LECTURE 1
Introduction to Louella G. Artates
Instructor
Living Animal
A. Zoology: Study of Animals
Zoology, or animal biology, is the field of
biology that involves the study of animals.
The word zoology comes from the Greek
words zōion, meaning “animal”, and
logos, meaning “the study of”.
It encompasses all aspects of scientific
knowledge about animals, like embryonic
development, evolution, behavior,
ecological distribution, and classification.
Zoology is broken into many branches
because there are so many different ways
to study animals; it is also broken into
branches based on which animals are
being studied.
B. History of Zoology
People have been interested in
learning about animals since
ancient times.
The prominent ancient Greek
philosopher Aristotle took detailed
notes on animal observations, and
inspired other scientists for many
hundreds of years.
Many universities were founded in
Europe in the 16th Century, and by
the mid-17th Century, divisions were
founded in universities that focused
entirely on animal research.
B. History of Zoology
In the 19th Century, the microscope became
commonplace in scientific research, and this
opened up a whole new realm of possibility;
now, the cells of animals could be studied at
the microscopic level.
Another breakthrough in zoology occurred
when the naturalist Charles Darwin developed
the theory of evolution by natural selection.
This theory revolutionized zoology and
taxonomy (classification).
More recently, the discovery of DNA as life’s
genetic material led to even more new
research and knowledge about the natural
world and the evolutionary relationships
between animals.
C. Branches of Zoology
Zoography
Zoography, also called descriptive zoology or zoogeography, is the study
of animals and their habitats.
It is concerned with the geographic ranges of specific populations of
animals, their effects on the ecosystems they live in, and the reasons for a
specific spatial distribution of an animal species.
C. Branches of Zoology
Comparative Anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and
differences in the anatomy of different types of animals.
Closely related animals like mammals share common bones,
even if these bones have been extremely modified in shape.
For example, bat wings are essentially very long, thin bones
that are homologous to the ones in human fingers.
Studying the similar anatomical structures in related
organisms provided evidence for evolution from a common
ancestor that was later confirmed by genetics research.
Comparative anatomy is still used today, often in
paleontology, the study of fossils.
C. Branches of Zoology
Comparative Anatomy
C. Branches of Zoology
Animal Physiology
Animal physiology is the study of the bodily processes that occur in animals that
allow them to maintain homeostasis and survive.
Homeostasis is the ability of the body to maintain a relatively constant equilibrium
even in a changing environment.
Animal physiology involves the study of processes like temperature regulation,
blood pressure and blood flow, and the release of hormones at specific times in
the body.
C. Branches of Zoology
Ethology
Ethology is the study of animal
behavior, usually in regard to in
their natural environment as
opposed to in a lab.
Ethology has roots in the work of
Darwin, but emerged as a field in
the 1930s.
It involves the study of animal
learning, cognition,
communication, and sexuality,
and is related to evolutionary
biology and ecology.
Principles from ethology research
are also used in animal training.
C. Branches of Zoology
Ethology
C. Branches of Zoology
Behavioral Ecology
Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology.
It is the study of evolution as the basis for animal behavior due
to ecological pressures, which are constraints placed upon
organisms by their environment.
Organisms with traits that are well-suited to their environment
have a higher likelihood of surviving and reproducing than
those who do not.
When the proportion of individuals with favored traits
increases over a long period of time, evolution can occur.
Behavioral ecologists study animals’ competition for resources
such as food, territory, and mates and the increased
reproductive success that certain traits may give.
C. Branches of Zoology
Groupings by Animal
Zoology is also broken down into subcategories based
on the type of animal being studied.
For example, a distinction is made between
invertebrate zoology and vertebrate zoology.
There are also many specific terms for each type of
animal that is studied. Some examples are:
Mammalogy, the study of mammals. A popular type of
mammalogy is primatology, the study of primates.
Ornithology, the study of birds.
Herpetology, the study of amphibians and reptiles.
Ichthyology, the study of fish.
Entomology, the study of insects.
D. Characteristics of Life
1. Organisms are composed of
cells
Although they vary greatly in size and appearance, all
organisms consist of basic units called cells.
New cells are formed only by the division of previously existing
cells. These concepts are expressed in the cell theory.
Some of the simplest life-forms, such as protozoa, are
unicellular organisms, meaning that each consists of a single
cell .
In contrast, the body of a cat or a maple tree is made of
billions of cells. In such complex multicellular organisms, life
processes depend on the coordinated functions of
component cells that may be organized to form tissues,
organs, and organ systems.
D. Characteristics of Life
1. Organisms are composed of
cells
D. Characteristics of Life
1. Organisms are composed of
cells
D. Characteristics of Life
1. Organisms are composed of
cells
There are two fundamentally different types of cells:
prokaryotic and eukaryotic.
