Animal Nutrition Flashcards
What are the key things animals must balance in terms of nutrition?
consumption, storage and use
What does food provide an animal?
ATP production
carbon skeletons for biosynthesis
essential nutrients (those that must be supplied in preassembled form, aka cant be synthesized by the organism)
vitamins (organic molecules)
minerals (inorganic substances)
What are the ways animals can suffer from malnutrition?
inadequate intake of essential nutrients, deficiency of chemical energy
What are the basic steps of food processing?
Ingestion > digestion (enzymatic breakdown of large molecules) > absorption (uptake of nutrients by cells) > elimination (passage of undigested material out of body
Why is compartmentalization necessary?
To avoid self-digestion.
What is the difference between intracellular and extracellular digestion?
Intracellular: food particles are engulfed by endocytosis and digested within food vacuoles that have fused with lysosomes.
Extracellular: enzymatic hydrolysis occurs outside cells in a gastrovascular cavity or alimentary canal
How is food pushed along the alimentary canal in the mammalian digestive tract?
through peristalsis, the involuntary constriction and relaxation of the muscles of the intestine or another canal, creating wavelike movements that push the contents of the canal forward.
Describe the digestive system.
Mouth: secretions from salivary glans
Esophagus
Stomach: secretions from gastric glands
Small intestine: receives secretions from pancreas and liver, sends lipids to lymphatic system then to veins to heart. Non-lipid foods absorbed and sent to hepatic portal vein to liver.
Large intestine: water leaves and is absorbed into hepatic portal vein to liver
Liver: receives absorbed food, water and sends to vein to heart.
Rectum
Anus
What are some evolutionary adaptations of digestive systems in vertebrates?
Diversity of dentition, which correlates with diet.
Fermentation chambers in herbivores like cows, where microorganisms digest cellulose.
Herbivores having extra long alimentary canals, which reflect s the longer time needed to digest vegetation.
Describe the multiple levels of nutrition regulation in animals.
Alimentary canal: food triggers nervous and hormonal responses that control the secretion of digestive juices and that promote movement through the canal
Insulin and glucagon, which control the synthesis and breakdown of glycogen, regulate the availability of glucose for energy production.
How do you define an animal’s metabolic rate?
The total amount of chemical energy used per unit time.
What do animals allocate energy to?
basal metabolism, activity, growth and reproduction.
Where do vertebrates store excess calories? How are they accessed?
In glycogen (in liver and muscle cells), and in fat (adipose cells). They are used when the animal uses more calories than it consumes.
What hormones regulate appetite?
Leptin and insulin
