ABSTRACT
Among the things we can learn from nature is that there are times and places both for confrontation and for cooperation. Or, in ecological terms, competition oftentimes is important in natural selection while at other times and places cooperation has greater survival value. In general, we see competition playing a major role in the early or pioneer stages of ecological succession, while cooperation seems to increase in the mature stages, as, for example, an old-growth forest. Also, cooperation between species for mutual benefit becomes important where soil or water are nutrient-poor as in Central Pacific coral reefs or in some rain forests. The coral is essentially a partnership between the animal polyp and the entozoic algae that enables the coral to retain and recycle nutrients and thereby prosper in nutrient-poor ocean waters. Partnership between tree roots and mycorrhizae fungi enable rain forests to prosper on poor, sandy soils.
