Ecological theory and observational evidence suggest that symbiotic interactions such as cleaning symbioses can shift from mutualism to parasitism. However, field experimental evidence documenting ...

In a group of plants that is famous for luring its pollinators into a death trap, one species offers its flowers as a nursery in exchange. The discovery blurs the line between mutualism and parasitism ...

Reakirt’s blue butterflies were moving among the flowerheads of white clover in my lawn. I presumed that they were nectaring, but I watched closely and discovered that they were ovipositing. They ...

Reakirt's blue butterflies were moving among the flower heads of white clover in my lawn. I presumed that they were nectaring, but I watched closely and discovered that they were ovipositing. They ...

Nature abounds with examples of mutualistic relationships. Think of bees pollinating flowers whose nectar nourishes the bees, or clownfish that fight off predators of anemones that in turn provide ...

What prevents an exploitative individual from taking advantage of a cooperative partner? Most attempts to answer this question focus on reciprocity - exploitation may not pay, if it triggers ...

Dr. David Hembry, a University of Texas Permian Basin Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to support student research on the ...

Reproduction for a female fig wasp can be a nightmarish process. When she is ready to lay her eggs, she leaves the fig in which she was born and became pregnant and searches for another. After she ...

Nature abounds with examples of mutualistic relationships. Think of bees pollinating flowers whose nectar nourishes the bees. Each species benefits the other, and together their chances of survival ...