Animal Form and Function

• The organs that make up the systems of higher vertebrates and the simple organ-like
structures used by different invertebrates enable this organisms to maintain homeostasis.
• It allows a feedback loop that communicates with other organs to allow for a coordinated
function.
• In this chapter , you will have a deeper understanding of morphology and physiology of
animal systems and better understand how this compares and contrasts to the plant systems.

• Morphology – the structure and form of an organism; the scientific study of the
structure and form of organisms
- The science of structure.
• Physiology – the study of the physical function of living organism.
• Homeostasis – maintaining a constant internal environment despite changing
external conditions

Animal Reproduction
• Animals reproduce asexually, sexually or by both means.
• In asexual reproduction, individuals are exact clones of the parent with identical genetic
make up.
• In sexual reproduction, new individuals are formed from the combination of haploid
gametes to form a genetically unique offspring.

Asexual Reproduction
• Can occur in different means.
• Common types of asexual reproduction namely
- Regeneration
- Budding
- Parthenogenesis

• Regeneration – involves the production and differentiation of new tissues to replace

missing and damaged parts of the body. It allows cellular replication by mitosis followed by
differentiation of the tissues.
• This is highly developed in invertebrates such as hydras, flatworms annelids and
echinoderms.
• In some organisms such as the aquatic annelids, breaking off its body parts into several
pieces produces a complete worm.

• Budding – involves forming a new individual from an out growth on the parent’s body.
This is typical of hydras and polyps. Hydras produce buds that branch off from the side of the
body.
• Once a bud breaks off, a new hydra will begin life independently. In other cases a bud is left
attached to the parents and remains bound with the others to later grow as a colony.

• Parthenogenesis – is a development that involves an activated unfertilized egg that

undergoes mitosis in the absence of cytokinesis
• Cytokinesis – the process of cytoplasmic division in a cell. A division of the cytoplasm
into two daughter cells that occurs after nuclear division in mitosis and meiosis.
• The two nuclei then fuse together to form the diploid nucleus then further develop as if it
had been fertilized.
• This is common in some species of aphids, bees, wasps and ants.
• Few species of vertebrates such as Bynoe’s gecko (Heteronotia binoei) from Australia can
perform parthenogenesis.
Sexual Reproduction
• A characteristic of nearly all eukayotes.
• Eukaryotes – are any organisms composed of cells with nucleus and membrane-bound
organelles.
• The redistribution of genes and random assortment of traits enhances the survival of most
organisms.
• The organisms then develop from zygote (fertilized egg) to a reproductively capable
individual.
• During fertilization, two haploid cells combine to produce a diploid zygote.
In some simple eukaryotes the gametes are structurally similar (referred to as isogamy)

• Isogamy – reproduction by the union of like gametes.

• But in most animals, gametes are distinctly different (anisogamy).
• Anisogamy – a common type of reproduction in which the two gametes that join to produce
the zygote differ greatly in size, with the smaller of the two mobile and seeking out the
larger , which is immobile.
• In anisogamous systems, the smaller of the pair of gametes is considered male.

• Organisms producing only sperm are male and those producing only egg are female.
• However, in some animals, both female and male reproductive organs occurs within the
same individual. These species are hermaphrodite or monoecious.
• Hermaphrodite – An organism with both male and female or both reproductive organs.
• Common in sponges, flatworms, annelids and mollusks.
• Although hermaphroditic organisms can produce both sperm and eggs, they usually do not
fertilize.

• Self- fertilized organisms usually lose the advantage of genetic variation as compared to
those that arises from cross- fertilization.
• This is done by various means such as anatomical separation of gametes or simultaneous
release of gametes that render the sperm incapable of fertilization.
• Some individuals also change sex from male to female or vice versa.
• An organism may start off as male converting to female (protandry) or as female to male
(protogyny).
• For instance, some clown fish can start as a small non – breeding male, which will grow
bigger when the only female in the group dies.
• The largest male ‘transforms’ to a female clown fish, then the largest non-breeding male
becomes the male breeding fish.

• The nature of development is related to the reproductive strategy of a particular species.

• Indirect Development – Involves one or more intermediate larval forms before the adult
form is attained.
• Among animals that show indirect development, fertilization follows the random release of
gametes in the environment.
• With only a sufficient amount of yolk to sustain the developing embryo, this will hatch into
a larval form which feeds and grows before metamorphosing to an adult form.
• Though indirect development occurs mostly in aquatic animals, this also occurs in butterfly
and frogs.
• Other animals undergo direct development.
• Direct development offspring hatch or born in a miniature adult form. These are typically
those where females produce smaller numbers of large yolky eggs containing sufficient food
reserves for elaborate development.
• Mammals such as elephants, primates and bats to name a few, also show direct
development; however, extended development is sustained by transfer of nutrients from
mother to embryo through the placenta or during milk suckling when the young is born.
• Specifically, for eutherian mammals, the developing embryo is retained within the mother’s
body in the uterus for the major part of its development.
• The placenta serves as a pathway for nutrient exchange to supply the needs of a developing
mammalian embryo.
• At birth, young eutherians are essentially independent with little support required from the
parent.
• E.g. large herbivores such as horses, cows and goats have young that can stand and run soon
after birth although they are still dependent on milk for quite some time.

