Wild Fact #969 – The Sacrificial Tadpole
Photo compliments of http://wikimedia.org
Happy Monday, everyone. I know the bad news is the weekend is over, however, the good news is Wild Facts is back for another week! I hope you have had your morning coffee and are prepared to learn something new today. You have? All right then, let’s get right into it.
We are going to start the week off by discussing a unusual defense mechanism that tadpoles utilize. You can imagine that it would be very difficult for a tiny little tadpole to survive in the harsh water, surrounded by numerous predators. Even bugs such as the dragonfly nymph will be a legitimate threat to the tadpoles well being. So, how do these little soon to be frogs cope with this? Well, they get eaten! No, I am not just messing with you, this is really how they defend against predators. Don’t go for another coffee just yet, let me explain!
You see, when a tadpole gets eaten by a predator it will release a chemical that impacts other tadpoles in the area. This chemical will trigger a morphological change in the nearby polly wogs. The living tadpoles will react to this chemical by growing bigger and developing a large red tail, which allows them to swim faster. So you see, the one tadpole that made the ultimate sacrifice will end up saving its siblings. Now that these tadpoles are faster and stronger they have a much better chance for survival and will one day turn into the little frogs that they are meant to be. Of course, once they are frogs they have to wait for that special kiss before they can complete their final morphological change into the handsome Prince!
Have a great Monday!!
