Symbiotic Relationships in Nature and the Business World: Coyotes and Badgers, Circuit City Case Study

QUESTION

Assignment Overview

As we begin to consider some parallels between the business world and the natural world, we can identify some very similar patterns in extinction, adaptation, and supply and demand in both. For example, an organism faces many challenges as it attempts to survive in the natural world, just as a business will struggle to succeed in the marketplace. When resources in the environment are limited, like consumers in the marketplace, organisms and businesses will compete. Those that can maximize their efficiency at production will succeed over those that cannot. Let’s look at how the principles of economics determine the role that these costs play in the success of species in the wild and a business in the marketplace.

Case Assignment

Part I

In Module 1 you were first introduced to communities. Organisms within communities interact primarily through the following ways: competition, predation, and symbiosis. View the following PowerPoint on Interactions within Communities. Read about the unusual relationship documented between Ethiopian wolves and Gelada monkeys at the website below or read about the symbiotic relationship between badgers and coyotes. Chose only one of the articles below to answer Part I using the following questions:

1. Luntz, S. (2015). Symbiotic partnership between monkeys and wolves discovered. Accessed on IFL Science on August 16, 2016, at http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/monkey-wolf-symbiosis/

or

2. Haemig, P. D. (2012). Badger-coyote associations. Ecology. Info 11. Retrieved from http://www.ecology.info/badger-coyote.htm
3. What type of relationship is found between the Gelada monkeys and Ethiopian wolves or badgers and coyotes?
4. What are the short-term and long-term benefits for each species you read about in the article you selected?
5. What are some of the costs for each of the species as a result of their mutual relationship?
6. Do you think their relationship could change if resources became scarce? Why or why not?

Part II

Now consider the benefits and costs to businesses in the marketplace: Choose one of the following businesses that are now extinct: Circuit City, Pan Am, or Tower Records. Address the following questions in Part II of your assignment:

1. What were some of the long-run costs associated with operating the business?
2. Who were their competitors?
3. What were the factors that contributed to the decision to shut down the business?
4. Do you think your chosen company could have been successful by adopting a mutually beneficial partnership, similar to organisms in the wild? Why or why not?

Assignment Expectations

Organize this essay assignment using subtitles that summarize the topic from each question above. For example, to answer Question 1, use a descriptive subtitle like the following: Part I: Symbiotic Relationship Between Coyotes and Badgers.

Answer each question under the subtitle using complete sentences that relate back to the question. Be sure to use APA formatting throughout your essay with 1-inch margins, 12-point type, and double spacing throughout. Include a title page, introduction, answers to the questions with subtitles, and concluding paragraph. Remember to include in-text citations within the body of the essay referencing your resources (e.g., Murray, 2014). Also, be sure to include a reference section at the end of your assignment listing all required readings and any additional resources you used to complete your essay. A helpful guide to writing a quality essay can be found in Trident’s Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper. This guide also provides links to example essays written in APA format.

Background

OpenStax. (2015). Introduction to Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Creative Commons License 4.0: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
     Chapter 5.6: Community Ecology (pp. 133-138)
Chapter 7.2: The Importance of Biodiversity to Human Life

Wirth, P. [P ST]. (2016, August 17). Interactions between communities [Video file]. Adapted from Hippocampus.org. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/tjI-IDjBsNU.

Case

Wirth, P. [P ST]. (2016, August 17). Interactions between communities [Video file]. Adapted from Hippocampus.org. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/tjI-IDjBsNU.

Luntz, S. (2015). Symbiotic partnership between monkeys and wolves discovered. Accessed on IFL Science on August 16, 2016, at http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/monkey-wolf-symbiosis/

Haemig, P. D. (2012). Badger-coyote associations. Ecology. Info 11. Retrieved from http://www.ecology.info/badger-coyote.htm

National Invasive Species Information Center. USDA. Retrieved from https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/unitedstates/state.shtml

NikosKaranikolas. (2015, August 20). Economic scarcity and the function of choice [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/BsJjQz_52KY

SLP

California Academy of Sciences. (2016, July 14). Exploring ecosystems: Coral reef symbiosis [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/-EUUEPinEcQ

Discussion

Hearts and minds: Stopping the slaughter of endangered species takes imagination. (2013). The Economist. Available in the Trident Online Library.

