Success by Learning – Smallest Predator Recognizes Prey by its Shape
The smaller an animal is, the greater is its loss of
warmth over its surface. To avoid starvation, the Etruscan shrew has to
constantly compensate for this life-threatening energy loss. Thus, it consumes
twice its weight every day and feeds on crickets, cockroaches, and spiders.
Since the prey are nearly as big as their predator, the shrew has to attack
fast and well directed.
Etruscan shrews hunt in the night and must rely on
their sense of touch. With long whiskers at the snout, they can locate
potential prey and recognize whom exactly they are facing. Afterwards, the
shrews kill their prey using directed attacks. The researchers could observe
that they track down crickets with a forceful bite in the back. To investigate
whether the animals recognize their prey by its shape, they offered the
Etruscan shrews a plastic cricket. Though the artificial animal neither moved
nor smelled, the Etruscan shrews attacked the plastic prey up to 15 times. “The
Etruscan shrews trust in their sense of touch and the tactile shape recognition
in an extent we do not know from other animal species,” reported Brecht at the
MDC conference.
“Also, the animals can adjust quickly to new
situations”, Brecht pointed out. To examine this theory, the scientists
exchanged the living crickets with a giant cockroach. This new animal differs
clearly from the natural prey of the shrews. The back of the cockroach is
protected by a heavy shield and is therefore saved from the normal attacks of
the Etruscan shrews. However, the experiments showed that the shrews succeeded
in adapting their natural hunting strategy to the new prey in very short time.
Quickly, they realized that the belly is the cockroach’s weak point. “The shrews
are learning during the hunt and use the new knowledge right away,” said
Brecht. “Even the giant cockroach can not escape.“
Bachtler
Press
and Public Affairs
MaxDelbrück
Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)
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