47] One partner may go extinct [47] A partner may be switched to another species [49] There are many examples of mutualism breakdown. For example, plant lineages inhabiting nutrient-rich environments have evolutionarily abandoned mycorrhizal mutualisms many times independently. [50]
Obligate mutualism is a special case of mutualism where an ecological interaction between species mutually benefits each other, and one or all species are unable to survive without the other. [1] In some obligate relationships, only one species is dependent on the relationship.
A mutualism coextinction event is where a species goes extinct upon the loss of its mutualist (Koh et al. 2004). Models have attempted to predict when the breakdown of a mutualism leads to coextinction, because in this situation protecting the mutualism will be particularly important for conservation.
Many lichens are examples of obligate symbiosis. In fact, one-fifth of all known extant fungal species form obligate symbiotic associations with green algae, cyanobacteria or both. [24] Not all examples of mutualism are also examples of cooperation. Specifically, in by-product mutualism, both participants benefit, but cooperation is not involved.
Mutualism is an interaction between species that is beneficial to both. A familiar example of a mutualism is the relationship between flowering plants and their pollinators. [2] [3] The plant benefits from the spread of pollen between flowers, while the pollinator receives some form of nourishment, either from nectar or the pollen itself.
Mutualism may be classified in terms of the closeness of association, the closest being symbiosis, which is often confused with mutualism. One or both species involved in the interaction may be obligate , meaning they cannot survive in the short or long term without the other species.
Protocooperation is a form of mutualism, but the cooperating species do not depend on each other for survival. An example of protocooperation happens between soil bacteria or fungi, and the plants that occur growing in the soil. None of the species rely on the relationship for survival, but all of the fungi, bacteria and higher plants take part ...
The degree of change between mutualism or parasitism varies depending on the availability of resources, where there is environmental stress generated by few resources, symbiotic relationships are formed while in environments where there is an excess of resources, biological interactions turn to competition and parasitism. [3]