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Anoril -> (DF) (AQW) Gorrillaphants and Seed Spitters (8/28/2010 16:02:27)
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[image]http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll161/Anoril/aqwgorrillaphantavatar.png[/image] A Short Treatise on the Symbiotic Relationship existing between Gorrillaphants and Seed Spitters [image]http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll161/Anoril/ssavvy.png[/image]
In recent years it has been observed that members of the primate species Gorrillaphant and the carnivorous semi-sentient plant species Seed Spitter have frequently been found to share the same territory and exhibit a mutualistic relationship.
While it is not universally true; Gorrillaphants can live independently of seed spitters and vice versa, it does appear to be a very common occurrence, more so than ever previously suspected.
Usually Gorrillaphant/spitter groupings go unnoticed as those in a position to discover them are adventurers who pay little heed to the flora and fauna they mindlessly destroy.
This investigation into the ‘Spitter/Phant’ relationship has revealed some interesting results.
The Spitter/Phant relationship is a remarkable yet simple example of mutualism. Both seed spitter and Gorrillaphant benefit from their relationship. Whether this is an example of co-evolution, intelligent design or mere coincidence is open to debate.
The Spitter/Phant relationship is actually composed of four* distinct practices between the two species. It is the belief of this scholar that only one of these practices is responsible for the Spitter/Phant relationship and the other three developed by happy coincidence.
In order to understand the first and primary practice we must have a greater understanding of the seed spitter life cycle. This report contains only the information relevant to this study, you are however welcome to research the seed spitter in great depth yourself.
The seed spitter, of course, owes its name to its ability to ‘spit’ its seeds great distances. This has unfortunately been observed as an act of aggression toward passing adventurers, however this is not the case. While a seed spitter will, like any plant or animal, defend itself from attack generally it is not inclined to attack human beings (or similar)**.
The true purpose of ‘spitting’ its seed is, of course, dispersal. A spitter creates a large amount of seeds in a short period of time and therefore must disperse its seeds widely to avoid any area becoming overpopulated***.
The seed of the spitter measures roughly a foot in diameter and can weigh up to 2 kilograms. The majority of this mass is in its outer coat which is comprised of extremely tough proteins to protect the embryo within from the extreme force at which the seed is propelled from the parent plant*****.
The thick protein coat of the seed must break before germination can begin. The damage to the seed needn’t be significant, a crack right through the coat is all that is required to let water reach the embryo and trigger the start of germination.
If the seed coat does not break upon impact then usually, the seed will never grow into a seed spitter as there are few natural agents that can and will break through the seed’s tough coat.
Gorrillaphants are one of the few. Due to their great strength and intellect Gorrillaphants can break open the hard seed coat, mostly they use tools or beat the seed upon a rock but occasionally they will use just their bare hands. The Gorrillaphant will then proceed to eat the nutrient rich inside of the seed. The embryo and nutrient supply within measure only a couple of inches across which means that the Gorrillaphant needn’t chew the snack a great deal before being able to swallow it. The embryo of the seed passes from the mouth into the digestive system unharmed 90% of the time. Compared with the pocket of nutrients that surround it, the embryo is of little nutritional value to the Gorrillaphant and will pass through the digestive tract unharmed. In addition the combination of enzymes and mechanical devices that make up the digestive system of the Gorrillaphant appear to aid the embryo in germinating. The exact biological and chemical processes of this are unknown but all studies conducted up until this point conclude that an embryo that has passed through the digestive tract of the Gorrillaphant is 70-80% more likely to germinate than an embryo that has not. In addition the embryo is typically deposited amongst Gorrillaphant faeces. This natural fertiliser also increases the germination rate by 50%.
It seems that the Gorrillaphant performs a great service to the spitters by helping them to reproduce by breaking unbroken seeds, allowing the embryo to pass unharmed through its digestive tract and depositing it amongst its faeces.
In return the seed spitters provide the Gorrillaphants with a ready source of food as they are continually producing seeds full of nutrients which, while alone not enough to sustain an adult Gorrillaphant, can go a long way to meeting its daily dietary requirements. This ready supply of food provided to the gorrillaphants by the spitters allows the gorrillaphants to maintain a higher population that would otherwise be possible.
