NYA Lecture XVIII: Consumers Flashcards
Define a consumer.
A consumer is:
Any organism that obtains carbon from organic sources.
All consumers are heterotrophic
Aquatic Consumers:Zooplankton
Small non-photosynthetic organisms that feed on phytoplankton or other zooplankton.
Include:
Protists (e.g. Paramecium)
Invertebrate animals including some jellyfish, crustaceans (e.g. Daphnia) and others
Larger aquatic planktivores
Planktivore = Any aquatic organism that feeds on plankton.
Planktivore Adaptations
Gill rakers in fish
Baleen in whales
Siphons in mollusks
Aquatic Consumers:Large prey eaters (adaptations?)
Adaptations for hunting:
Fast, very muscular
Many sharp teeth, or a sharp beak
Camouflage for ambushing prey
3 types of terrestrial consummers.
Herbivores; primary consumers
Omnivores
Carnivores
Herbivores? What adaptations?
A herbivore is any organism that consumes only producers
Examples of Adaptations:
Teeth suited for grinding up cellulose rich food source. Flat like our molars.
Bird beaks broad for seed shell cracking.
Symbiotic association with protozoa or bacteria in digestive tract to help cellulose digestion.
Multiple chambered stomach (ruminants like cows).
Consumption of feces (coprophagy) to break down food again (e.g. Rabbits)
Omnivores? adaptations?
An omnivore is any organism that consumes both producers and consumers
Adaptations:
Combined features of herbivores and carnivores.
Two kinds of teeth, sharp for tearing meat and flat for grinding vegetable matter.
Carnivores? Adaptations?
A carnivore is any organism that only eats consumers
Examples of Adaptations :
Large, sharp teeth and or claws Keen sense of smell, vision, hearing Camouflage for ambushing prey Quick reflexes Fast, muscular bodies Raptorial or stabbing beak in birds Pack hunting behaviour
3 characteristics of the Kingdom Animalia
- Have eukaryotic cells without cell walls
- Are Multicellular
- Are Heterotrophic
Most have: - Specialized tissues (e.g. Adipose, Muscle, Nerve etc…)
- Have the ability to move from one place to another. Most animals have muscle and bone and innervation to stimulate movement.
Learn the phylogenetic tree of the animals
lol
Ancestor to the Animals
The ancestor of the kingdom Animalia is believed to have been similar to present day protists called choanoflagellates. They are suspension feeders.
How to characterize animals:
Symmetry
Mode of food ingestion
Mechanism of exchanging substances between the physical environment and organism’s cells.
Ability to sense stimuli and respond.
Mode of Reproduction
- Symmetry:
Asymnetrial: not symetric at all
Radial Symmetry: At any axis, the animal is symmetric, such as jellyfish.
Bilateral symmetry: Symmetrical along one axis, flies.
- Mode of Food Ingestion
Intracellular digestion
Extracellular digestion
Simple Gastrovascular cavity
Complex Digestive tract
Intracellular Digestion
Most primitive
Food vacuoles created by phagocytosis and food is digested by lysosomes within cells.
Members of Porifera (sponges) digest this way.
Extracellular digestion:
2 types:
Simple Gastrovascular Cavity: Involves the breakdown of food outside of cells, within a one ended cavity called a gastrovascular cavity.
Complex Digestive Tract: Two openings (mouth and anus separate) with different organs. E.g. Earthworms and humans.
- Mechanism of exchanging and distributing substances between the physical environment and organism’s cells
Simple Diffusion of substances across all cell membranes with the physical environment.
Circulatory System
Simple Diffusion only
Occurs in animals that do not have circulatory systems and live in aquatic habitats.
Substances are exchanged directly between the physical environment and the animal’s cells. Each cell must be in close proximity to the physical environment to get what it needs, Oxygen, nutrients etc…
Limits the size and thickness of tissue layers of the organism and ties them to an aquatic environment.
Examples: Sponges, jellyfish, some flatworms and roundworms.
Circulatory System
A system of vessels that carry nutrients, water and oxygen to all cells and take wastes and carbon dioxide away. Circulation driven by a heart.
Two basic types of circulatory systems:
1. Open 2. Closed (single and double looped)
Open Circulatory System
Hemolymph (blood) is pumped out of the heart through vessels leading to the body tissues. Once it reaches it’s destination it empties into open sinuses that surround the tissues. Exchange occurs.
Hemolymph drains back into the heart via pores called ostia.
Exists in arthropods and many mollusks.
Closed Circulatory System
Blood flows through a continuous circuit of vessels to and from the heart.
Closed systems are found in all vertebrates and some invertebrate animals (e.g. Octopi, squid, segmented worms)
- Ability to sense stimuli and respond
3 basic forms:
Simple nerve net
Centralized nervous system
Cephalization
Simple Nerve Net
Most primitive.
Nerve cells are dispersed throughout the organism making several points of contact with each other.
Allows for sensation, contraction, locomotion and feeding behaviours.
Stinger adaptation for paralyzing prey.
