Lincoln Blogs

Mutualism is a relationship between two or more organisms of different species where all benefit from the association. It is another example of God’s providence and glory, as well as a roadblock for evolution.

Consider the Oriental sweetlips and the blue-streak wrasse, both fish. The Oriental sweetlips, like many fish, have teeth. Just like with humans, they rot and fall out if they are not properly maintained. Thus, the Oriental sweetlips must have some means by which it cleans its teeth. So, after spending its day feeding on little fish, the Oriental sweetlips decides that it is time to get its teeth cleaned. To do this, it looks for a particular spot on the coral reef, which is often called the “cleaning station.” When it finds the cleaning station, it swims up to it with its mouth wide open, little blue-streak wrasses dart out of the coral and swim right into the mouth or up the gills of the Oriental sweetlips. These little fish proceed to eat all of the plaque and other problem-causing materials off the Oriental sweetlips’ teeth. This cleans the sweetlips’ teeth, and provides an excellent meal for the blue-streak wrasses. Again, this is a mutually beneficial relationship, because the Oriental sweetlips gets his teeth cleaned, and the blue-streak wrasses get food.

Dr. Jay Wile makes an excellent point in showing how this is great evidence against evolution.

At some point in time, macroevolutionists would say, the sweetlips’ ancestors probably had no teeth. In a number of generations, however, teeth began to form in a few of the ancestor’s offspring. Now, in order for these teeth to avoid rotting and falling out, this new fish would have to develop the instinct for seeking out the wrasse, allowing the little fish to swim into its mouth, and not eating the little fish when it was done with its work. This instinct, of course, would have to evolve at exactly the same time that the Oriental sweetlips’ teeth evolved. That’s not enough, however. At the exact same time that the teeth and instincts evolved in the Oriental sweetlips, the blue-streak wrasse would have to independently develop the instinct to swim right into the Oriental sweetlips’ mouth without fear of being eaten. Remember, if all these things didn’t happen in the same exact generation [one generation in billions of years], the system would not work.

Obviously, it is ridiculous to believe in all of these coincidences occurring at the same time. Over and over again, however, this is what the scientist who believes in evolution must believe. When this scientist begins to look at the world around him, he sees far too many of these “happy coincidences.”

Besides these overwhelming odds, there is another way it demonstrates a strike against evolution. Evolution says that different species compete with one another for survival. The Oriental sweetlips and the blue-streak wrasse, however, work together to survive. At what point during its evolution did the blue-streak wrasse decide, “I know, I’ll swim into this predators mouth and clean his teeth. He probably won’t eat me.” God-given instinct is the only plausible answer. Mutualism is just one more example of creation providing witness for its Creator.