Prokaryotic cells are exclusive to bacteria and to microscopic
organisms called archaea.
Another organisms are characterized by their eukaryotic cells.
These cells typically contain a variety of organelles enclosed
by membranes, including a nucleus, which houses DNA.
Prokaryotic cells are structurally simpler; they do not have a
nucleus or other membrane-enclosed organelles.
D. Characteristics of Life
1. Organisms are composed of
cells
D. Characteristics of Life
2. Organisms grow and develop
Biological growth
involves an increase
in the size of individual
cells of an organism,
in the number of cells,
or in both.
Growth may be
uniform in the various
parts of an organism, The largest tree in the world is a
giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron
or it may be greater in giganteum) in California's Sequoia
some parts than in National Park. Called General
Sherman, the tree is about 52,500
others, causing the cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters) in
body proportions to volume.
change as growth
occurs.
D. Characteristics of Life
2. Organisms grow and develop
Living organisms develop
as well as grow
Development includes all
the changes that take
place during an organism’s
life.
Like many other organisms,
every human begins life as
a fertilized egg that then
grows and develops.
The structures and body
form that develop are
exquisitely adapted to the
functions the organism
must perform.
D. Characteristics of Life
3. Organisms regulate their
metabolic processes
Within all organisms, chemical reactions and energy transformations
occur that are essential to nutrition, the growth and repair of cells, and
the conversion of energy into usable forms.
The sum of all the chemical activities of the organism is its metabolism.
Metabolic processes occur continuously in every organism, and they
must be carefully regulated to maintain homeostasis, an appropriate,
balanced internal environment.
When enough of a cell product has been made, its manufacture must
be decreased or turned off.
When a particular substance is required, cell processes that produce it
must be turned on.
These homeostatic mechanisms are self-regulating control systems that
are remarkably sensitive and efficient.
D. Characteristics of Life
4. Organisms respond to stimuli
All forms of life respond to stimuli, physical or chemical
changes in their internal or external environment.
Stimuli that evoke a response in most organisms are
changes in the color, intensity, or direction of light;
changes in temperature, pressure, or sound; and
changes in the chemical composition of the
surrounding soil, air, or water.
Responding to stimuli involves movement, though not
always locomotion (moving from one place to
another).
D. Characteristics of Life
4. Organisms respond to stimuli
In simple organisms, the entire individual
may be sensitive to stimuli.
Certain unicellular organisms, for
example, respond to bright light by
retreating.
In some organisms, locomotion is
achieved by the slow oozing of the cell,
the process of amoeboid movement.
Other organisms move by beating tiny,
hairlike extensions of the cell called cilia
or longer structures known as flagella.
Some bacteria move by rotating their
flagella.
D. Characteristics of Life
5. Organisms reproduce
Simple organisms, such as amoebas,
perpetuate themselves by asexual
reproduction.
When an amoeba has grown to a
certain size, it reproduces by splitting in
half to form two new amoebas.
Before an amoeba divides, its hereditary
material (set of genes) duplicates, and
one complete set is distributed to each
new cell. Except for size, each new
amoeba is similar to the parent cell.
The only way that variation occurs
among asexually reproducing organisms
is by genetic mutation, a permanent
change in the genes.
D. Characteristics of Life
5. Organisms reproduce
In most plants and animals, sexual
reproduction is carried out by the
fusion of an egg and a sperm cell to
form a fertilized egg.
The new organism develops from the
fertilized egg.
Offspring produced by sexual
reproduction are the product of the
interaction of various genes
contributed by the mother and the
father.
This genetic variation is important in
the vital processes of evolution and
adaptation.
D. Characteristics of Life
6. Populations evolve and become
adapted to the environment
The ability of a population to evolve over many
generations and adapt to its environment equips it to
survive in a changing world.
Adaptations are inherited characteristics that enhance
an organism's ability to survive in a particular
environment.
Adaptations may be structural, physiological,
biochemical, behavioral, or a combination of all four.
Every biologically successful organism is a complex
collection of coordinated adaptations produced
through evolutionary processes.
D. Characteristics of Life
6. Populations evolve and become
adapted to the environment
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for
almost any definition, we can find
exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
1. Animals are
multicellular
eukaryotes.
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
2. Animals are
heterotrophs.
As consumers, they
depend on producers for
their raw materials and
energy.
In contrast to the fungi,
most animals ingest their
food first and then digest
it inside the body, usually
within a digestive system.
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
3. Cells that make up the animal body are specialized
to Perform specific functions.
