Like tiny Supermen of the sea, mantis shrimp catch their prey using both bullet-like speed and enhanced vision. How do they do it? Young marine biologists discover the amazing adaptations found in the mantis shrimp and how they use them to catch dinner and not miss their shot.

Concepts

invertebrates, marine ecosystems, marine life, hunting, predators, polarization, sunlight, cancer, eyes

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

science

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Add interest to a marine ecosystems lesson with the video
• Expand the lesson to include other uses of polarized light in medicine

Classroom Considerations

• Lead a quick discussion about sunlight, wavelengths of light, and polarization before watching the video

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• The resource shows how research into the shrimp's adaptation using polarized light is helping to detect injuries and certain forms of cancer
• Slow-motion video allows learners to see the shrimp catch their prey

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.2 SL.7.2 SL.9-10.2