bogleech: Another thing some commenters brought up that I want to elaborate on:Everyone knows &ldquo
bogleech: Another thing some commenters brought up that I want to elaborate on:Everyone knows “flamingos turn pink because of the red shrimp they eat.” What’s far less common knowledge is that those shrimp are made even redder by a species of tapeworm larvae, which also makes the brine shrimp more resistant to acidic conditions, and drive the shrimp to cluster together, all to ensure they can be seen and eaten by the flamingo which serves as the only viable host to the adult worm. Without at least that “clustering” behavior most flamingos wouldn’t get enough shrimp to even survive. Flamingos were “created” and continue to be “farmed” by a parasite, which is really pretty much going on with the majority of life on earth. Just as we domesticate animals into new forms that serve our purposes, a very great deal of evolution is guided by the needs of parasites.https://parasiteeatworld.wordpress.com/2017/11/16/flamingolepis-liguloides-eaten-pink/https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/parasites-give-brine-shrimp-super-powers -- source link