Symbiosis Between Hamerkop and Hippo, with Implications for Evolutionary Selection

[Peter Nyikos]

Bing keeps changing my "wallpaper" [a.k.a. screen saver] every few days.
One of them linked to a short message accompanied by a photo of the bird
perched on the head of one of the hippos. It's about a symbiosis whose
fitness benefits, in comparison with possible competitors, is easily seen.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=united+nations+international+friendship+day&filters=BTEPKey:%22Encyclo_HPBS_20200730_0700%22+IsConversation:%22true%22&trivia=1&form=BTCAR4&crslsl=0&first=1
International Day of Friendship
Who better to embody the spirit of International Friendship Day than these two buddies of different species? Here in Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park, the hamerkop,
a wading bird, catches a ride from a hippo into deeper waters, where it can access fish and insects it otherwise couldn't reach.

In 2011, the United Nations declared July 30 as International Friendship Day, but individual countries have long set aside various dates to celebrate that special bond
between friends. In India and parts of South America, Friendship Day is more widely celebrated than here in the United States. And how does one celebrate this day?
It can be as simple as letting your pals know that you appreciate their friendship, no matter where they happen to be, either physically or in the biological taxonomy.

[end of caption]

The last two words may read like a *non* *sequitur*, but they are right down our alley
here in sci.bio.paleontology.


Peter Nyikos
Professor, Dept. of Mathematics -- standard disclaimer--
University of South Carolina
https://people.math.sc.edu/nyikos

[John Harshman]

On 12/19/23 3:19 PM, Peter Nyikos wrote:
> Bing keeps changing my "wallpaper" [a.k.a. screen saver] every few days.
> One of them linked to a short message accompanied by a photo of the bird
> perched on the head of one of the hippos. It's about a symbiosis whose
> fitness benefits, in comparison with possible competitors, is easily seen.
>
> https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=united+nations+international+friendship+day&filters=BTEPKey:%22Encyclo_HPBS_20200730_0700%22+IsConversation:%22true%22&trivia=1&form=BTCAR4&crslsl=0&first=1
> International Day of Friendship
> Who better to embody the spirit of International Friendship Day than these two buddies of different species? Here in Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park, the hamerkop,
> a wading bird, catches a ride from a hippo into deeper waters, where it can access fish and insects it otherwise couldn't reach.
>
> In 2011, the United Nations declared July 30 as International Friendship Day, but individual countries have long set aside various dates to celebrate that special bond
> between friends. In India and parts of South America, Friendship Day is more widely celebrated than here in the United States. And how does one celebrate this day?
> It can be as simple as letting your pals know that you appreciate their friendship, no matter where they happen to be, either physically or in the biological taxonomy.

I've seen many other birds perching on hippos, though never a hamerkop.
Cattle egrets, squacco herons, oxpeckers, and possibly (if I'm
remembering right) a goliath heron.

Around here, friendship between coyotes and badgers is well-known. There
are videos if you google a bit.

[erik simpson]

I didn't know badgers had a friendly allele.

[Sight Reader]

[Sight Reader]

I’ll miss you guys when this thing goes under.

Thanks for all the help!

[Trolidan7]

What does the word 'seen' mean to you?

Have you been to Africa before?

If so how often?

[John Harshman]

You know, using eyes to sense one's surroundings.

> Have you been to Africa before?

Yes.

> If so how often?

Just the once, to Botswana. Plenty of hippos in the Okavango Delta and
the Chobe area.

[Trolidan7]

Well you know, if there is a television set or
video monitor in one's surroundings, some times
some people confuse the images on the monitor
or set with the actual surroundings. Just
double checking.

[Peter Nyikos]

On Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 1:39:32 AM UTC-5, Sight Reader wrote:

> I’ll miss you guys when this thing goes under.

Usenet will not go under, only GG coverage will.

At least, Harshman has told me he has no sign of Giganews coverage ending.
I don't know why he hasn't told you that yet.

Unfortunately, it comes with a monthly fee. Erik has told me that
he has used Thunderbird to read and an interface with Eternal September to post.

> Thanks for all the help!

I haven't tried using either alternative just yet, nor any other alternatives out there.
One correspondent has tried combining Thunderbird with Astraweb,
but "something was blowing up."


