Collective Living, Essay Example

Evolution of life has put forth a number of animal and plant species which have peculiar modes of communication and social life. Although not discernible in primitive forms, where individual existence towards culmination of life is possible, higher life forms, particularly intelligent mammalian species display distinct social patterns which are essential as well necessary throughout their life duration. Interdependence within species is well recognized from simple life forms such as insects and in higher species it can even cross trans-species borders. Social interdependence is in the form of cooperative activities oriented towards the preservation of life, where members interact with each other and provide sensory inputs which serve as information to develop strategies to overcome obstacles and benefit the species in a mutual manner.

Some species of insects and ants particularly show a high degree of social structure and communication for sharing information in order to sustain their colonial pattern of life. Specific tasks are assigned to distinctly identifiable forms of ants within a single species such as the Basiceros manni, whose natural habitat are the rotting logs and leguminous seed pods in the tropical and moist rain forests of South and Central America (Wilson & Holldobler, 1985). Division of labor is clearly identifiable in this species where the foraging workers rummage for prey, usually arthropods and termites residing between the logs that they paralyze with a sting by injecting venom. The study showed that division of labor can be identified by the coloration and age of the workers, which can be classified as Callow, Shiny, Partially Encrusted and Fully Encrusted (Wilson & Holldobler, 1985). The fully encrusted workers were responsible for foraging and hunting for the prey while the younger, shinier workers moved the prey within the nest to feed the larvae. On dissecting the workers, it was found that the younger workers had functional ovaries which were fully regressed in the older, encrusted workers. The older workers had better developed poison glands as well. This shows that anatomical variations account for the specific social role played in this ant species.

Fish, though seemingly a solitary species, recognize social hierarchies as shown by their ability to infer social rank by observation alone which was shown in a study where observation of fights between males in a separate tank by Astatotilapia burtoni species of fish elicited a learned behavioral pattern which justified their capability of inference (Grosenick et al 2007). This sets the tone for rival dominance or submission pattern in this species of fish which proves that social interaction leads to defined roles in primitive forms of life as well.

Division of labor and specific duties for the male and the female species are clearly identifiable in intelligent mammalian species such as wolves and lions. Packs of wolves when observed in their natural habitat showed distinct duties, where females looked after the pups and defense of the colony while their male counterparts hunted for food (Mech, 1999). The response of lions in a pride to intrusion by a strange male of the same species is complex as it is unaffected by the kinship and social pattern existing within the pride (Grinnell et al, 1995). It was observed by the authors that large coalitions of lions tended to dominate smaller coalitions and males from a particular pride had a tendency to team up with only unrelated males from a different pride, which was beneficial for the hybrid vigor and preservation of the species (Grinnell et al, 1995).

It is obvious from the facts gathered from species as diverse as ants and lions that cooperation between multiple individuals in a species is essential for survival and division of labor is adequately determined by nature to allow each member of the species to contribute in a unique manner.

References

Grinell, J., Packer, C. & Pusey, A.E. 1995. Cooperation in male lions: kinship, reciprocity or mutualism?, Anim. Behav., 1995, 49, 95-105

Grosenick, L., Clement, T.S.& Fernald, R.D. 2007. Fish can infer social rank by observation alone, Nature, Vol. 445, 429-432

Mech, L.D. 1999. Alpha status, dominance, and division of labor in wolf packs, Can. J. Zool. 77: 1196–1203

Wilson, E.O. & Holldobler, B. 1986. Ecology and behavior of the Neotropical Cryptobiotic Ant Baciceros manni (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Basicerotini), Insectes Sociaux, Paris, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 70-84