Skip to main content
Toggle User Menu

HHMI BioInteractive

  • Español
  • Search
  • Log In/Create Account
  • Classroom Resources
  • Planning Tools
  • Professional Development
  • About Us

The Science of an Extreme Animal Athlete

Topic
  • Cell Biology
  • Cellular Energetics
  • Evolution
  • Natural Selection
  • Science Practices
  • Experimental Design
Resource Type
  • Videos
  • Scientists at Work
Level
High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Duration
00:10:30
Favorited By
25 Users
Share This
Description

This video follows biologist Shane Campbell-Staton, who is studying the adaptations that allow deer mice living at high elevations to stay warm and active during the winter.

In this video, Campbell-Staton collaborates with two colleagues, who also happen to be long-distance runners, to investigate how certain populations of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) survive long winters on mountaintops. The scientists catch and study wild deer mice from low-elevation and high-elevation environments. By comparing the amount of oxygen the mice breathe in to the amount of carbon dioxide they breathe out, the scientists determine that mice adapted to living at high elevations use fats (lipids) at higher rates than mice adapted to living at low elevations do. Fats are often used to power activities requiring a lot of endurance, such running a marathon or staying warm on mountains. Deer mice living at high elevations may have evolved to burn fat at higher rates for this reason. These mice also have other adaptations, such as hemoglobin that is better able to bind oxygen, that help them survive at high elevations.

An audio descriptive version of the film is available via our media player.

Details
Key Terms

carbohydrate, carbon dioxide, cellular respiration, energy, heat, hemoglobin, lipid, macromolecule, metabolism, oxygen

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Accessibility Level

This resource and the accompanying documents comply with accessibility standards in accordance with the final rule for Section 508 of the National Rehabilitation Act.
Version History
Date Published 02.27.20
Date Updated 03.10.20
Curriculum Connections
NGSS (2013)

HS-LS1-7, HS-LS4-4

AP Biology (2019)

ENE-1, EVO-1

IB Biology (2016)

2.1, 2.3, 2.8, 5.2, 8.1, 8.2

AP Environmental Science (2013)

II.B, II.C

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

3.2

Vision and Change (2009)

CC1, CC4; DP4

Materials
HD (M4V) 406 MB
HD (WMV) 330 MB
SD (M4V) 89 MB
SD (WMV) 89 MB
Transcript (PDF) 257 KB

Explore Related Content

Other Related Resources
Showing of
Computer modeled image of ATP Synthase
Animations
ATP Synthesis
Computer modeled image of the electron transport chain system
Animations
Electron Transport Chain
Computer modeled image of an enzyme in the citric acid cycle
Animations
Citric Acid Cycle
3D animation of a bleached coral
Animations
Coral Bleaching
Photosynthesis thumbnail
Click & Learn
Photosynthesis
Lessons
Pulse Chase Primer: The Meselson-Stahl Experiment
Scientists at Work
Tagging Bumble Bees to Study Their Movements
Scientists at Work
Riverine Food Webs: How Flow Rates Affect Biomass
Scientists at Work
Trophic Cascades in Salt Marsh Ecosystems
Scientists at Work
How Lizards Find Their Way Home

HHMI BioInteractive

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Newsletter Signup
  • HHMI.org
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy