Module 2-the pathway to eating meat

Question 1

What makes up the first trophic level

Answer 1

primary producers-autotrophs that make there own food from sun, CO2 and H2O. Ie. plants

Question 2

What part of the trophic level are animals found

Answer 2

the second

Question 3

Describe what makes up the second trophic level

Answer 3

its made up of different levels of consumers

Question 4

What are primary consumer

Answer 4

Primary consumers are herbivores that get there food from eating primary producers

Question 5

How do herbivores process food and benefit things higher on the trophic level

Answer 5

They get there food by eating primary producers and convert plant material into more nutritious feed required by animals higher on the food chain that arent capable of deriving of depriving nessicary nutrients for survival from plants alone

Question 6

What are secondary consumers

Answer 6

they eat the primary consumers; they are carnivores

Question 7

What is between primary and secondary consumers

Answer 7

omnavores

Question 8

What are omnivores

Answer 8

they eat both producers (plants) and primary consumers (herbivores) or even secondary consumers (carnivores)

Question 9

What is one way you can distinguish herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores

Answer 9

there teeth

Question 10

Describe strict carnivore teeth

Answer 10

sting pointed incisors, enlarged canines for stabbing prey and carnassial teeth for shearing the flesh of the prey

Question 11

Describe grazing herbavore teeth

Answer 11

large, flat preemolars with corrugated surface for grinding plant material

Question 12

What are human teeth like

Answer 12

they are not specialized like the shoes of carnivores or herbivores enabling us to eat a wide range of foods including both plant and animal

Question 13

What does the term herbivore refer to

Answer 13

animals that live on plant matter. Herbivores include grazing animals (graminivores) folivores, frugivores and granivors

Question 14

What animals are included in grazing animals

Answer 14

ruminants (ie. cows and sheep) and non-ruminants (ie horses)

Question 15

How do horses digest a herbivore diet

Answer 15

there cecum became dramatically enlarged

Question 16

What do ruminants have a symbiotic relationship with

Answer 16

there gut microflora it enables them to obtain energy from poor quality fibroses feed

Question 17

How do the microbes in the ruminants guy work

Answer 17

they create a fermentation vat where they break down plant fibres and produce energy for their host

Question 18

How do non ruminant grazers digest plant matter

Answer 18

Non-ruminant grazing animals have similar microflora present in their cecum; the cecal microflora are generally less efficient than those of the rumen at producing energy from poor quality fibre and, consequently, non-ruminant grazers require a higher quality feed than ruminants

Question 19

Do non grazing herbivores have microbes in there gut

Answer 19

no, Non-grazing herbivores do not have the gastrointestinal microbes necessary to break down fibrous carbohydrates

Question 20

How do frugivorous and granivorous herbivores get there energy

Answer 20

they are restricted to parts of the plant where the nutrients are more readily available and they do not have the gastrointestinal microbes that are necessary for breaking down fibrous carbohydrates

Question 21

Can humans digest fibrous plants

Answer 21

no, Humans cannot derive nutrients necessary for life from the grasses that will support grazing animals or the leaves that support the folivores although they do digest nutrients from the seeds and the fruits of plants

Question 22

What is the digestive tract of herbivores like

Answer 22

Because plant digestion is a slow process, the digestive tracts of herbivores have high capacity and are complex to provide the capacity and function to break down plant material

Question 23

Where do grazing animals get there energy source from

Answer 23

The primary energy source for grazing animals is volatile fatty acids that are produced by the breakdown of fibrous carbohydrates; cows and horses derive 50 to 75 percent of their energy from volatile fatty acids.

