Animal Senses Flashcards
What do the ears do?
- Detect sound waves(stimulus)
-sounds= high frequency vibrations
Humans; 20- 20,000 hertz - used for balance
What is the pinna? (Outer ear)
-outside structure
- cartilage
- funnel- gathers and focuses sound
- can move in some animals
What is the Auditory Meatus(ear canal)? (Outer ear)
Passage that leads to ear drum
What does the tympanic membrane( ear drum) do? ( middle ear)
- 3 layers
- converts sound waves to vibrations
What are the three ossicles? ( middle ear)
- Malleus
- incus
- stapes
What do the ossicles do? ( middle ear)
- vibrate in response to sound
- concentrate vibrations
- sound into mechanical energy
What does the oval window do? (Middle ear)
- membrane covered opening
- vibrate in response to ossicles
- vibrations to inner ear
What is the Eustachian tube? ( middle ear)
- Air filled cavity
- connected to throat
- opens when swallowing
- allows air into middle ear
What is the structure of the cochlea? (Inner ear)
- spiral tube
- fluid and hair cells- sensitive to vibrations
What does the organ of corti do?( inner ear)
- turns vibrations into electrical signals
What does the semi- circular canals? (Inner ear)
balance and directional info
What does the cochlear nerve do? ( inner ear)
- vibrations from cochlea to brain as electrical impulses
Difference in ear structures that help animals hear different sound waves?
Size;
Large pinna captures more vibrations
Thickness of eardrum;
Thin= heat at high frequencies
Size of middle ear bones;
Heavy= low frequencies
Light= high frequencies
What is the difference between predator vs prey ears?
Predator;
Ears point forward- helps when pursuing prey
Prey;
Large ears that swivel- listen to sounds from all directions
What is the nose used for?
- to see if the food is edible
- territory
- reproduction/ pheromones
- danger
- also a role in sense of taste
Structure of nasal chamber? (Nasal chamber)
- olfactory epithelium
- mucous membranes
- olfactory nerve
Structure of turbinate bones? ( nasal cavity)
- narrow passageways
- warm/ humidify
Structure of the olfactory bulb? ( nasal cavity)
- forebrain
- interprets olfactory stimuli
What does the hard palate do?
Separates oral and nasal cavity
What does the soft palate do?
Closes nasal passage when swallowing and sneezing
What does the mouth do ?
- allows ingestion of nutritious food
- taste receptors detect different chemicals( stimulus)
- main structure in mouth: tongue
What is the tongue structure?
- detects flavour chemicals(stimulus)
- papillae on surface
- taste buds= taste receptors
- taste pore= exposes receptor cells
- Taste receptors cell= create chemical signals sent to brain
What is the different components on the skin?
Epidermis- waterproof/ protective barrier, regenerates
Dermis- structure/ support/ flexibility, skin receptors
Subcutaneous- insulation, connects skin to muscles/ bones
What are skin receptors?
- millions of touch receptors
- Different function’s
- send signals along nerve cells
- message sent to brain
Why is touch important?
- know where something has touched/ where is painful
- Allows to feel size, shape and texture of objects
- motor skills
- know if something is hot or cold
- proximity of food, predators and environmental features
- social context- grooming
What is the structure of lateral lines?
- in fish
-Detects movement, vibrations and changes in pressure - navigate surroundings
- neuromasts- hair cell structure
- lateral line canal- channel that contains neuromasts
What do lateral lines do?
- navigate;
Avoid obstacles
Move in dark conditions - adapt to water currents
- locate prey
- moving in schools
What is the vomeronasal/ Jacobsons’ s organ
- organ in olfactory system
- Amphibians, reptiles and mammals
- connected too on mouth and/ or nasal passages
- moisture-borne odour particles
- intraspecific chemical communication
- pheromones
What happens in the flehmen response in horses?
- curls upper lip
- inhales (nostrils closed)
- Transfers pheromones to JO
What happens in the flehmen response in cats?
- opens mouth and sticks tongue out
- air passes over tongue
- touch to JO to deposit pheromones
What is the function and structure of whiskers/ vibrissae?
- sensitive to touch
- each is connected to follicle that contains thousands of neuron’s
- navigate environment
- detect approaching danger
Seal: - hunt effectively in poor visual conditions
What is the structure and function Ampullae of Lorenzini?
- Electroreceptors
- sharks and rays
- pores on face
- lead to gel filled chamber
- detect electrical impulses from other organisms
- work at close range
- find prey
- compass
What is the function of echolocation?
- determine location of objects using sound
- low visual environments
- bats, whales, dolphins and some birds
How do dolphins use sound to communicate?
- high pitched clicking sounds
- squeeze air through nasal passages
- return as echoes
- lower jaw and passed to ears
- distance, direction, speed, density and size
How do bats use sound frequencies?
- created in larynx and emitted through mouth
- detect insects up to 5 m away
- produces echoes
- bounce off object and return to ears
- turn off middle ear before calling
What is the difference between prey and predator eyes?
Predator:
- Vertical pupil/ dot
- Positioned in front of head
- Focus on prey for ambushing
Prey:
- horizontal pupil
- positioned on the side of the head
- panoramic view to spot predators
What do the eyes do?
- detects and focuses light (stimulus)
- Mammals- complex, specialised visual systems
Structure of the cornea?
- transparent tissue
- focuses light
- protective layer
Structure of iris?
- sphincter
- controls size of pupil
Structure of sclera?
- Tough connective tissue layer
Structure of pupil?
- Allows light in
- small on bright, large in low
Structure of lens?
- elastic capsule filled with proteins and water
- focuses light onto retina
Structure of ciliary body?
- controls shape of lens
- allows focus
Structure of retina?
- light sensitive tissue
- rod and cone cells
- light into electrical impulses
Structure of fovea?
- region on retina
- high density of cone cells
- sharp central vision
Structure of choroid?
- middle layer of tissue
- blood vessels
- supplies oxygen and nutrients
Structure of optic disc?
- blind spot
- point of exit for neuron’s
Structure of optic nerve?
- bundle of fibres
- carries electrical impulses to Brain
Structure of Lateral rectus muscles?
Lateral movement of eyeball
