A team of researchers from the University of Florida has discovered a striking case of a symbiotic relationship between some birds that nest in the reed beds of the Everglades region, in the same state, and the alligators that inhabit them.
In a study published in the journal Plos One , ecologists from the aforementioned institution and the US Fish and Wildlife Service have revealed that many species of wading birds, such as herons, storks or spoonbills, build their homes on the areas most frequented by alligators . In this way, the presence of reptiles intimidates raccoons, possums and other small predators, who prefer not to approach the nests.
Although this behavior had been detected before, so far it was not clear what the alligators gained. Now, the authors of this new essay indicate that, in essence, they thus access a safe food source: chicks that fall or are thrown from their nests .
To determine this, they studied the physical condition and dimensions of about 40 female alligators. They verified, in this way, that regardless of different environmental factors, those that lived near the bird colonies had developed much more and were in better conditions than those that did not.
The scientists also suggest that this same association between large reptiles and birds could also occur in the case of alligators, crocodiles and gharials .
Image: Jerzystrzelecki via Wikimedia / CC
