Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: neilep on 17/03/2009 23:20:55
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Dearest Academical Luffleys Of knowledgeable Stuff & General Klevernuss,
See this Eel ?
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Nice eh ?..as far as Eels go, this one's a real looker !!
Eels are like long thin swimmy fishy snakes yes ?
..but unlike some snakes that have poisonous venom, I heard that Eels have toxic blood !!...what's that all about ?
Is toxic blood common amongst other animals ?..Why does an Eel have blood so that if ewe or I swallowed it , it would make us sickypoos ?
I would like to know in case I accidentally swallow some Eel blood...it happens ewe know !
If I knew the answer to this then it would up my stakes amongst the klevur eel fraternity and this is important to me.
I hope ewe can help
hugs & shmishes
mwah mwah mwah
neil
My Name Rhymes With Eel
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Coz they live off crap?
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Coz they live off crap?
Well................I'm convinced !! [;)]
What about Prawns and Lobsters ?...they live off crap too don't they ?...there's one in my loo and one sitting in the kitty litter tray right now !
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Coz eels don't want to be eaten?
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Creatures which are poisonous when eaten are another phenomenon explained by the gene centered view of evolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene-centered_view_of_evolution#Individual_altruism.2C_genetic_egoism): an individual member of a species must die to deliver the poison, but in doing so they will prevent/deter a predator from attacking other members of the their species. Being poisonous doesn't do an individual member any good (they must die to deliver it) but it is beneficial for their species. Their genes, shared with other members of the same species, are more likely to survive as a result of creating vehicles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene#Organisms_as_survival_machines) which are poisonous.
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Coz eels don't want to be eaten?
Thank you Chemistry4me...... What creatures have a desire to be eaten ? [;)]
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Creatured which are poisonous when eaten are another phenomenon explained by the gene centered view of evolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene-centered_view_of_evolution#Individual_altruism.2C_genetic_egoism): an individual member of a species must die to deliver the poison, but in doing so they will prevent/deter a predator from attacking other members of the their species. Being poisonous doesn't do an individual member any good (they must die to deliver it) but it is beneficial for their species. Their genes, shared with other members of the same species, are more likely to survive as a result of being poisonous.
Thank you RD but how does a poisoned predator then pass on that knowledge to it's kin ?
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Innate (inherited) phobias to spiders and snakes (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227121840.htm) may be psychological countermeasures to poisonous creatures, passed on to predator progeny.
Those who have an (innate/genetic) fear of snakes and spiders (some of whom have deadly poison) are more likely to survive to adulthood and reproduce than those who don't fear these potentially poisonous creatures, and pass on this life-saving reflex to their offsping.
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Thank you RD but how does a poisoned predator then pass on that knowledge to it's kin ?
It's not strictly necessary for the predator to pass on the knowledge directly to their kin, although there is evidence in some species that this does happen - the pregnant female 'primes' the young with her food preferences somehow.
Outside of this, if the predator bites something unpleasant, they are unlikely to repeat the experience. This experience is likely to happen in early life as part of learning edible from inedible. Clearly, if the predator is fatally poisoned, that is the end of it. If there is some genetic component in the predator's food preferences, fatal poisoning in early life will act as a powerful selection against that preference. Severe indigestion won't necessarily act as a direct selection pressure, but is likely to interfere with overall efficiency, allowing populations that don't have such damaging preferences to outcompete them, or selecting for individuals with more robust digestions, or with different food preferences.
However, it's worth bearing in mind that predator and prey will often (generally?) evolve together, each imposing selection pressures on the other, so you may be more likely to find prey that have evolved increasingly nasty poisons being preyed on by predators that have evolved increasing resistance to those poisons.
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What about Prawns and Lobsters ?...they live off crap too don't they ?...there's one in my loo and one sitting in the kitty litter tray right now !
I don't think you're being entirely honest, are you.
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What about Prawns and Lobsters ?...they live off crap too don't they ?...there's one in my loo and one sitting in the kitty litter tray right now !
I don't think you're being entirely honest, are you.
It could be true if Neilp was referring to crap, not prawns or lobsters.
Hmm... perhaps Neilp forgot to include the string " as traps, but they haven't caught any prawns or lobsters yet" before the shriek (!)
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If their blood is toxic, how come I can eat eel? It's yummy.
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The toxic protein it contains is destroyed by cooking.
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Ahh. That makes sense.
But otters eat a lot of eels!
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(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-confused013.gif&hash=396386a856152a890252526964cc44dd) (http://www.freesmileys.org)
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It's possible that otters' digestive systems are able to digest the protein before it does any harm.
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So how toxic is it? Would I need to eat a little or a lotto?
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(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-confused013.gif&hash=396386a856152a890252526964cc44dd) (http://www.freesmileys.org)
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Cooking or digestion both destroy the toxin.
As long as you don't take the eel blood and inject it into yourself, you'll be fine.
(this is exactly what scientists (injected it into dogs) while studying anaphylaxis.
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how does a poisoned predator then pass on that knowledge to it's kin ?
Predators which raise their little ones would presumably train them to find prey which didn't give them a severe stomach ache later.