Competition among organisms is ubiquitous, especially among species competing for resources in the same space and time. How to achieve coexistence is an important issue in ecology. Assistant Professor Syuan-Jyun Sun from the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Program at National Taiwan University collaborated with two professors from the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, Walter Federle and Rebecca Kilner, to reveal clever coexistence mechanisms between two mites on the same burying beetle host, avoiding direct competition. This research has been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, not only demonstrating the complexity of interactions between organisms but also highlighting the importance of biomechanical adaptations to the survival strategies of these tiny organisms.
Classic ecological niche theory suggests that species can coexist harmoniously in the same environment through niche differentiation. In nature, burying beetles and symbiotic mites both rely on carrion resources for reproduction, playing essential roles as decomposers in ecosystems. However, mites cannot fly actively and can only disperse by attaching themselves to burying beetles to find carrion in the forest. Through detailed field surveys and experimental manipulations, the researchers observed that the two mite species occupy specific positions on the burying beetle, effectively avoiding direct spatial competition. Additionally, the team precisely measured the attachment abilities of each mite species at different positions on the burying beetle using mechanical instruments and demonstrated, through scanning electron microscopy imaging, that mites exhibit the strongest attachment force only at their preferred attachment sites.
This study not only breaks through the boundaries between traditional disciplines but also opens a new chapter of interdisciplinary collaboration between biomechanics and ecology, demonstrating that even the tiniest organisms in nature can find ways to survive and reproduce under the pressures of natural selection through astonishing biomechanical adaptations.
Full text of the research: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.0230
Source: https://www.ntu.edu.tw/spotlight/2024/2248_20240320.html