Better The Devil You Know...

Nature is wondrous in its variety and in the creativity that some species will display in an effort to survive. Yet there are perhaps few survival strategies as unorthodox as deliberately helping the predator that preys on you. Take the curious case of two cichlids in Central America which enjoy just such a convoluted relationship.

The smaller of the two is Hypsophrys nicaraguensis – a handsome yet mild-mannered herbivore that peacefully inhabits lakes and rivers with slow currents, feeding on aquatic insects, seeds and leaves as well as molluscs. H. nicaraguensis is preyed upon by the Wolf Cichlid (Parachromis dovii), which, as the name suggests, is a fast and powerful carnivore that is actually one of the largest of all cichlids.

Yet despite serving as a steady meal for the hungry predator, H. nicaraguensis has been observed guarding the Wolf Cichlid’s eggs, actively driving away other fish that would have swallowed them. At first, it’s difficult to see the evolutionary benefit behind such extraordinary behaviour, yet scientists have come theorise that H. nicaraguensis may actually be playing the long game...

The Wolf Cichlid also preys on other fish that prey on H. nicaraguensis, so by actively supporting and helping to rear one type of predator, the smaller fish is indirectly working to reduce the total number of its predators overall, as well as the numbers of other fish that might compete with it for precious breeding sites. In this way, the canny little cichlid increases its long-term chances for survival in spite of the odds.