AsianScientist (Nov. 21, 2018) – Collaborations in nature can take on many forms, and scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have shed light on the relationship between the slender pitcher plant Nepenthes gracilis, and its tenant, the crab spider Thomisus nepenthiphilus. Their findings are published in Oecologia.
The crab spider T. nepenthiphilus is found only in the slender pitcher plant N. gracilis, which is native to Singapore and can also be found in Indonesia, Borneo and Malaysia. A relationship between two different species that benefits both organisms is known as mutualism.
In this study, researchers led by Associate Professor Hugh Tan Tiang Wah of NUS found that the crab spider ambushes flies that feed at the pitcher plant and sucks the body fluids of the insect prey. The crab spider subsequently drops the carcasses of the prey, which still contain some nutrients, into the fluids in the pitcher for it to digest. As such, although the crab spider ‘steals’ from the pitcher plant and gets the first taste of the prey, the net effect of this ‘burglary’ can still be beneficial to the pitcher plant as it gets the residual nutrients from the prey.
The findings suggest that when resources are scarce, this partnership between the crab spider and the pitcher plant is beneficial. However, when resources are abundant, this partnership is not favourable.
“A trend that has been observed in recent mutualism research is that under more stressful conditions, the frequency and intensity of mutualism between the different organisms increases. Our findings support this observation. In other words, the age-old adage ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’ is true not just for humans, but also for plants and animals,” said Tan.
Based on their experiment results, the research team intends to construct a theoretical model on mutualisms that involve the provision of nutrients by one species to another. Such a model will allow scientists to examine the factors that make mutualisms stable, and help researchers monitor how changes in the environment, such as global warming or habitat modification, will alter the ecological outcomes.
The article can be found at: Lim et al. (2018) Novel Pitcher Plant–spider Mutualism Is Dependent Upon Environmental Resource Abundance.
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Source: National University of Singapore; Photo: Lam Weng Ngai.
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