Symposium Introduction

Symbiosis - living together (from the Greek sym - together, bios - life) - form relationship in which both partners or one of them benefited from another. There are several forms of symbiosis:

Cooperation. The well-known cohabitation hermit crabs, soft corals, sea anemones. Cancer settles in the empty shell of the mollusc and carries on its own with polyps. Such cohabitation is mutually beneficial: moving along the bottom, cancer increases the space used for actinium catching prey, part of which falls to the bottom and eaten by cancer.

Mutualism (from the Latin mutuus - common). Form mutually beneficial relations species - from a temporary, non-binding contact to symbiosis - undivided useful connection between the two species. Lichens - a cohabitation of fungus and algae. In lichens hyphae of the fungus, criss-crossing the cells and filaments of algae, form a special suction appendages that penetrate into the cells. Through them, the fungus obtains food photosynthesis, the algae formed. The algae is of the hyphae of the fungus extracts water and mineral salts. Results in nature, there are more than 20000 species symbiotic organisms. Intestinal symbionts are involved in the processing of crude plant feed many ruminants. Less than required, but extremely important mutualistic relationships, such as between the Siberian stone pine and birds - nutcracker, nuthatches and Siberian Jay, which feed on pine seeds and fodder stocks, contributed samovozobnovleniyu cedar forests.