Lakes+Interactions

 "Mom, a really bad dream just woke me up!" called Bobby the Bitterling from his bed.  "What happened, Bobby?" asked his mom, swimming over.  "Well, it all started out fine. I was swimming along the south shore with Marley, the pond mussel, catching a free ride on my back. I was helping Marley the Mussel because his family sheltered me while I was an egg and a young fish. That's what my teacher calls 'mutualism.'" Bobby didn't have to explain to his mom that //all// bitterlings give rides to the pond mussels who give them shelter as young bitterlings. It's an agreement that pond mussels and bitterlings have always had.  Bobby continued telling his mom about the dream, saying, "After I gave Marley the Mussel a ride, I left and met up with Gale the Goldfish. He's really small, so any bigger fish would be a predator to him. I was talking to him for a while when suddenly, a huge goldfish did come! Gale the Goldfish knew that if the other goldfish saw him, he would eat him. Gale had to find cover. We looked around for cover and saw Peeta the Pondweed waving to us. Together, Gale the Goldfish and I dove behind Peeta the Pondweed, just before the other goldfish saw us. I wasn't in any risk of the goldfish eating me, because I was about the same size as the goldfish, but Gale would've been eaten if he hadn't hidden. That was commensalism, because Gale the Goldfish was helped, but Peeta the Pondweed wasn't harmed or helped. So that part was fine, but my dream got worse. Gale and I left each other, and I was almost home when all of a sudden, a sea lamprey attacked me! He attached to me and sucked out my insides. It was parasitism, and that's against the law!"   "Oh, honey, it's okay," his mom comforted. "We don't live near any sea lampreys, and they wouldn't attack you."    "But Mom, it got even worse!" exclaimed Bobby. "Just then, a monstrous Great Crested Grebe came down and ate the sea lamprey and me!"    "Honey, don't worry, no bird in his right mind would eat a sea lamprey, even if it //was// attached to a bitterling."    "Mom, you said before that the sea lamprey wouldn't attach to me, so that means the Great Crested Grebe would be free to attack me!" Bobby said.  His mom laughed, saying, "Then Bobby, you'd better get back to sleep before it's Great Crested Grebe feeding time."  Then she tucked him in his bed and turned off the light. Bobby the Bitterling never had bad dreams again.

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