Illegal wildlife trade. (n.d.). World Wildlife Fund. Accessed August 16, 2016, at http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/illegal-wildlife-trade.

ANSWER

Part I: Symbiotic Relationships

Every organism’s primary goal is to survive. Various ways of interactions between organisms are all necessitated by the need for survival. Every organism tries its best to have an advantage over its competitors, in order to survive. This necessitates relationships such as predation and competition. There are however instances when organisms work together to improve their survival chances. This results in a relationship that benefits both organisms, symbiotic relationship.

Coyotes and Badgers

Coyotes and Badgers have been observed to hunt together, in various instances and countries such as Mexico, Canada and the United States (Haemig, 2012). Many of the cases are normally just one badger hunting with one coyote, but there are instances where a badger can hunt with two or even three coyotes (Minta et al, 1992). This is a good example of a symbiotic relationship existing between organisms setting aside their differences so as to coordinate their efforts to ease survival.

Because both animals have different methods of hunting, a combination of their hunting skills definitely increases their chances of capturing their prey. A badger will dig up a squirrel from the ground, while a coyote will chase it in an attempt to pounce on it and catch it. The squirrel may escape from a badger by burrowing, and may also outrun a coyote. However, it is quite difficult for a squirrel to escape the two animals hunting together; the badger will dig it up and if it escapes a burrow to avoid getting caught, the coyote will chase it and catch it on the surface. The benefits of the symbiotic relationship, for both animals, are that the chances of catching prey are greatly increased, ensuring survival. Hunting is eased and the food is shared after capture. The only cost of this relationship is that each of the animals cannot have an entire squirrel or any other prey to itself.

Supposing the scarcity of food occurs in a habitat, the symbiotic relationship would quickly change into a strict competition. Badgers and coyotes would start competing for the few available squirrels and marmots. If the food scarcity reaches an advanced extent, the animals would then become predators of each other, as it is observed that at times, badgers feed on coyotes and coyotes also feed on badgers (Kiliaan et al, 1991). A reduction in the amount of food available for an organism forces it to become competitive with other organisms that depend on the same food.

Part II: Benefits and Costs to Businesses: Circuit City

Circuit City was an electronics retail company in America that was founded in 1949. It was one of the companies that were at the front of establishing the superstore format of business. The company faced expansion costs in its quest to meet customer expectations and demands, by methods such as acquiring bankrupt radio chains and opening up large stores. Costs of catching up with the modern Best Buy stores were very high (Associated Press, 2009). The advent and expansion of wireless phones led to a partnership of Circuit City with Verizon, to try and benefit from the new trend. The cost of ensuring that the company was flexible enough to venture into new markets led to the closure of various outlets.

Circuit City faced continuous competition from Best Buy’s modern stores. Home Depot and Lowes were also in competition with the company. These firms, being new, had a better store format and attracted more customers. They left the company with only a few loyal customers. The difficulty to stay in business and achieve profits led to the eventual closure of the company, with the company running bankrupt after lacking a suitable buyer (Opinion | Goodbye to the Electronics Store, 2017).

Circuit City would have had a better chance of survival if it had partnered with one of its competitors. A partnership with a firm such as Best Buy would have been beneficial to both organizations. The new entrants would have shared their skills and ideas with Circuit City, while Circuit City, having an already established market base, would have provided Best Buy with proper marketing techniques. Mutual beneficial relationships are sometimes the best way for the survival of two bodies.

References

Opinion | Goodbye to the Electronics Store. (2017, December 21). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/16/opinion/goodbye-to-the-electronics-store.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FCircuit%20City%20Stores&action=click&contentCollection=business&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

Haemig, P. D. (2012). Badger-coyote associations. Ecology. Info 11. Retrieved from http://www.ecology.info/badger-coyote.htm

Minta S. C., Minta K. A., Lott D. F.  (1992). Hunting associations between Badgers (Taxidea taxus) and Coyotes (Canis latrans).  Journal of Mammalogy 73: 814-820

Kiliaan H. P. L., Mamo C., Paquet P. C. (1991). A Coyote, Canis latrans, and Badger,  Taxidea taxus, interaction near Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Alberta.  Canadian Field-Naturalist 105: 122-123.

Associated Press. (2009, March 09). Circuit City closes its doors for good. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/circuit-city-closes-doors-good-article-1.368854