#parasite species

[ritabuuk]

On Easter Sunday 1987, the last known wild California Condor was captured, to be kept in a zoo as part of a captive breeding program in an attempt to save its species from extinction. As part of the process of bringing the wild birds into the zoo, the California Condors were deloused... which most likely caused the extinction of the California Condor Louse, a louse specific to the California Condor that lived upon it in a symbiosis that we will now never fully understand.

In the meanwhile, the captive breeding program has successfully reintroduced the California Condor to the wild, and as of 2023, there are 344 wild condors, plus 217 in zoos. But the California Condor Louse is most likely gone forever. Its loss has increased our awareness of the possibility of conservation-induced extinction, and that, in our quest to save one species, we must be careful not to wind up sacrificing another.

Completed: November 1, 2024

[hoofpeet]

Okay after some consideration I think togekiss is a good pokemon to parasitize !! Reasons being

-they're fairly rare, which leads me to believe they have small broods that wouldn't provide much competition

-Togekiss are also very friendly and probably wouldn't reject a parasitic murkrow even if they did notice

-Obvious fairy type tie-in

The only initial drawback I saw was that the togetic line has 3 evolutionary stages while murkrows only have 2; but upon further consideration that might actually trick parent togekiss into thinking the murkrow is just a runt that needs to be fed more to grow stronger? So uhm . brood parasite murkrow/honchrow variant because I think brood parasitism is cool !!

[b1asho]

Muttreazik fullbody! Last but certainly not least!!

The universe's most complex genetic manipulation, done by a little parasitic worm things!! Debatable on if they look like worms but I think it’s funny to call them that.

Pretty much all new info about them I put into the image or am not sharing on purpose (but fun fact, they have pretty strong evidence that within their own species an afterlife/higher dimension, god, and reincarnation are real) they're by far my least sci aliens, but I put whatever I want into my wretched project and I want some more fi in there.

So heres the abominable text clump:

Muttreazik are an endo-parasitic, possibly artificial species that specializes in completely replacing the brain and subsequently altering the body of their host.

They are also commonly known as chimera, since the name they call themselves is actually painful to hear to other sapients ( "muttreazik" is just an anglicized version of it, referring to the short burst of intense hums buzzes and clicks that make up the word.) Their natural way of communication is actually beaming information to eachother via these waves right into the brain eyeball, since that crystal thing they have is unbothered by that.

By most standards, their ‘true’ bodies are not technically considered alive, and are made up of a crystalline chamber that houses their consciousness and multiple tendril-like limbs used for interfacing with the meaty nerves of the body they built to pilot (using electricity generated in the crystalline matrix)

They also have some other structures to give and receive other resources, as well as more specialized structures for vision and vocalization (though their body also tends to retain the vocal cords in whatever state they’d be in considering the hosts biology and some meaty bits of their eyes for lubrication and structural support. For the most part though, you’re looking at a part of the little crystal slug thing when you’re looking at their eyes, and you can often tell if there’s anything extra weird going on with them by how brightly colored their eyes are, since this translates to stuff going on in their brain case.

This " weird" scale follows the idea of the visible color spectrum, with increasing frequency going from red to orange to yellow, with green, blue, and purple being Extremely weird. Even species that aren’t able to see colors on this spectrum can perceive this 'color', which is very disorienting and unnerving).

The process of taking and building a body is a part of their life cycle, beginning when their spores attach to a developing fetus.

The two merge, and the muttreazik part begins growing the body around it using its own manufactured hormones and codes.

This can happen with sentient species or with animals, since their spores will attach to anything living, and muttreazik born from animals will typically share that level of intelligence alongside their body shape. There are exceptions, though, with animal-born Muttreazik having similar consciousness scale to a sentient species from the planet whose biology they’re borrowing.

The reverse is not true, however, with every muttreazik born from a sentient species having the same spectrum of intelligence as that species (though they might look a bit more animal like by coincidence ).

When in this stage within the host, anything the host sees, eats, or otherwise interacts with is fair game for the developing muttreazik to use in building the body (though they aren’t really conscious at this age, these things just imprint on them as raw information. Depending on the individual, they can process and utilize this information to have more complex features than the base host blueprint they’re already working with. Some can even use past information they already know...? More on that later in their life cycle ).

