DISCOVER
UNDERWATER alliances
THOUGHT LIFE UNDERWATER WAS JUST A BATTLEGROUND WHERE THE LARGER OCEAN DWELLERS FEED ON THE SMALLER? WELL, AS THE BARD SAID,“ THERE’ S MORE TO LIFE ON HEAVEN AND EARTH THAN IS DREAMT OF IN YOUR PHILOSOPHIES, MY DEAR ROVERS.” NOT QUITE – BUT YOU GET IT, RIGHT?
Life under the sea isn’ t just about the bigger fish devouring the smaller ones. It’ s also about clever contracts, no-hand handshakes, and neighbours who strike up the oddest agreements. The official term is“ symbiosis”, and it’ s one of the most fascinating dynamics in the marine world.
Take the clownfish and the sea anemone: nature’ s most famous odd couple. The anemone offers a spiky fortress; the clownfish pays rent by cleaning house and bringing snacks( yes, its own waste counts as snacks here). Even the water circulation is part of the deal; the fish’ s fanning fins keep the anemone in good nick. Call it the ultimate co-living arrangement.
Then there’ s the cleaner, wrasse, basically the spa therapist of the reef. Bigger fish line up politely while these tiny, stripy stylists nip parasites off their gills and teeth. It’ s a win-win: the wrasse gets a buffet, and the“ clients”, sharks included, get parasite-free skin. You know it’ s trust when someone lets you floss between their teeth without swallowing you whole.
On the sandy bottom, pistol shrimp and gobies have an arrangement that could be the start of a sitcom. The shrimp is half-blind but a champion digger. The goby has eagle eyes but no DIY skills. Together: perfect roommates. The goby signals danger with a tail flick, and both dash into the burrow. That’ s teamwork.
And it doesn’ t stop there. Humpback whales herd schools of fish to the surface, unintentionally laying out a buffet for seabirds. Corals rely on microscopic algae to stay alive. Even the giants and the microscopic are in on the action.
So, the ocean, it turns out, isn’ t just a battlefield. It’ s also a marketplace of strange alliances; some ancient, some improvised – all essential.
Next time you picture the sea, think beyond who eats who. Imagine instead an underwater marketplace, where services are traded and survival depends on cooperation as much as competition. It’ s nature’ s quiet genius: life thrives when species learn to work together.
In the sea, survival isn’ t about being the biggest beast in the water. It’ s about cutting a deal. We humans have a thing or two to learn from that.
44 | SUMMER 2025 / 26 • rovesa. co. za