51 sec clip - How #Animals Would #Run if They Were People.

found via a boingboing email

5min @TEDEd animated clip - #Cannibalism in the animal kingdom - Bill Schutt

Text from youtube "Until recently, scientists thought cannibalism was a rare response to starvation or other extreme stress. Well-known cannibals like the praying mantis and black widow were considered bizarre exceptions. But now, we know they more or less represent the rule. Bill Schutt shows how cannibalism can promote the survival of a species by reducing competition, culling the weak, and bolstering the strong. 

Lesson by Bill Schutt, animation by Compote Collective."

#TEDEd 4min animated clip - Why do animals form #swarms? - Maria R. D'Orsogna

Text from youtube "When many individual organisms come together and move as one entity, that’s a swarm. From a handful of birds to billions of insects, swarms can be almost any size. They have no leader, and members interact only with their neighbors or through indirect cues. Members follow simple rules: travel in the same direction as those around you, stay close and avoid collisions. Maria R. D’Orsogna shares why. 

Lesson by Maria R. D’Orsogna, animation by Matt Reynolds."

4min 56sec #TEDEd animated clip - Why do #animals have such different #lifespans? - environment, size & genetic differences - Joao Pedro de #Magalhaes

For the microscopic lab worm C. elegans, life equates to just a few short weeks on Earth. The bowhead whale, on the other hand, can live over two hundred years. Why are these lifespans so different? 

And what does it really mean to ‘age' anyway? 

Joao Pedro de Magalhaes explains why the pace of aging varies greatly across animals. Lesson by Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, animation by Sharon Colman.