Tadpole shrimp are neither tadpoles nor shrimp. They're time-traveling crustaceans called triops. Their eggs can spend years – even decades – frozen in time, waiting to hatch. When California rice growers flood their fields, they create the perfect conditions for hordes of these ravenous creatures to awaken. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Each spring, hungry hordes of tadpole shrimp find their way into the rice fields of California’s Central Valley and go to town munching on the young seedlings. Tadpole shrimp aren’t really tadpoles or shrimp, but they are crustaceans whose ancestors once lived in the sea. “They look like tiny horseshoe crabs,” says Ian Grettenberger, an integrative pest management researcher at UC Davis. “It’s obvious when rice fields have lots of tadpole shrimp in them, because they stir up the mud making the water look a bit like chocolate milk. There will also be shrimp zooming around, many upside down at the surface, popping up for a few seconds before disappearing back into the murkiness." So how did crustaceans, whose ancestors lived in the sea, end up in these freshwater rice paddies? Turns out, they’ve been waiting in the dry soil. Tadpole shrimp eggs can survive being dried out for months, years, even decades. When the water returns, they’re ready to hatch. --- What do tadpole shrimp eat? Tadpole shrimp aren’t picky eaters. They eat algae, floating debris, and whatever plants and insects they are big enough to eat. In California, tadpole shrimp are especially fond of young rice seedlings, which makes them an agricultural pest. --- How do tadpole shrimp eggs survive getting dried out? Tadpole shrimp evolved to live in temporary freshwater ponds, created by seasonal rains. Many of those pools dry up completely each year. Adult tadpole shrimp can’t survive drying out, but their eggs have a rugged outer layer called a chorion that protects the eggs from desiccation. --- Can you raise tadpole shrimp at home? Much like brine shrimp, also called sea monkeys, you can buy tadpole shrimp eggs, which will hatch when put in water. ---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science: https://www.kqed.org/science/1977074/tadpole-shrimp-are-coming-for-your-rice ---+ More great Deep Look episodes: Once a Spawn a Time: Horseshoe Crabs Mob the Beach | Deep Look https://youtu.be/iYvWssvg1YU For Pacific Mole Crabs It's Dig or Die | Deep Look https://youtu.be/tfoYD8pAsMw From Drifter to Dynamo: The Story of Plankton | Deep Look https://youtu.be/jUvJ5ANH86I ---+ Shoutout! 🏆Congratulations🏆 to the following 5 fans on our Deep Look Community Tab for identifying why the female oak moth is fanning her wings ― to spread her pheromones to attract males! TheWilcz demonic mayonnaise No League No Life Vanhua870 dennis mccormick ---+ Thank you to our Top Patreon Supporters ($10+ per month)! Jessica mark tighe Vivek Singh Neil Jeyasingam Kaleb Kuan Ed Gandia Mehdi Mark Jobes Delphine Tseng Nicky O. Jana Brenning Anastasia Grinkevic Allison & Maka Masuda Nathan Jewsbury Wild Turkey Carrie Mukaida Scott Faunce Tianxing Wang Kelly Hong Misia Clive Kevin Judge Cristen Rasmussen Teresa Lavell dane rosseter Josh Kuroda Burt Humburg Caitlin McDonough Blanca Vides Carlos Carrasco Noreen Herrington Kristy Freeman Mary Truland Roberta K Wright Syniurge Aurora Silvan monoirre Leonhardt Wille Louis O'Neill Gerardo Alfaro Titania Juang Kallie Moore Rick Wong Sonia Tanlimco Cindy McGill Nicolette Ray Joshua Murallon Robertson Adam Kurtz El Samuels Laurel Przybylski Supernovabetty Companion Cube Chris B Emrick KW chckncurry Karen Reynolds TierZoo SueEllen McCann David Deshpande Shelley Pearson Cranshaw Daisuke Goto Elizabeth Ann Ditz Levi Cai ---+ Follow KQED Science and Deep Look: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kqedscience/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience ---+ About KQED KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, California, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media. Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by The National Science Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED. #triops #tadpoleshrimp #deeplook

• published: 12 Oct 2021
• views: 89995