One highlight of the creation narrative in Genesis 1-2 is the repetition of the phrase “each according to its kind.” Each part of God’s creation was marked by an ordered diversity of creatures and every one of them was made ‘according’ to its kind. This testifies that each creature had a purpose and a function.
We continue to see this in the world around us – creatures of greater size playing a more prominent role in stabilizing ecosystems while creatures of lesser size are seen playing a more supportive role in food chains and ecosystems. These functional creatures serve one another – for example, the African rhinoceros provides the African ox-pecker with a ready food source of ticks (and a ride) while the ox-pecker rids the rhinoceros of parasitic pests and alerts the shortsighted rhinoceros to the approach of enemies.