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<p>A mutualistic relationship that is directly affected by rhino poaching is the relationship between rhinos and the oxpecker bird. Oxpeckers eat ticks, parasites, and insects off of rhinos' skin. The oxpecker has a steady food source and the rhino is able to stay clean. If rhino poaching continues, oxpeckers could lose a large part of their diet. An example of commensalism can be seen in the relationship between rhinos and dung beetles. Rhinos produce up to 50 pounds of excrement a day, and dung beetles rely on this as a food source. Again, if rhinos continue to be poached, these beetles could lose a very important source of nutrition.</p> |
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<p>A mutualistic relationship that is directly affected by rhino poaching is the relationship between rhinos and the oxpecker bird. Mutualism means that both organisms benefit from the relationship. Oxpeckers eat ticks, parasites, and insects off of rhinos' skin. The oxpecker has a steady food source and the rhino is able to stay clean. If rhino poaching continues, oxpeckers could lose a large part of their diet. An example of commensalism can be seen in the relationship between rhinos and dung beetles. Commensalism is when one organism benefits from a relationship and the other is unaffected. Rhinos produce up to 50 pounds of excrement a day, and dung beetles rely on this as a food source. Again, if rhinos continue to be poached, these beetles could lose a very important source of nutrition. Finally, an example of parasitism is the relationship between rhinos and the bot fly. Parasitism is when one organism benefits from the relationship and the other one is harmed. In this case, the bot fly lives almost its entire life cycle inside a rhino's stomach by eating parts of the rhino's ingested food. The bot fly is able to carry out its life functions, but the rhino loses part of the food it eats. Since bot flies live exclusively in rhino stomachs, poaching may eventually cause the extinction of Africa's largest fly species. If poaching continues, these relationships may be gone forever, and their loss would cause diversity to fall significantly in the environment. Also, symbiotic relationships can take thousands of years to mature, so continued poaching will prevent ecosystems from ever bouncing back. This can cause important natural resources to be removed from our planet, which will be disastrous for the human population.</p> |