Most of their life is spent out of the host in their new body. Since they don’t reproduce sexually, their bodies reflect that, and any primary or secondary sexual characteristics they have are by coincidence (basicslly from just "copy pasting" the the host's genetic blueprint)

When they die, they will seek out populated areas to die in. Within a day after death, they will release more spores to attach to natural organisms and begin the process again.

While not scientifically proven (by an outside source)+, muttreazik culture holds that they also release their consciousness at death, which returns to a higher plane where they ‘truly come from’.

Those with this belief also see their body as an attempt to attain the form they hold in this plane. It is debated whether this is true, though it would explain why some muttreazik have vastly more complicated alterations than others, supposedly from this better "grasp" on biology (being their mind’s third or fourth go around with a host species despite how their spores start over) and also why some have otherwise inexplicable characteristics, knowledge, and fears (possibly from when they lived and died last) and why some have abilities that don’t follow the rules of conventional reality (such as complex manipulation of biology and in some cases external matter, which many have theorized comes from their brains connection to their home plane).

As a newly discovered species that until contact had not nearly progressed as far technologically (who's to tell, though, the Imperial colony operation blasted a lot of stuff off the face of the planet when hitting it with meteors to seed water), they are in a complicated and unbalanced relationship with the species that crashed on the same planet and "uplifted" them and who they depend/prey on for existence.

Neither party agreed to the muttreazik's existence; the spore is not sentient and the host didnt agree to carrying something that wont be like them.

It puts them in a precarious situation, though, because they depend a LOT more on the others for both existence and permission to exist.

Without the body, they would be unable to move around or really exist as the active, aware, and conscious beings that they could be.

This has lead to major controversy due to their parasitic nature, since the sentient beings that become their hosts don’t usually take kindly to "their kid being replaced by a freaky critter", and they also make the laws around here.

Currently, each of the world’s major nations have slightly different approaches to dealing with them. Generally, in the Democratic Republic of the Solar System (DRSS) and the Geak Federation, it is illegal to allow a muttreazik to develop naturally.

Modernly, once they’re detected the muttreazik clump is removed and transferred to a tank/other facility where it is artificially grown, leading to typically safer outcomes for both the muttreazik and the host. Natural births obviously have risks associated with the altered anatomy, though the muttreazik will stay within the size limits of the host (example, a centaur lookin Muttreazik born naturally from a human would have been born with an extremely delicate tiny horse half, and instead experienced growth into a normal size afterwards as coded by the muttreazik, though this still comes with its own list of health issues for them) the tank environment controls the amount and what kind of stimuli they’re exposed to, and has more space and less risk factor (for the host) leading to fewer and less extreme alterations.

the categorization chart pictured is used to rate and monitor their development, anything under a c is very undesirable but unless the fetus thing is rapidly approaching an F then they can’t really do much physical intervention, so to speak, (mostly for legal reasons, because the government (and more frequently private lab operations) have pretty much put themselves in charge of another species’ existence and its a bad look if they try and control their reproductive rights, no matter how weird and gross that reproduction is).

Still, the muttreazik is born the way it is into a world that has already put them into a category that will decide their rights and the trajectory if their life in general. Strays are any muttreazik born outside a tank, and thus can exhibit c or lower congruency traits (either at birth or as they grow.)

If you’re a host, you have to have the muttreazik clump removed to continue the rest of its development in a special growth tank/other facility.

This is basically free thanks to government funding, and comes with some economic incentive for the parents to encourage it.

Theres also several available programs to help support them raising a Muttreazik child (since it is more common and encouraged for them to just keep them,)

This helps reduce the risk of birth complications (due to their often weird biology) and also for “quality of life assurance” for the muttreazik since within the tank environment their growth is more controlled and monitored (specifically by controlling their diet/what biological matter and other stimuli theyre exposed to)

. This usually prevents them from being born with traits that make it much harder for them to function in human society, such as a major size difference or lack of proper limbs as the host.

