A Conversation About Friendship

Friendship is a good thing. People thrive when they have friendships. So do plants and animals. Of course, we call friendships among flora and fauna “Symbiosis”. That makes it scientific and we humans get to feel superior. I’m going to stick to my guns and call it all friendship.                                                               

For example, I have casual friends from first grade… most of my life. I have others from high school  who are the kind of friends that I can call at any time and just pick up a conversation that has been going on for decades. Plants participate in similar relationships. Legumes are known for their value in nitrogen fixing for the soil, but the plants rely on bacteria that live in their roots to do the work of transforming atmospheric nitrogen into a form of nitrogen accessible by plant life. That’s friendship because the legumes provide housing for the bacteria. Both parties benefit and thrive.  

Among animals, there are many examples of birds that act as “cleaners” or groomers for animals that, in return either provide shelter or protection for the favor. Or, there may just be an exchange of services. The Oxpecker bird eats the ticks and other insects off the zebra, which aids the zebra’s general health and also feeds the bird.  Crocodiles allow certain small birds to hop between their teeth for food scraps like little feathered flossers. Both benefit.  This is a variation of symbiosis called “mutualism”. Fish indulge in many similar friendships. Clownfish and Anemones are famous partners. The fish is immune to the stings of the Anemone and can lure food for the anemone without harm. In return, the Anemone becomes a shelter for the fish from other predators.

Insects have similar relationships, like the ants and the aphids. I hesitate to use this example, because the ants actually herd the aphids up the host plants, protect them from predators, and harvest the sugary “honeydew” the aphids secrete. Some might view this as a form of slavery or cold-hearted farming, but I’m going to refrain from imposing manmade values on insects.

We can take another step up the evolutionary ladder and think about humans. While there are certainly many examples of humans mistreating other animals, I must give a nod to “man’s best friend.” Dogs decided back in prehistory (when they were probably wolves) to become allies with humans. That particular friendship has blossomed. Dogs now serve man in an almost infinite variety of ways, from service animals to simply companions. This is not to disrespect the many other animal species with whom individuals have bonded. Friendship is just as valid with a cat or a gerbil or a horse or a bird or even a fish. Like beauty, friendship is in the eye of the beholder.          

To bring this conversation to its ultimate, there’s one other form of friendship to consider. It’s called Phenology, the science of studying how all beings, whether animal or vegetable, developed in tandem over millennia to benefit one another. Check out the podcast  “Nature Calls, Conversations from the Hudson Valley” at https://ccecolumbiagreene.org/gardening/nature-calls-conversations-from-the-hudson-valley/episode-21-phenology .                                                                                                                                                            

Disney fans might call it the Circle of Life. A single Oak tree can harbor life stages of hundreds of insects, birds and animals. One honey bee can pollinate five thousand flowers in a day. I think it’s more cheerful to think of life on the planet, when left undisturbed, as potentially one gigantic friendship. Don’t you?