Kid Friendly Sources For Further Learning:
Check out this cool video that explains how sloths and moths work together in an act of mutualism, resulting in sloths having a nutritious snack on hand at all times!
Follow this link to learn more about how Fur seals and seals move around the world differently!
Read about what other animals help elephants plant the seeds for the forests of the future here!
Watch this video to see how giraffes battle it out using their necks as weapons!
For more information on thousands of animals check out AnimalDiversityWeb a database of animals written by and for students (reviewed by ADW staff!)
Scientific sources used:
Milkweed Tussock moth:
Hristov, Nickolay & Conner, William. (2005). Sound strategy: Acoustic aposematism in the bat-tiger moth arms race. Die Naturwissenschaften. 92. 164-9. 10.1007/s00114-005-0611-7.
Monarch butterfly:
Parson’s chameleon:
Ligon Russell A. and McGraw Kevin J. 2013 Chameleons communicate with complex colour changes during contests: different body regions convey different informationBiol. Lett.92013089220130892
Koala:
Dahlhausen, Katherine E et al. “Characterization of shifts of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) intestinal microbial communities associated with antibiotic treatment.” PeerJ vol. 6 e4452. 12 Mar. 2018, doi:10.7717/peerj.4452
Gray bat:
Hoatzin:
Wright, André-Denis G et al. “Rumen-like methanogens identified from the crop of the folivorous South American bird, the hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin).” The ISME journal vol. 3,10 (2009): 1120-6. doi:10.1038/ismej.2009.41
Giraffe:
Simmons, Robert & Scheepers, Lue. (1996). Winning by a Neck: Sexual Selection in the Evolution of Giraffe. American Naturalist. 148. 771-786. 10.1086/285955.
Clark’s anemone fish:
Burke da Silva, Karen & Nedosyko, Anita. (2016). Sea Anemones and Anemonefish: A Match Made in Heaven. 10.1007/978-3-319-31305-4_27.
Asiatic black bears:
Hwang, M.-H & Garshelis, D.L. & Wang, Y.. (2001). Diets of Asiatic black bears in Taiwan, with methodological and geographical comparisons. Ursus. 13. 111-125.
African elephants:
Spanbauer, Bradley & Adler, Gregory. (2015). Seed protection through dispersal by African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana africana) in northern Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology. 53. 10.1111/aje.12239.
Anthony’s Poison Arrow frog:
Darst CR, Menéndez-Guerrero PA, Coloma LA, Cannatella DC. Evolution of dietary specialization and chemical defense in poison frogs (Dendrobatidae): a comparative analysis. Am Nat. 2005 Jan;165(1):56-69. doi: 10.1086/426599. Epub 2004 Nov 12. PMID: 15729640.
Northern Fur seal:
Maned Three-Toed sloth:
Pauli Jonathan N., Mendoza Jorge E., Steffan Shawn A., Carey Cayelan C., Weimer Paul J. and Peery M. Zachariah 2014 A syndrome of mutualism reinforces the lifestyle of a sloth Proc. R. Soc. B.2812013300620133006
Map Data:
Milkweed Tussock moth global range:
The North American Moth Photographers Group at Mississippi State University
http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/large_map.php?hodges=8238 Accessed Spring, 2021.
Monarch global range:
Nail, Kelly & Drizd, Lara & Voorhies, Kristen. (2019). Butterflies Across the Globe: A Synthesis of the Current Status and Characteristics of Monarch (Danaus plexippus) Populations Worldwide. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7. 10.3389/fevo.2019.00362.
Clark’s anemonefish Global Range:
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2020.FishBase.
World Wide Web electronic publication.
www.fishbase.org, ( 12/2020 )
World Wide Web electronic publication.
www.fishbase.org, ( 12/2020 )
All other map data:
Range, threat level, and population data from https://www.iucnredlist.org/ accessed spring, 2021.