These “congruency” laws are very aribitrary and difficult to navigate, but no matter whay there are pretty weighty consequences to an illegal natural birth. The categorization (specifically the congruency scale) is kind of intended to be a sort of annoying, arbitrary thing (where you kind of “eyeball it”. For example, facial resemblance to the host can get you a higher score than your body would suggest, or a very close resemblance to the hosts body despite your head, etc. or vice versa)

Higher scores mean less restrictions, since you’re basically just like everyone else. But, say, if you were an Alius D because of your large, animal-like body structure and facial appearance, you’d be obligated to tell, say, the job or college you’re applying to that to let them make an ‘informed decision’ on whether you’d be a good fit, and you may even be barred from some areas not built to deal with you. Even worse, let’s say you’ve got a mermaid type build (no legs, automatic E or even F) good luck doing anything on land, loser.

A low congruency score coupled with being a mancer means almost guaranteed fear and suspicion responses from most people, who think you’re dangerous and not one of the “thinking ones” (ie a muttreazik born from an animal who thus usually has that same level of intelligence to match their appearance, even though their brain size loophole often means they’re way more intelligent than their animal parent). You get the picture.

They also have organizations associated with animal shelters and those that free roam to identify and collect muttreazik in animals to prevent them from dying somewhere and spreading more spores.

strays tend to have more noticeably irregular or unique traits, and also trend to look less like their host in the ways that the Rep focuses on (specifically the face).

There are programs to house/educate strays that were given up for these differences and for tank borns whose families didn’t want them (“kept or cast” is a term for the relationship status between a muttreazik and their host parent. )

The more implicit purpose behind this law is to also keep tabs on the muttreazik within their borders (as I briefly mentioned before, some them are just uh telekinetic and that ranges from being able to move a coin or a candle flame to throwing a truck or causing explosions.)

As you could imagine, the government doesn’t really want too many of those around).

In general, the view on them trends very negative, and it is seen as a major misfortune to become a host. However, they are tolerated for their uses in the workforce/contributors to society and for aforementioned telekinesis(and ability to shelter those heading into the wreck, since whatever they do counters RUU).

Things are a bit different in the Seru Empire, though the tank thing is the same.

Information is limited but they likely practice a lot more experimentation and culling due to Cerest cultural standards. Muttreazik are also all mandated to their own living spaces away from the host parents and often sent to the military. They are almost always along the lower castes, with their version of a caste tattoo being a collar.

Muttreazik come in many shapes and sizes, with every individual being more or less unique.

The only thing they all have in common is the previously mentioned secondary vocalization method (via a part of their brain body that extends to the throat and can be vibrated separately or alongside the normal vocal cords) and an extra “eye” feature they use to see other Muttreazik's signals and pretty much ever wave out there, no one really knows. It’s really sensitive though.

Pretty much as a rule, they have features that are a little unnatural to the host. This ranges from just having some distorted biology or strange coloring (hard to distinguish from the norm, the only way to know for sure would be to open that eye thing) to the extremely unnatural and titular “chimera” features that they’re more known for (like extra limbs, strange skin/hair/scale coloration, animal-like traits, and body plans that step into the incorrect and impractical).

The body is nothing without the worm brain, and the worm brain is nothing without the body.

the distinction between the worm and the body even though that’s technically their brain is because it doesn’t act as their whole nervous system (only the central, and then attaches partway through to the meat nerves in order to not have to grow a million tiny filaments they’d have to also grow supports around to keep from disintegrating in the body)

Theres also distinction because part of them thinks about the worm part as their whole body with the brain case being the brain, while also having part of *that* body be the brain for the bigger meat body. Stay with me here.

So they actually tend to see themselves as a pilot rather than an integrated part of the body, though this varies by individual.

Some identify more with their worm body, seeing themselves as a pilot separate from the body, others as being one entity, and some don’t like the idea that ‘they’ are something lurking within the outer body they can see and rather identify with the meat vessel, ignoring the worm part they can still feel in there.

Mancers are one of the biggest mysteries in this universe, since no one knows how or why they can pick up stuff with their mind and even change its structure. The most agreed upon running theory is they’re using “control waves”, which is explained as something something ultrasound something something magnets? but there’s literally no way to get readings on whatever the hell they’re doing so you have to just deal with it ok we’re more worried about them growing inside us.