It has been noted that Gorrillaphants generally move in groups, called hands******, occasionally Gorrillaphants can be found alone or in smaller family units but more often than not they are to be found in hands of twenty Gorrillaphants or more. It may not always appear such a large group when encountered due to the Gorrillaphants within a hand spacing themselves out over great distances during the day to make feeding less competitive. It seems to be true that the more Gorrillaphants in a hand the more seed spitters there are also. It is expected that large hands are only able to maintain such high numbers because the seed spitters that live with them provide the necessary food to maintain the high population. This theory has been supported by a recent study in which all the spitters living amongst a hand of Gorrillaphants were killed. The almost immediate result was that the Gorrillaphants responded by separating into smaller family groups until the spitter population was revived.
To conclude, the primary relationship that exists between seed spitter and gorrillaphants is based on the spitters’ need to reproduce and germinate which the gorrillaphants can promote and the gorrillaphants’ need for a reliable food supply to supplement its diet.
There are three secondary practices performed by the two species which should also be considered when discussing the Spitter/Phant relationship.
For both species there is a social benefit of living together. Due to their smell Gorrillaphants tend to attract flies and bloodsucking insects. While neither can cause the Gorrillaphant much harm they can become an irritant to the Gorrillaphant. The spitters readily eat such insects which form a large part of their diet. By being close to a Gorrillaphant the spitter can guarantee a portion of its diet from just these insects.
Another family of creatures that the spitter will happily consume are small rodents. Gorrillaphants are almost universally murophobic******* so the decreased number of small rodents in the vicinity is generally appreciated by the Gorrillaphant.
The third and fourth practices of the Spitter/Phant relationship are almost the opposite of the first practice. The seed spitter aids the Gorrillaphant in reproduction and the Gorrillaphant provides the seed spitter with food.
While the precise mating ritual of the Gorrillaphant is unknown it has been observed that the seed spitter may play a part. It is not uncommon to see a Gorrillaphant use seed spitter spores to enhance their odour.
Seed spitters rarely eat large mammals, however they will make an exception for Gorrillaphants. A seed spitter would never kill a Gorrillaphant because A. it would be a great physical challenge and B. the Gorrillaphant is more valuable to the spitter alive. However when a Gorrillaphant dies of natural causes or is killed by an adventurer or monster******** the seed spitter will make the effort to eat the fallen beast. Why it chooses to eat Gorrillaphant meat but not that of other mammals of similar size is open to speculation however it is thought by this scholar that it is due to the magical nature of Gorrillaphant meat.
We can now conclude that the relationship between Gorrillaphants and seed spitters is thrillingly complex, wonderfully simple and remarkably beautiful. Whether by co-evolution, intelligent design or a very lucky coincidence this scholar describes the resulting relationship********* as, simply magnificent!
* So far observed.
** Human beings (or similar) don’t appear to be an adequate source of protein and nutrients to make the lengthy process of external and internal digestion worthwhile.
*** This high-reproduction rate is also suspected to be the reason that the seed spitter has evolved to become non-stationary****.
**** Incidentally the seed spitters are thought to be one of the greatest threats facing the Kingdom due to this high-reproduction rate. It is feared that only high numbers of adventurers mistaking the plant for a monster and attacking it for this reason keep the spitter population under control and should, for whatever reason, the number of adventurers decrease dramatically the land may become overrun with seed spitters.
***** There have been sightings of spitters climbing to the edges of cliffs before releasing its seed so as to cast its seed as far as possible. In these instances seeds can land several miles away depending on the height of the cliff, the wind speed and direction and the strength of the seed spitter itself.
******The collective noun of Gorrillaphant is ‘hand’. A hand of Gorrillaphants.
*******Fear of mice, rats and in this case other small rodents even extending to moglins. Nobody is certain as to the root of this apparent morphic fear.
******** The distinction between adventurer and monster can be difficult to make.
********* Which is the only known example of a direct mutualistic relationship between a semi-sentient plant species and a creature of [suspected] magical-origin.
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