In all but the simplest animals, cells are organized to
form tissues, and tissues are organized to form organs.
In small animals with simple body plans, life processes
such as gas exchange, circulation of materials, and
waste disposal can take place by diffusion of gases
and other substances directly to and from the
environment.
In large, complex animals, specialized organ systems
have evolved that perform these life processes.
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
4. Animals have diverse
body plans.
The term body plan refers
to the basic structure and
functional design of the
body.
An animal's body plan and
lifestyle are adapted to its
methods of obtaining food
and reproducing.
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
5. Most animals are
capable of locomotion
at some time during their
life cycle.
Some animals (such as
sponges and corals)
move about as larvae
(immature forms) but are
sessile (firmly attached to
the ground or some
other surface) as adults.
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
6. Most animals have
nervous systems and
muscle systems that
enable them to
respond rapidly to
stimuli in their
environment.
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
7. Most animals are
diploid organisms that
reproduce sexually,
with large, non-motile
eggs and small,
flagellate sperm.
A haploid sperm unites
with a haploid egg,
forming a zygote
(fertilized egg).
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
8. Most animals are
diploid organisms that
reproduce sexually,
with large, non-motile
eggs and small,
flagellate sperm.
A haploid sperm unites
with a haploid egg,
forming a zygote
(fertilized egg).
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
7. Animals go through a period of embryonic development.
The zygote undergoes cleavage, a series of mitotic cell
divisions.
During cleavage the zygote develops into a hollow ball of
cells called a blastula.
Cells of the blastula undergo gastrulation, a process of
forming and segregating specific layers of tissue, called
germ layers.
Although some animals develop directly into adults, the
majority first develop into a larva, a sexually immature form
that may look very different from the adult
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
E. Animal Characteristics
Animals are so diverse that for almost any definition,
we can find exceptions. However, the following
characters describe most animals:
8. Animals go through a period of embryonic development.
The zygote undergoes cleavage, a series of mitotic cell
divisions.
During cleavage the zygote develops into a hollow ball of
cells called a blastula.
Cells of the blastula undergo gastrulation, a process of
forming and segregating specific layers of tissue, called
germ layers.
Although some animals develop directly into adults, the
majority first develop into a larva, a sexually immature form
that may look very different from the adult
F. Animal Habitat
Marine habitats offer many advantages
The buoyancy of sea water
provides support, and the large
volume keeps the water
temperature relatively stable.
The body fluids of most
invertebrates have about the same
osmotic concentration as sea
water, so fluid and salt balance are
more easily maintained than in
fresh water.
Plankton, which consists of the
mainly microscopic animals and
protists that are suspended in water
and float with its movement,
provides a ready source of food for
many aquatic animals.
F. Animal Habitat
Some animals are adapted to
freshwater habitats
Far fewer kinds of animals
make their homes in fresh
water than in the ocean,
because living in this habitat is
more difficult.
Fresh water is hypotonic to the
tissue fluids of animals, so water Pygocentrus nattereri
tends to move into the animal
by osmosis.
To survive in this habitat,
freshwater species must have
mechanisms for removing
excess water while retaining
salts.
This osmoregulation requires an
expenditure of energy.
F. Animal Habitat
Terrestrial living requires major
adaptations
Living on land is even more
difficult than living in fresh
water, and the evolution of
terrestrial animals involved
major adaptations.
The chief problem facing all
terrestrial organisms is
desiccation (drying out).
Water is constantly lost by
evaporation and is often
difficult to replace.
A body covering adapted to
minimize fluid loss helps solve
this problem in many terrestrial
animals
F. Animal Habitat
Terrestrial living requires major
adaptations
Reproduction on land also poses challenges to protect gametes
and the developing offspring from desiccation.
Aquatic animals typically shed their gametes in the water,
where fertilization occurs.
The surrounding water also serves as an effective shock
absorber that protects the delicate embryos as they develop.
Some land animals, including most amphibians, return to the
water for reproduction, and their larval forms develop in the
water.
The evolution of internal fertilization has permitted many
terrestrial animals, including earthworms, land snails, insects,
reptiles, birds, and mammals, to meet the desiccation
challenge.
Because these terrestrial animals transfer sperm from the body of
the male directly into the body of the female by copulation, a
watery medium continuously surrounds the sperm.
F. Animal Habitat
Terrestrial living requires major
adaptations
Another important adaptation to reproduction on land is the
tough, protective shell that surrounds the eggs of many
species.
Secreted by the female, this shell protects the developing
embryo from drying out.
An alternative adaptation for terrestrial reproduction is
development of the embryo within the moist body of the
mother.
The temperature extremes of terrestrial habitats also present
challenges.
