Why don’t poisonous animals poison themselves? - Rebecca D. Tarvin
TED-Ed・2 minutes read
Animals like bombardier beetles and venomous snakes utilize different strategies to survive their own toxins, including storing venom in separate chambers and evolving resistance through genetic changes. This results in an evolutionary arms race where the most toxic animals and resistant predators pass on their genes for future generations.
Insights
- Bombardier beetles protect themselves by storing poisonous liquid in separate chambers and shielding their internal tissues with a hardened chamber, showcasing an intricate defense mechanism against their toxins.
- The evolutionary arms race between toxic animals and resistant predators highlights how genetic changes due to exposure to toxins can drive the survival of the fittest, shaping future generations' ability to resist or produce toxins.
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Recent questions
How do bombardier beetles defend themselves?
By spewing hot, bitter fluid.
What are some examples of toxic animals?
Jellyfish and venomous snakes.
How do predators and prey develop resistance to toxins?
Through genetic changes.
What is the outcome of an evolutionary arms race?
Survival of the most toxic and resistant.
How do animals evolve resistance to their own toxins?
Through genetic changes altering alkaloid-binding site.
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Summary
00:00
Evolutionary arms race of toxic animals
- Charles Darwin, as a student at Cambridge, encountered bombardier beetles that defend themselves by spewing hot, bitter fluid. These beetles store poisonous liquid in separate chambers and protect themselves from their own toxins through a hardened chamber that shields their internal tissues.
- Various toxic animals, like jellyfish and venomous snakes, use different strategies to survive their own secretions. Some store venom in specialized compartments, while others evolve resistance to their toxins through genetic changes that alter the structure of the alkaloid-binding site.
- Predators and prey of poisonous animals can also develop resistance to toxins through genetic changes. This leads to an evolutionary arms race where the most toxic animals and the most resistant predators survive, passing on their genes for resistance and toxicity to future generations.