Solids are the most common matter focus, being the easiest, second is liquids and third is gas (there’s also plasma, exceedingly rare, and a secret 5th and 6th one)

Everyone is born null but as time goes on some can pick up the ability quickly and with greater skill than others. Better understanding of how the world works around them seems to help with this.

But yeah, they're my excuse to draw weird lookin things and I wanted to have at least one other kind of weird unexplainable thing in my setting. Yknow, besides the evil space radiation don't worry I haven't forgotten about that you better belive I'm making a ref for those too.

[armouredgoblin]

My only point in the female custodies thing

Why don't those who want this thing make their own IP ?

or do you need to be parasites on something successful because you don't want the actual fans to enjoy their stuff without your politics in it.

[savachpencil]

Redesign character custom for an Instagram user of their oc.

[404-art-found]

it's my birthday so I get to draw the most self-indulgent au imaginable. buddycrew rtts alien edition. plus whatever buddy is

[karmathehalflander]

You know who would be friends?

These four. I need to draw a crossover between them some time.

Just a guy and his parasitic (but not really more like mutualistic) canabalistic bodymate for whom their antagonism for each other grew to a deep trust and love (one is decidedly more romantic in nature but still) and in which the human never truly learned to appreciate their other until they left by sacrificing themselves for him.

They have so much in common I think Migi and Venom would rant about their hosts not taking care of themselves and being genuinely stupid.

Shinichi and Eddie would relate to adjusting to sharing a body and having to explain human customs and culture.

They both have a “the monster becomes more human and learns empathy and love and the human becomes more of a monster and learns to be brutal” dynamic going on.

Guys they mean so much to me I could rant about this for hours.

[enigmaticpink]

On the topic of not assigning human morals to animals, I think we need to talk about how people talk about cuckoo birds is really anthropomorphizing

That's not an evil soulless creatin, that's a baby bird surviving the way it has evolved to. It's not up to you to decide that actually this baby bird deserves to survive and this one doesn't. This is simply how nature is and we should not be assigning our own morality to it.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Are Cowbirds Invasive?

(Originally published on my website at https://rebeccalexa.com/are-cowbirds-invasive/)

When discussing invasive species, we often think of species that evolved far away on other continents. Here in the United States, thousands of non-native species have been brought here since the dawn of colonization; while not all became established, a significant number have since become aggressively integrated into local habitats, much to the detriment of native species they displace or otherwise harm. But sometimes a species will simply encroach upon an ecosystem adjacent to its native home, and then spreads from there, having the same negative impact as other relatively new arrivals. Which begs the question: are birds on the move like barred owls (Strix varia) and cowbirds invasive?

I want to especially look at the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). Like the barred owl, these chunky songbirds have expanded their range in North America in recent decades due to the extensive damage we’ve done to habitats across the continent. Both were particularly affected by the destruction of the Great Plains. Settlers tore up the ancient grasslands with plows, suppressed fires that had kept forests from encroaching, and started a trend of afforestation–planting trees where they aren’t supposed to be–that continues today. In the latter half of the 19th century, the plains bison (Bison bison bison) was slaughtered almost to extinction to make money off the sale of their remains, and to disempower indigenous communities throughout the region who were reliant on this keystone species for their very existence.

The owls hopscotched across the growing number of tree plantations that dotted first settlements, then towns, then sprawling suburbs and cities, and thus were able to reach all the way to the west coast, where they have put serious competitive pressure on the northern spotted owl. The cowbirds, on the other hand, became refugees as all but the last few hundred bison disappeared from the landscape. They instead turned to domestic livestock like cattle for their survival.

(Read the rest under the cut.)

Same Habits, Different Hosts

Brown-headed cowbirds are unusual in that they evolved to migrate with the bison, rather than waiting for new herds to arrive. The birds feed on insects stirred up by the herd’s hooves, along with seeds of grasses and other plants along the way. Cowbirds perching on the backs of these enormous mammals would have been a common sight prior to the bison’s near-extermination, and today they may still be seen watching for prey from on top of cattle, horses and other domestic livestock.

