From pygmy shrews to armadillos, a wide range of mammals survive on a diet made up largely of insects. Many of these have fascinating adaptations suited to catching or rooting out their prey. In this free course, Studying mammals: The insect hunters, you will learn about these adaptations, along with survival strategies for when food is scarce. This is the second course in the Studying mammals series.
Overview
Syllabus
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 Meeting the insect eaters
- 1 Meeting the insect eaters
- 2 How insect eaters obtain their food
- 2 How insect eaters obtain their food
- 2.1 Mammalian dentition
- 2.2 Feeding techniques
- 3 Adaptations linked to feeding in insect eaters
- 3 Adaptations linked to feeding in insect eaters
- 3.1 Introduction
- 3.2 Shrews
- 3.3 Moles
- 3.4 Anteaters
- 3.5 Bats
- 4 Thinking about adaptation
- 4 Thinking about adaptation
- 5 Temperature regulation and the consequence of size
- 5 Temperature regulation and the consequence of size
- 5.1 Introduction
- 5.2 Body size and metabolic rate
- 5.3 Body size and surface area
- 6 Strategies for coping with cold and food shortage
- 6 Strategies for coping with cold and food shortage
- 6.1 Toughing it out
- 6.2 Opting out
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
