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Article: Phoresis (biology)

Pseudogarypus synchrotron Henderickx et al 2012 specimen in Baltic amber Harms, D., & Dunlop, J. A. (2017). "The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones).". Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Fossil Record 20 (2): 223. DOI:10.5194/fr-20-215-2017 Wikimedia Commons

Introduction

Phoresy, or phoresis, is rooted in the Greek words phoras (bearing) and phor (thief). It is used to describe a non-permanent, commensalistic interaction in which one organism (a phoront or phoretic) attaches itself to another (the host) solely for the purpose of travel. Phoresis has been observed directly in ticks and mites since the 1700s and indirectly in fossils 320 million years old, but is not restricted to arthropods or animals. Plants with seeds that disperse by attaching themselves to animals are also considered to be phoretic. The term, originally defined in 1896 as a relationship in which the host acts as a vehicle for its passenger, clashed with other terminology being developed at the time, so constraints on the length of time, feeding and ontogeny are now considered. Phoresis is used as a strategy for dispersal, seasonal migration, transport to new host/habitat escaping ephemeral habitats, reducing inbreeding depression. In addition to the benefits afforded to individuals and species, its presence can add to the ecological diversity and complexity of an ecosystem.

Mutualism, Parasitism and Predation

The strict definition of phoresis excludes cases in which the relationship is permanent (e.g. that of a barnacle surviving on a whale) or those in which the phoront gains any kind of advantage from the host organism (e.g remoras attaching to sharks for transportation and food). In this way, phoresis is a commensal relationship and deviations result in mutualistic or parasitic relationships. Phoretic relationships can become parasitic if a cost is inflicted upon the host, such as if the number of mites on a host begins impeding its movement. Parasitic relationships could also be selected for from phoretic ones if the phoront gains a fitness advantage from the death of a host (e.g. nutrition). Mutualistic relationships could also develop if the phoront began to confer a benefit to the host (e.g. predator defense). The evolutionary plasticity of phoretic relationships allow them to potentially add to the complexity and diversity of ecosystems.

Male Bombus hypnorum male with phoretic mites, Botevgrad, Bulgaria Wikimedia Commons

Cases in which the phoront parasitizes or preys upon the host organism after travel are still considered phoresis, as long as the travel behaviour and feeding or parasitizing behaviour are separate. Similarly, some pseudoscorpions prey upon the same species that act as their phoretic host. The behaviours are completely separate however, since the pseudoscorpion uses anatomical features used specifically for predation when treating the host as prey, but employs anatomical features used for phoresis when travelling.

Examples of Phoretic Relationships

Larvae of the blister beetle (Meloe franciscanus) need to find the nests of their host, the solitary bee (Habropoda pallida) to continue their life cycle. The larvae gather in colonies and emit chemicals that mimic the pheromones of the female solitary bee. Larvae attach to the attracted males when they visit the false source of pheromones, and then subsequently to any female that male mates with. The blister beetle larvae then infest and parasitize the female bee's nest.

A pseudoscorpion on the leg of a Crane fly Wikimedia Commons

Some species of Bromeliad treefrog (Scinax littoreus and Scinax perpusillus) carry ostracoderms (Elphidium sp.), which in turn carry ciliates (Lagenophrys sp.) from one bromeliad plant to another. The plants act as ecological islands to the ostracoderms and phoresis allows them to disperse over a wider area than would be available to them otherwise. The term for a phoretic organism riding on another phoretic organism is hyperphoresis.

A specialist mite (Parasitellus fucorum) that parasitizes bumble bees (Bombus sp.) avoids inbreeding depression in a single hive and to remain genetically independent of any specific host lineage by travelling to a new hive. This is accomplished by travelling on a foraging bee to a flower and detaching, waiting for and attaching to another bee potentially from a new hive, and infesting the new hive. These mites can survive on flowers for up to 24 hours and show a preference for opened flowers, where they would be most likely to encounter a host.

The pseudoscorpion (Cordylochernes scorpioides) is frequently found riding harlequin beetles (Acrocinus longimanus). Initially there were a number of alternate hypothesis for why the pseudoscorpions were found on the beetles: by accident, to forage for mites inhabiting the beetle, or as an obligate parasite. Evidence suggested however, that the scorpions were using beetles to travel from tree to tree where they preyed upon other beetle larvae.

Peer Review

Hi,

Overall i think you have put together a really great article, with a lot of creditable scientific sources. As someone that isn't very familiar with the topic, I appreciated that you defined all of the terms relevant to the topic and I felt like I learned from your article. All of the information you presented is relevant to your page and you don't have a biased tone. The information seems to be cited correctly and you don't seem to be plagiarizing any information, as far as I can tell. I appreciated how all the species mentioned in your article were linked if one were to need further clarification. I didn't see any blatant spelling or grammatical errors.

Again, great article!

I am very impressed with the detail provided on a behavioural subject that I did not know existed. The format is very well laid out, maintains a neutral tone, utilizes many great resources, and has no blatant spelling errors that i was able to note. However, I was slightly confused by the descriptions and definitions for the various types of phoresis present and how one behaviour may or may not be classified as phoretic depending on how it is performed. This confusion may however simply be due to the fact that I am not well educated in the subject area. The explanations for various terms however were well done and aids someone who is not familiar with the subject area to quickly learn the various examples of the behaviour and how it is defined. The only other advice i may give it to perhaps link your article to more pages (commensalism for example) to bridge and link your article to others it may relate to but this was not required in the initial drafting procedure. All in all, a great job. Well done and good luck!

jackhutton1

Peer Review by hjd165

Hi there,

I think you have done a wonderful job with this article. You are a great writer! The information is logically laid out and you are not biased about any topic. The introduction also set out the article very well. I could easily follow the information even though I did not know anything about phoresis before reading your article.

I have a couple of grammar/sentence structure tips.

For the sentence: "Phoresis is used as a strategy for dispersal, seasonal migration, transport to new host/habitat to escape from ephemeral habitats, reduce inbreeding depression; and in addition to the benefits afforded to individuals and species, its presence can add to the ecological diversity and complexity of an ecosystem," just make sure that each strategy is worded in the same tense as the overall sentence. For example, "to escape from ephemeral habitats" should be changed to "escaping ephemeral habitats." Also I don't think you need "and" after the semi-colon.

You should put "which are" after the comma in this sentence to avoid a comma splice: "The coprophagous sloth moths such as Bradipodicola hahneli and Cryptoses choloepi, are unusual in that they are exclusively found inhabiting the fur of the sloths, mammals found in central and South America."

Also, it may just be me, but I was a little confused by your second paragraph. Is a relationship still phoretic if the host is, for example, killed after the transport because the transportation behaviour and parasitism are observed as distinct from each other? Maybe add a little clarification about this, but again it could just be my own misunderstanding.

Overall, excellent job!