Ghost Crab Adaptation
All living organisms have a lifecycle and all of them die due to various causes. Some get eaten by their predator, while some die of old age, and others due to diseases. When a prey gets killed by its predators, the leftover carcass forms a rich source of food for many organisms. These organisms are called detritivores. However, all organisms have evolved in a way where they start depending less on these carcasses and go more for other available foods. |
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One of the fine examples is the ghost crab which eats carcasses. They eat anything from dead terns that wash ashore to other death marine life. However, they eat carcasses when they are fresh. The ghost crabs also liberate the living terns from diseases associated with carrions.
Ghost crabs do this cleaning of the beach because they get their meals. As soon as new carcasses arrive, several ghost crabs collect and feast on them while the carcass is still fresh. There is a competitive relationship between predators and prey. There are other organisms also involved in this relationship, and other organisms also start depending on the carcasses. Otherwise these carcasses just remain as deposits on the beach and grow harmful bacteria and endanger the terns' lives.
In the whole equation, if only one partner enjoys the benefit clearly and the others are not much affected it is called commensalisms. The same concept is followed by the barnacles that attach to themselves to the whales. They travel around the ocean and they get more food rather than being stuck in one place and eating less food.
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