Little Mack Attack

When one animal partner uses another one to scare away predators or to attract prey, the relationship is called mutualism.

An example of this type of mutualism is the relationship between the Atlantic horse mackerel and the Portuguese man-of-war. (The Portuguese man-of-war itself is actually an animal made up of a colony of organisms working together!)

The mackerel lives between the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war. The sting from a man-of-war can be deadly, but the horse mackerel's immune system protects it from the venom of the man-of-war. If a larger fish -- attracted by the mackerel's brights colors and small size -- tries to grab the mackerel, the man-of-war will sting the larger fish and paralyze or kill it for its own food.

For my poem "Little Mack Attack," I imagined how the little mackerel ("Little Mack") -- safe among the tentacles of the man-of-war -- might become quite bold and saucy.

illustration copyright Shennen Bersani
text copyright Scotti Cohn

Little Mack Attack

by Scotti Cohn

Looking for lunch, my fine-finned foe?

Perhaps a mackerel snack "to go"?

It's true that you're a larger fish,

but you will never get your wish.

You think that you're the big kahuna,

but you are just a bluefin tuna.

You'll have to hunt me where I dwell:

here at the Man-of-War Hotel.

To read more about the Portuguese man-of-war, click HERE. Read a brief article about the horse mackerel's immunity to the man-of-war's venom HERE.

Symbiosis

Symbiosis or a symbiotic relationship allows animals to survive by forming partnerships with other animals.

Most of the interactions between species involve food:
- competing for the same food supply
- eating (predation)
- avoiding being eaten (avoiding predation)

For example, _red phalaropes_ are shorebirds often found with whales. When a whale comes to the surface for air, the birds pick and eat parasites from its back.

In "Disastrous Dinner Party" from the book Animal Partners, we see how things might go badly if the birds got a little carried away with their meal preparations...

Text copyright 2014 by Scotti Cohn. Illustration copyright 2014 by Shennen Bersani.

Happy World Rhino Day!

September 22 marks World Rhino Day 2014, the fourth year the event has taken place following its launch by the _World Wildlife Fund_ to raise awareness of the problems facing the species. The biggest threats to rhinos today are poaching, habitat loss, and a lack of protection in war zones and regions of political instability.

Joining us here at Animal Partners today to celebrate World Rhino Day are a few tickbirds, whose relationship with the rhino is called mutualism. Ticks and other skin parasites make the rhinoceros itch to the point where he spends a lot of time and energy scratching himself on rocks and trees. Tickbirds eat ticks and flies from the backs of rhinoceroses, giving the rhino some relief from the itching while getting a meal for themselves at the same time. 

Here is my poem in honor of this symbiotic relationship:

Animal Partners by Scotti Cohn, Illustrated by Shennen Bersani / Arbordale Publishing

Tickbird's Free Lunch
by Scotti Cohn

Said a rhino to a tickbird,

sitting in a tree,

"The bugs are really biting

so lunch is on me."

copyright Shennen Bersani

The tickbird hopped

on the rhino's back,

ate lunch and dinner

and a bedtime snack.

And here is a collage of rhinoceros photos I have taken over the years!

photos copyright Scotti Cohn