Direction: Clearly and briefly explain the following in a SHORT paragraph.
What is sociobiology and how does it evolve? Explain with example? How do you differentiate between social symbiosis and behavioral symbiosis? What are the different kinds of social symbiosis? Explain with examples.
Sociobiology is a scientific field that examines the biological basis of social behavior in animals, including humans. It seeks to understand how social behavior evolves through the interaction of genetics, evolution, and environmental factors. For example, in sociobiology, it is believed that certain behaviors, such as parental care in animals, can be genetically determined and passed on to offspring. This field has evolved over time, starting from Charles Darwin's observations on social behavior in animals, and later expanded upon by researchers like E.O. Wilson.
Differentiating between social symbiosis and behavioral symbiosis, social symbiosis refers to a long-term association between two or more organisms of different species, where they depend on each other for survival or reproduction. An example of social symbiosis is the relationship between cleaner fish and client fish; the client fish gets rid of parasites while the cleaner fish gets food. On the other hand, behavioral symbiosis refers to the cooperation or coordination of behavior between individuals of the same species or different species. An example of behavioral symbiosis is the coordinated hunting behavior of a pack of wolves, where they work together to bring down larger prey that they couldn't hunt individually.
There are different kinds of social symbiosis, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Mutualism is a type of social symbiosis where both species involved benefit from the association. An example is the relationship between bees and flowers; bees obtain nectar from flowers while aiding in pollination. Commensalism is a type of social symbiosis where one species benefits while the other is neither harmed nor helped. An example is the relationship between sharks and remora fish; remora attach to sharks and get benefits such as food scraps, while the sharks are unaffected. Parasitism is a type of social symbiosis where one species benefits at the expense of the other. An example is ticks feeding on the blood of mammals; ticks get nutrition while the host animal suffers from blood loss and potential disease transmission.