Because cowbirds have spent thousands of years migrating with their bison hosts, they couldn’t afford to settle in one place for months at a time to raise a nest of chicks, particularly as spring and summer would be prime time for finding insects to eat. It might be weeks or even months before a herd would return to a given area, and without the help of the bison the cowbirds would have had a difficult time finding enough insects on their own, let alone for a hungry nest of babies.

So the cowbirds evolved a rather controversial strategy: brood parasitism. Instead of building their own nest, they find someone else’s and leave a few eggs there for the unwitting owners to raise. Some people anthropomorphize the cowbirds as being “bad”, “lazy”, “evil”, and so forth. And, of course, it’s easy to call cowbirds invasive, too, since they literally invade the nests of other animals.

But nature is amoral; there are no inherently good or evil animals. While we may project our distaste for the cowbirds’ practices onto their value as a species, brood parasitism is simply one of a plethora of strategies animals have evolved in order to pass their genes on to the next generation. If it gets the job done, then it is an evolutionary success. Like the mate cannibalism of some mantids and spiders or animal infanticide practiced by male lions, baboons, and dolphins, brood parasitism may be vicious by our standards, but it is a legitimate survival tactic in the sometimes-cutthroat world of nature.

Are Cowbirds Invasive?

We can certainly call cowbirds invasive when they hop into a nest they didn’t build just to drop off an egg. But are they invasive on a more widespread level? Arguably yes. Not all invasive species were physically transported by humans, but the impact is the same: they have a deleterious effect on one or more other species in their habitat. And unlike coyotes, which only spread to new horizons when their competitors were extirpated by human hunters, brown-headed cowbirds are not filling a niche that was previously taken by another species. they are, instead, an often-unwanted addition to local ecology.

In addition to tearing up the Great Plains and then planting trees there, we also cut down massive numbers of trees in historically forested areas across the continent, leaving patches of fields in which cattle and other livestock graze. This has led to the spread of the cowbird beyond its normal range in the prairies. Other bird species that evolved alongside the cowbirds have developed ways to respond to brood parasitism, from throwing cowbird eggs out of the nest, to building a new nest entirely.

A young cowbird sits in a sparrow’s nest. Note the sparrow egg in the lower left corner that has been pushed out of the nest.

But birds in the cowbird’s expanded territory aren’t always so savvy. That includes species that have seen declining numbers in recent decades due to habitat loss, lead and other toxins, and predation by another invasive species, the domestic cat (Felis catus). Since cowbirds and their chicks will both remove their hosts’ eggs from a parasitized nest, and cowbird chicks may toss their host’s young out or steal all their food, this means fewer numbers of the host species being successfully hatched and fledged. All of which means cowbirds are becoming a serious conservation concern.

That being said, we shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss an entire species by calling all cowbirds invasive. Within their native range in the Great Plains, they are an important part of local ecology. And–unlike certain members of our own species–they are not intentionally cruel animals that want to see other living beings suffer. They are simply doing what their ancestors have done for thousands upon thousands of years, and unlike humans they have no capacity to consider the impact on their hosts.

One last note: if you are tempted to remove cowbird eggs from a nest, please don’t. First, it’s an activity best carried out by professionals who have a better sense of what nests should be attended to and when. Moreover, egg removal can not only cause the host birds to abandon their nest and their own eggs, but cowbirds are more likely to attack hosts who remove the offending eggs, and you could be setting the nesting pair up for retaliation from the cowbirds. And brown-headed cowbirds, like almost all native birds in the United States, are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it a federal offense to disturb or harm the birds themselves, as well as their eggs or nests. If you are in an area where cowbirds are considered to be invasive, and you are concerned about another species’ nests, contact your state wildlife department or the closest Audubon Society (some of these societies have changed their names in recent years, but fulfills the same roles as before.)

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[plasterhound]

since i wont be posting on my rw blog anymore im just gonna repost all the stuff from there. get downtown+painting'd

[creatore-is-an-amarena-addict]

HUMANS ARE SPACE ORCS: TREAT OF EXTERMINATION

Alien: sorry to interrup... whatever you're doing... but what exactly are "mosquitoes"?

