Alert icon
We're changing our privacy policy. This stuff matters.  Learn more  Dismiss

An evolutionary arms race

Loading...

Sign in or sign up now!
Alert icon
Upgrade to the latest Flash Player for improved playback performance. Upgrade now or more info.
3,538
Loading...
Alert icon
Sign in or sign up now!
Alert icon

Uploaded by on May 10, 2009

For more see http://www.youtube.com/user/evolutionoflife09
Did you know that beetles can read ant trails and snails smell like ant pupae? These beetles and snails in the Malaysian rainforest depend on army ants for housing and food, but the army ants move frequently to new nest sites. This results in tens of thousands of ants marching together
to find a new place to live. But if one looks carefully at the marching ants, one can see some surprising things! Volker Witte (LMU Munich) works on army ants in the rainforest near Kuala Lumpur. Volker and the others in his team divide their time between the rainforest (to observe
the ants) and the laboratory in Munich (to do modern chemical analysis of smells and trails). They want to understand how snails, beetles and spiders (and at least 7 other species) have adapted to the ants and what counter-adaptations have evolved in the ants.Did you know that beetles can read ant trails and snails smell like ant pupae? These beetles and snails in the Malaysian rainforest depend on army ants for housing and food, but the army ants move frequently to new nest sites. This results in tens of thousands of ants marching together
to find a new place to live. But if one looks carefully at the marching ants, one can see some surprising things! Volker Witte (LMU Munich) works on army ants in the rainforest near Kuala Lumpur. Volker and the others in his team divide their time between the rainforest (to observe
the ants) and the laboratory in Munich (to do modern chemical analysis of smells and trails). They want to understand how snails, beetles and spiders (and at least 7 other species) have adapted to the ants and what counter-adaptations have evolved in the ants.Did you know that beetles can read ant trails and snails smell like ant pupae? These beetles and snails in the Malaysian rainforest depend on army ants for housing and food, but the army ants move frequently to new nest sites. This results in tens of thousands of ants marching together
to find a new place to live. But if one looks carefully at the marching ants, one can see some surprising things! Volker Witte (LMU Munich) works on army ants in the rainforest near Kuala Lumpur. Volker and the others in his team divide their time between the rainforest (to observe
the ants) and the laboratory in Munich (to do modern chemical analysis of smells and trails). They want to understand how snails, beetles and spiders (and at least 7 other species) have adapted to the ants and what counter-adaptations have evolved in the ants.
Directors : Brant Backlund & Marion Hartl
Script & editing : Brant Backlund
Camera operator : Brant Backlund
Second Camera : Marion Hartl
Equipment Manager : Robert Sigl
Narration : Peter Hayden
Music : Chris Tegg
Production Manager : Marion Hartl
Production Assistants :
Christoph von Beeren & Sofia Lizon à l'Allemand
Producer : Brant Backlund
Executive Producer : Pleuni Pennings
Funding: The Volkswagen Foundation
Scientific expert: Volker Witte, LMU Munich, Germany, Behavioural ecology
Volker Witte: « Being in the rainforest and studying its interesting creatures and their interactions feels like experiencing evolution live. Each time in the field we discover new and exciting things. Such fascinating biological systems are the motivation for my research.»

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

License:

Standard YouTube License

  • likes, 1 dislikes

Link to this comment:

Share to:

Top Comments

  • Brilliant research...im surprised the parasites go thru so much trouble though.

see all

All Comments (4)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • omg that is SO freaking smart... especially the "guards" and how snail fools the ants to be carried away

  • Great stuff!

  • This is pretty amazing.

Loading...
Alert icon
0 / 00Unsaved Playlist Return to active list
    1. Your queue is empty. Add videos to your queue using this button:
      or sign in to load a different list.
    Loading...Loading...Saving...
    • Clear all videos from this list
    • Learn more