Peter Nyikos

[Peter Nyikos]

On Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 6:40:49 PM UTC-5, John Harshman wrote:

> On 12/19/23 3:19 PM, Peter Nyikos wrote:

> > Bing keeps changing my "wallpaper" [a.k.a. screen saver] every few days.
> > One of them linked to a short message accompanied by a photo of the bird
> > perched on the head of one of the hippos. It's about a symbiosis whose
> > fitness benefits, in comparison with possible competitors, is easily seen.
> >
> > https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=united+nations+international+friendship+day&filters=BTEPKey:%22Encyclo_HPBS_20200730_0700%22+IsConversation:%22true%22&trivia=1&form=BTCAR4&crslsl=0&first=1
> > International Day of Friendship
> > Who better to embody the spirit of International Friendship Day than these two buddies of different species? Here in Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park, the hamerkop,
> > a wading bird, catches a ride from a hippo into deeper waters, where it can access fish and insects it otherwise couldn't reach.
> >
> > In 2011, the United Nations declared July 30 as International Friendship Day, but individual countries have long set aside various dates to celebrate that special bond
> > between friends. In India and parts of South America, Friendship Day is more widely celebrated than here in the United States. And how does one celebrate this day?
> > It can be as simple as letting your pals know that you appreciate their friendship, no matter where they happen to be, either physically or in the biological taxonomy.

> I've seen many other birds perching on hippos, though never a hamerkop.
> Cattle egrets, squacco herons, oxpeckers, and possibly (if I'm
> remembering right) a goliath heron.

The symbiosis, if any, may in all these examples be different.
In the case of oxpeckers and cattle egrets, it is a mutualism
from which both sides benefit, perhaps equally.

What about the other herons you mention?

The one of the hammerkop seems like pure commensalism. There is no indication
of the hippo getting any benefit from the relationship. A human in the place of the hippo
would be another matter: there might be considerable psychological satisfaction
from a hammerkop being almost intimate with one. But that might not translate to
any difference in the one-dimensional concept of "fitness."

Peter Nyikos
Professor, Dept. of Mathematics -- standard disclaimer--

Univ. of South Carolina at Columbia
http://people.math.sc.edu/nyikos

[John Harshman]

On 12/22/23 5:57 PM, Peter Nyikos wrote:
> On Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 6:40:49 PM UTC-5, John Harshman wrote:
>
>> On 12/19/23 3:19 PM, Peter Nyikos wrote:
>
>>> Bing keeps changing my "wallpaper" [a.k.a. screen saver] every few days.
>>> One of them linked to a short message accompanied by a photo of the bird
>>> perched on the head of one of the hippos. It's about a symbiosis whose
>>> fitness benefits, in comparison with possible competitors, is easily seen.
>>>
>>> https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=united+nations+international+friendship+day&filters=BTEPKey:%22Encyclo_HPBS_20200730_0700%22+IsConversation:%22true%22&trivia=1&form=BTCAR4&crslsl=0&first=1
>>> International Day of Friendship
>>> Who better to embody the spirit of International Friendship Day than these two buddies of different species? Here in Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park, the hamerkop,
>>> a wading bird, catches a ride from a hippo into deeper waters, where it can access fish and insects it otherwise couldn't reach.
>>>
>>> In 2011, the United Nations declared July 30 as International Friendship Day, but individual countries have long set aside various dates to celebrate that special bond
>>> between friends. In India and parts of South America, Friendship Day is more widely celebrated than here in the United States. And how does one celebrate this day?
>>> It can be as simple as letting your pals know that you appreciate their friendship, no matter where they happen to be, either physically or in the biological taxonomy.
>
>> I've seen many other birds perching on hippos, though never a hamerkop.
>> Cattle egrets, squacco herons, oxpeckers, and possibly (if I'm
>> remembering right) a goliath heron.
>
> The symbiosis, if any, may in all these examples be different.
> In the case of oxpeckers and cattle egrets, it is a mutualism
> from which both sides benefit, perhaps equally.

Probably not. Oxpeckers probably don't benefit their hosts and may in
fact hurt them. Cattle egrets perform no service for cattle or other
grazers that I know of.

> What about the other herons you mention?
>
> The one of the hammerkop seems like pure commensalism. There is no indication
> of the hippo getting any benefit from the relationship.

I see no evidence that hippos benefit from any of the birds that perch
on them.

[erik simpson]

test response