Human: *stops trying to lick elbow* you mean mosquitoes? Oh those are a species of insects with an itchy bite that suck your blood when you are distracted

Alien: wait WHAT? you mean that there is a creature that would suck the blood out of you?!

Human: yea i don't think there is human that has never been bitten by one

Alien: you mean that having your blood, the fluid that keeps you alive, sucked by an insect is a COMPLITELY COMMON experience for a human?!

Human: pretty much

Alien: how do you survive that? From what i understoad humans die if they lose too much blood

Human: that's true, but mosquitoes are actualy really small and take an insignificant amount of blood, what is really annoying is that their bite is itchy

Alien: oh, that doesn't seam like that much of a pro-

Human: but you could also get infected with a likely fatal parasite

Alien: WHAT?!

Human: yea they carry some real nasty parasites, that's why them and parasites kill so many peoples in less developed countries.

Alien: wait so are you telling me that a single minuscle insect that can suck your blood whitout you noticing can infect you with a mortal parasite or illness?!

Humans: they also shit and piss on your skin witch further irritates the bite.

Alien: That's terribles! Humans had to deal with this for hundreds of generations?!

Humans: yea but over the years we found ways to cure most of the viruses they carry but the parasites are still a problem so we found a more permanent solution

Alien: oh that's inspiring, you humans usualy ignore this kind of problem after you resolve the bigger issue, what did you do? Perhaps did you ingeneer the human race to be less desirable to those creatures? Or, or you made a special repellent with a 100% rate of success? Or a special vaccine that creates a special film around your body to protect you from the bit-

Human: we exterminated them

Alien: i should have expected that

Human: at least we tried, but then we realized that would impact the ecosistem greatly so we are just back to spraying them to death whenever we get bitten

Alien: That's... That's weirdly considerated for your species standard... im gonna hope you did the same with the parasites

Human: oh no those one are basicaly extinct

Alien: normaly i would be bafled about how you made an entire species go extinct but from what i understoad those species where hazard to human health so i understand the decision this time

Human: nah i can assure you we did this only becouse they where annoying and painfull to deal with, health hazards or not.

Alien: ok so you decided to punish an entire species with total extinction just becouse they where annoying your population?!

Human: don't be silly we just eradicated the 3 main species that attack humans, also we constantly deal with creatures that we put under treat of extinction, that's kinda what we do with things we consider "ugly" or "annoying" like most bugs or small animals

Alien: *becomes the alien version of pale from fear* thank you for your time... *goes away to warn the galaxy of the human habit of extermination creatures*

[hallowshumour]

Explorer Lost. //for rascalteeth!

🦠🪱🌌‼️

[adriartts]

goretober day 6: Transformation

this mermaid concept is not mine!!! it is cool as hell and comes from my homeboy @ch1ck3n-t03s

[drhoz]

#2483 - Dactylanthus taylorii - Wood Rose

In te reo Māori  te pua o te rēinga "flower of the underworld", or waewae atua, "feet or toes of the spirits/gods". The binomial name means Taylor's Finger-flower, and is named after the Rev. Richard Taylor who took a specimen to Joseph Hooker in England, who formally described the species in 1859.

A completely parasitic plant that attaches to the roots of at least 30 species of hardwood and shrubs, in damp soil in secondary forests on the North Island and Little Barrier Island. The host plant reacts by developing the fluted burls above, which were once collected in their thousands as 'biological curiosities'.

Photo of male flowers by R. Stanley - New Zealand Department of Conservation, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47509284

The flowers have a sweet, somewhat musky fragrance, and are pollinated by short-tailed bats. The kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) was also a pollinator, but that flightless nocturnal parrot is now critically endangered. Introduced mice can pollinate the flowers, but rats, possums, pigs and deer destroy the plants.

The only related species are Hachettea austrocaledonica from New Caledonia and Mystropetalon thomii from South Africa, forming the family Mystropetalaceae. Genetic evidence suggests they are derived from the Showy Mistletoes of the Loranthaceae.

Whanganui Regional Museum (in a display about the Rev. Richard Taylor), New Zealand

[nubimera]

Sometimes I think about my DC oc and hope that my space cuckoo and their husband Jason are okay

[skykiuwu]

I keep seeing people do this and it looked like fun so here we are