Question 24

What do grazing animals eat

Answer 24

grasses

Question 25

What do granivors eat

Answer 25

seeds

Question 26

What do frugivores eat

Answer 26

fruit

Question 27

What to folivores eat

Answer 27

leaves

Question 28

Where do carnivores get there nutrient from

Answer 28

they derive their nutrients from the flesh of animals that produced that flesh by converting plant matter

Question 29

What is a carnivore defined as

Answer 29

an animal that mostly eats meat meaning it might also consume some plant matter

Question 30

Why can’t carnivores have a plant diet

Answer 30

The digestive tracts of carnivores lack special structures or adaptations needed to derive nutrients from plant matter and they have nutrient requirements that can only be met by animal flesh

Question 31

Simply describe the digestive tract of a carnivore

Answer 31

The digestive tract of a carnivore is very simple in form; it consists of a simple stomach and a short total gastrointestinal tract with no sacculation of the colon Carnivores also produce all of the enzymes needed to efficiently break down and digest meat protein. The cecum is minimal or absent. Food passes rapidly through the digestive tract of the carnivore. Dogs and cats derive one to two precent of there energy from volatile fatty acids

Question 32

Compare the digestive tract of omnivores to herbivores and carnivores

Answer 32

Omnivores, such as pigs and humans, have digestive tracts intermediate in capacity and complexity to those of herbivores and carnivores

Question 33

How many precent of volatile fatty acids do humans and pigs derive

Answer 33

human: 6-9 pigs: 10-30

Question 34

How many precent of there energy from cats and dogs is derived from volatile fatty acids

Answer 34

Dogs and cats derive one to two precent of there energy from volatile fatty acids

Question 35

How many precent of energy from cows and horses is derived from volatile fatty acids

Answer 35

cows and horses derive 50 to 75 percent of their energy from volatile fatty acids

Question 36

What kind of diet should humans ideally be made up by suggested by the type of digestive tract we have

Answer 36

The human digestive tract falls somewhere in between that of the herbivore and that of the carnivore suggesting that it is best adapted to a diet comprised of both plant and animal sources as is typical of omnivorous species

Question 37

Briefly describe the make up of the human digestive tract

Answer 37

he digestive tract of humans and existing apes is comprised of an acid-producing stomach, a small intestine, a small cecum and a sacculated colon

Question 38

What does the sacculated colon of humans tell us about our ancestors

Answer 38

it indicates we came from a herbivorous ancestor whose diet was fruit based

Question 39

How does the human digestive tract differ from the apes

Answer 39

by volumetric proportion: most of the gut volume of the human tract is in the small intestine whereas apes is in the colon The meat component of the human diet supplies essential amino acids in the form of protein, vitamins and minerals while the plant-based component (fruits, vegetables, roots and seeds) supplies most of the energy requirements

Question 40

What is taurine

Answer 40

its and amino sulfonic acid in virtually all cells of all animals.
Its found only in animal cells.
particularly important in electrically excitable tissues such as the brain, heart, and skeletal muscle
Cats can’t synthesize it from other amino acids

Question 41

How did our ancestors provide food

Answer 41

they were hunter-gathers and consumed fruits, veg, nuts, roots, and meats. Taking advantage of whatever presented its self

Question 42

When did our ancestors start consuming meat

Answer 42

at least two million years ago

Question 43

What did eating meat do for mankind

Answer 43

develop proportionately large brains and complex social structures

Question 44

What does it cost to keep the human brain going

Answer 44

the human brain is energetically expensive to maintain, twenty percent of our basal metabolic energy needs are required by our large brains

Question 45

how did meat help supply humans with the necessary energy

Answer 45

has high energy returns per unit consumed and, it is believed, that adding meat to the evolving human diet supplied the necessary energy

Question 46

what was a way fires contributed to our evolution

Answer 46

made nutrients in both plant and animal sources more readily available, and the consumption of meat made the acquisition of sufficient energy easier

Question 47

what is only meat a source of

Answer 47

the only source of vitamin B12, the essential omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and heme iron; moreover, in the absence of dietary meat protein, essential amino acids, vitamin D3, carnosine, and creatine may be insufficient

Question 48

what are Volatile Fatty Acids

Answer 48

energy source produced by digestion and fermentation of fibrous carbohydrates.