Scientists discover water buffaloes covered in FROGS in bizarre
behaviour that could be a new type of mutualistic relationship
At first glance, they seem an unlikely pair: the massive, horned water
buffalo that grazes along the Black Sea coast, and the tiny marsh frog.
After the accidental discovery of an Anatolian water buffalo covered in
hitchhiking amphibians, however, researchers now say the two may have a
relationship of biological importance.
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A new study on the bizarre behaviour has found that this previously
undescribed interaction may actually be common, with buffalo seen to
host 2-5 frogs at a time on numerous occasions – and in one case, 27
frogs were perched atop a single buffalo.
The phenomenon was first spotted during a birdwatching excursion in
Turkey’s Kizilirmak Delta, one of the largest wetlands in the Middle
East, according to National Geographic.
Following the unusual observation, a team led by ecologist Piotr Zduniak
of Poland's Adam Mickiewicz University returned to northern Turkey.
And once there, they noted 10 more cases of frogs hitching a ride on the
backs of buffaloes.
‘Our observations indicate an association between frogs and buffaloes
and may have a biological meaning,’ the authors wrote in the study
published to the journal Acta Herpetologica.
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‘The observed behaviour was not incidental or loosely structured.
‘Frogs foraged on buffaloes in a similar manner as birds on large
mammals.’
While the reason behind this pairing isn’t quite clear yet, the
researchers say the two creatures may be working in each other’s’ favour,
as well as their own.
Frogs are known to feast on flies – and, buffaloes are known to harbour
these insects.
By resting on a buffalo, the frogs could have access to a plentiful food
source, while at the same time cleansing pests from the mammal’s shaggy
coat.
‘Because the diet of the species also includes fly species, and many of
them are parasites or main disease vectors for large mammals, including
buffaloes, the recorded association between frogs and buffaloes can be
considered as possible mutualistic interaction,’ the authors explain.
And, there could be more to it, according to the researchers.
‘An additional explanation for the observed phenomenon could be the use
of buffaloes by frogs as an efficient heat source, which can be
important for heterothermic amphibians especially at low ambient
temperatures,’ they note in the study.
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According to the researchers, these observations ‘confirm the existence
of an interspecific interaction’ between the frogs and the buffalos.
But, not all are in agreement that this relationship is one of mutual
benefit.
‘The best understood cases of mutualism between two vertebrate species
involve one species that removes parasites from the other, like cleaner
fish and their host fish,’ Judith Bronstein, an ecologist at the
University of Arizona, who was not involved in the study, told National
Geographic.
‘The jury is out on what the nature of the interaction, but if I had to
put down money, it would be that it isn’t a mutualism.’
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