The exchange and the species

The exchange and the species

The human being possesses unique abilities, which differentiate from other living beings. However, starting from the main question:  Are we the only ones that we interact with each other exchanging goods and services to satisfy our needs.? Perhaps, our complex exchange systems, particularities, such as the creation of the currency and the complexity of our markets lead us to think that we are unique. Nevertheless, nature seems to have expressed in other species certain peculiarities and similarities.

M. De Waal (2005) explains that human economic behaviour or better known as "Behavioral economics" is an inheritance of our predecessors, showing the exchange behaviour associated with a demand and supply of goods and services, As well, reaction to trade deals, negotiations and cooperative and altruistic attitudes among themselves.

One of the studies in this field conducted by the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta tried to teach two capuchin monkeys to pull a lever together to obtain a reward, the peculiarity of the experiment was that only one of the monkeys received a Prize, after the first attempt the monkey that wasn’t awarded began to make a tantrum and refused to collaborate in the following attempts because anticipated a loss. Similar experiments also showed a reciprocal behaviour, the monkey who received the prize, since he was aware that the following attempts would be a failure because his partner would refuse to cooperate, so he shared part of the prize if he saw that the other ape had intentions of working as a team, this encouraged cooperation and showed reciprocity.

Ronald Noë and Peter Hammerstein at the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Behaviour studied the so-called "biological market theory" which applied in any exchange between peers, who are able to decide with whom to make a deal and the value of the commodities will vary depending on the availability of them. The study focused on the market for baby baboons and fish cleaners.

In the first case, must be emphasized that baboon females have an enormous maternal instinct and feel irresistibly attracted by the infants, which causes them to demand a certain type of approach, in the moments of grooming the baboon mothers allow them to approach her babies. In a study conducted in South Africa, Louise Barrett and Peter Henzi found that baboon mothers with "exotic" babies could extract a higher price, which would be a longer grooming time in exchange for allowing them to be close to their babies, otherwise baboon mothers with many or common babies would receive less grooming time.

In the second case, Redouan Bshary of the Max Planck Institute in Seewiesen conducted studies with cleaner fish, who feed of the parasites of other fish. They each have a separate kind of cleaning centre.

The peculiarity is that the "clients" are divided between resident fish (which are usually species with small territories) which inhabit near the cleaner and on the other side are the nomadic fish, which inhabit in territories more extensive or make long trips, Tend to be much bigger species and can decide on which "service station" come. Interestingly, this leads to cleaners to give better service so they give priority to nomadic fish over the residents, which they avoid to cheat (eating some of their healthy mucus in addition to parasites).

In the study, they found that cleaner fish may reject local customers in case some nomadic fish arrive, as well as in the case of fish that are potentially predatory.

The animal kingdom emphasizes a good part of economic concepts because there is an interaction between species where a common interest is pursued, which leads to cooperation, or the formulation of strategies that in one way or another serves for their subsistence and success as a species.

Is the animal kingdom the only exemplification of exchange?

The answer is no, recent (and not so recent) studies by Suzanne Simard have succeeded in determining that the plant world is much more complex than we thought. In 1997, in the journal Nature published part of the study of Simard where he was able to verify interactions between two types of trees (Betula papyrifera and Douglas fir) using radioactive carbon isotopes, these were due to the relationship that trees form with a Type of fungus called Mycorrhiza, which is incapable of photosynthesis and to subsist it adheres to the roots of the trees. It exchanges nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and water, which it extracts from the soil by sugars and other substances resulting from photosynthesis.

The mycorrhiza forms a network that interconnects the roots of the trees so that this "channel" allows the flow of nutrients between the trees generating mutual benefits, that is, the trees exchange information and trade with each other.

In nature Paper Birch and Douglas fir grow in nearby communities and are a kind of direct competitors, but Simard's study showed that in fact, not only trees of the same species collaborate among themselves, trees of different species exchange nutrients through connections formed by mycorrhizae.

Simard points out that the ecological factors are the reason why there is an exchange between the trees, although in some occasions the Douglas fir tree could obtain more benefits and in others the Paper Birch. Experiments carried out with these trees to check how the shade affected them proved that the more they have in summer the more carbon Paper Birch will receive from the Douglas Fir, in autumn the Paper Birch loses its leaves and the Douglas Fir has excess carbon for Photosynthesis, the net transfer of this exchange will be reverted to the Paper Birch.

Kevin Beiler in later works discovered that the older and larger trees have more complex networks and with greater reach and attachment, as opposed to the smaller trees. More complex studies were able to determine that the older trees or "mother" or "core" trees manage to recognize kinship, favouring the exchange with their peers.

In short, forests are intricate interchange networks, biological markets that have proven over 200 million years to be a complex, successful and time-resistant way of life.

In conclusion, science is a great door to understanding what we are and what surrounds us, given that survival has always been the ultimate goal of every living being, we have realized that the exchange of goods and services is not Something we have invented through social processes, is a fact that is part of the nature of many living beings.

References:

Bshary, R. & Grutter, A. S. Nature 441, 975–978 (2006).

De Waal, F. (2005). How Animals Do Business. Scientific American 292, 72 - 79

Gorzelak, Asay, Pickles & Simard. (2015). Inter-plant communication through mycorrhizal networks. Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4

Hammerstein P, Noe¨ R. 2016 Biological trade and markets. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371: 20150101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0101

Toomey, D. (2016). Exploring How and Why Trees ‘Talk’ to Each Other. Disponible en URL: http://e360.yale.edu/features/exploring_how_and_why_trees_talk_to_each_other