Lecture 6. Animal Diversity: Feeding Strategies Flashcards
What are the four major feeding strategies ?
- Suspension/Filter feeders
- Fluid feeders
- Substrate feeders
- Bulk feeders
What do suspension feeders use and why ?
An apparatus to filter food out of water and air
What type of suspension feeder do Krill use to feed ?
A feeding basket
What is a Krill’s feeding basket made from ?
Front appendages
How does a Krill’s feeding basket work ?
The movement of the appendages create vortices drawing more water and food towards the mouth
What do baleen whales use to feed ?
Baleen plates
What is the name for a Baleen whale ?
Mysticeti
What are baleen plates made from ?
Keratin
How do the baleen plates work ?
The whale force the water through their baleen with their tongue retaining food
What do some fish use to filter feed ?
Gill rakers
How do gill rakers work ?
Force water through their gills
What do greater flamingos use to filter brine shrimp ?
The lamellae on their beaks
What creatures is suspension feeding very common in ?
Invertebrates such as sponges
What are all sponges ?
Suspension feeders
How do lophotrochozoans feed ?
Use their lophophore tentacles to filter feed
How do spiders filter feed ?
Insects from the air using webs
How do fluid feeders work ?
Suck nutrients from a living host
What are some examples of fluid feeders ?
- Parasites
2. Pollinators
What are substrate feeders ?
Live in or on their food
What are bulk feeders ?
Eat relatively large pieces of food
What is a Frugivore ?
Only eat fruit
What is a Folivore ?
Only eat leaves
What is a Granivore ?
Only eat seeds
What is a nectarivore ?
Only eat nectar
What is a palynivore ?
Only eat pollen
What is a xylophage ?
Only eat wood
What is a grazer ?
Eat grass, low vegetation, seagrass, algae
What is a browser ?
Only eat woody vegetation
What are the challenges of herbivory ?
- Overcome plant defences
- Acquire plant material
- Digest it
What are some adaptation plants have to avoid them being eaten ?
- Chemical compounds
- Spines and thorns
- Bodyguards
What may herbivores have to deal with plant physical defences ?
- Hardened lips and tongues
- Agility to avoid thorns
- Specialised teeth
- No soft parts
How can herbivores tolerate plant compounds ?
- Chemical breakdown by biochemical pathways
- Alter feeding patterns so they only consume as much as they can deal with
- Toxins are used by some caterpillars to make themselves toxic
How have molluscs adapted to help them acquire food ?
- They have radula which contain teeth made of chitin
- Constantly grow to replace worn teeth
- Grinds it against plant material
What is the problem with digestion for animals ?
They do not posses the enzyme to break down cellulose
How do herbivores digest cellulose ?
- They have mutualistic bacteria an protists in their guts
2. Large, specialised guts
How do herbivores adapt to low nutritional content of plant material ?
- Some maintain very low metabolic rates and slow life history
- Most are larger than their non-herbivorous counterparts
- Consume a lot of plant material
What are some adaptations for catching and eating prey ?
- Camoflague
- Lures
- Venom
- Speed
- Strength and stamina
What animals use camoflague ?
- Plaice
2. Praying mantis
What animals use lures ?
- Frogfish
2. Glow worms
What is another name for glow worms ?
Arachnocampa
What are some animals which use venom ?
- Blue ringed octopus
What are some animals that use speed ?
- Cheetah
2. Tiger beetle
What is another name for a tiger beetle ?
Cincindela hudsoni
What animals use strength and stamina ?
- Tarantula
2. African wild dogs
What are some adaptions of prey ?
- Camoflage
- Poisons and warning colours
- Mimicry
- Living in groups
What are some prey which use camoflage ?
- Leaf insect
2. Decorator crab
What are some prey which use poison and warning colours ?
- Poisonous dart frog
2. Slow loris
What is aposematism ?
When poisonous species are brightly coloured
What is batesian mimicry ?
When a harmless organism mimics a poisonous species
What is mullerian mimicry ?
Two unpalatable species mimic each other