• On the other hand, mice and rat pups are virtually helpless at birth.
• Most eutherians lie between these two extremes for food and shelter for a short period
relative to their life expectancy.
• However, monotremes and marsupials show quite different pattern of development to the
eutherians.
• Eutherian – A member of the major division of eutheria of class mammalia. Eutherian
mammals nourish their young within the uterus to moved advanced stage of development
• Monotremes – A member of the major division Monotremata (egg-laying mammals) of
class mammalia, found in Australia and New Guinea

• Monotremes are oviparous-(egg-laying) and marsupials are viviparous- Giving live birth as
the ordinary mode of reproduction.
• But in both cases, their youngs emerge at the early stage of development.
• This short gestation period is followed by long lactation period, which is the exact opposite
of the eutherian mammals.
• Gestation- the period of development inside the mothers body from fertilization to birth.
• Most animals reproduce sexually although some species can do both sexual and asexual
reproduction.
• The primary sex organs in animals are gonads, which produce gametes.

• The male gonad is the testis and the female gonad is the ovary.
• A number of secondary sex organs are also present, which aid in secreting, protecting and
nourishing the gametes.
CGonads also produce hormones that regulate the development of gametes and secondary sex
organs act as pheromones and produce sexual differences in appearance and behavior.

• Gametogenesis - is a long sequence of events that take place in the production of sperm
and egg. Spermatogenesis and oogenesis specifically refer to the male and female gamete
production, respectively. At an early stage of development of an animal, germ cell separate
from somatic cells to migrate to the developing gonads.
• It then divides repeatedly to form large number of cells needed for reproduction later on.
• The timing of proliferation depends on the species and sex of the animal.
• For example, proliferation of germ cells in female mammals begins during embryogenesis
and ends before birth.
• All the germ cells of the female are already present in her ovaries before she is born. In
male mammals, a second round of mitotic division occurs later in life and continues for the
remainder of the animal’s reproductive life.
• At this stage, the female germ cells are oogania and the male germ cells are called
spermatogania.
• It then enters meiosis as spermatocytes and oocytes.
• Similar to proliferation stage, the timing and meiotic division depends on the sex and
species.
• In female mammals, the primary oocyte remains dormant at prophase 1 in the ovary until
after sexual maturation.

COnce it gets activated by hormonal signals, a mature egg released from an ovary which
triggers the completion of meiosis 1
• As the egg and sperm cell mature followed by the fusion of these gametes, fertilization
marks the beginning of a new organism.
• This involves the fusion of gametes that leads to egg activation and nuclear fusion.

Animal Development
• Cleavage Formation and Blastulation
• Gastrulation

• In spite of the differences in embryonic development across animal species, cleavage

formation, gastrulation and organogenesis appears to be identical in all animal groups.
• Cleavage starts when the zygote undergoes rapid cell division resulting in cells called
blastomeres.
• The cells of the blastomeres decrease in size but the size of the embryo remains the same.
• Thus, the embryo becomes a cluster of cells in which the tissues and organs will be derived.
• The process of cleavage formation might be similar in all animals; however, the pattern of
cleavage varies depending on the amount of yolk in the egg.

• Divided into subtypes based on distribution of yolk, i.e., isolecithal(uniform),

centrolecithal(interior) and teleolecithal(one hemisphere).
• For organisms w/ isolecithal egg, such as sea cucumber, yolk is evenly distributed w/ a
centrally located mitotic spindle.
• Thus, the egg divides into equal blastomeres w/ equal size at the end of blastulation.
• Similar to many animal groups, a blastocoel is formed at the center of the blastula.

• Other organisms exhibit a mesolecithal egg like amphibians where there is moderate
amount of yolk and is distributed from an area with high concentration of yolk (vegetal pole)
to a low concentration at the opposite side (animal pole).
• As a result, more division occurs in the animal region than the vegetal region.
• With birds and insects, the yolk-rich egg lead to a formation of yolk-free disc (blastodisc or
blasoderm) on top of a large mass of yolk.
• Mammalian cleavage proceeds differently from all animals.
• Cleavage formation is equal but the orientation is different.
• Cleavage of the first blastomere is vertical, then proceeds to vertical cleavage in one and a
horizontal cleavage in another.
• In addition,cleavage formation takes far longer in mammals than other organism.

• For example, division in mice is 12-24 hrs apart whereas sea urchin zygote develops to a
free swimming larva in 12 hrs.
• In mammals, an inner cell mass is formed with a blastocyst at one end of blastula.
• In the next stage of embryogenesis, the embryo enters a rearrangement of cells to form the
gastrula, which shows the basic body plan of the adult animal.
• Similar to cleavage formation, gastrulation occurs based on the group to which the animal
belong.
• Gastrulation – creation of a new tissue layer by the movement of cells in the embryo
(blastula).
• The first sign of gastrulation in sea urchins is a flattening of the vegetal pole to form the
vegetal plate.
• Mesenchyme cell in this area detaches itself and moves to the interior of the embryo
towards the animal pole.

• Mesenchyme – a jelly like material underneath the epidermis of a sponge

• These cells form the skeleton of the embryo.
• The vegetal pole then invaginates to form a cavity known as the archenteron.
• Archenteron – a cavity that eventually becomes the digestive tract of the adult or larva;
formed during the development of a deuterostome embryo.

Animal Nutrition
• In the course of evolution, animals have formed ways to obtain, process and digest foods as
heterotrophs
• Heterotroph - an organism that unable to make its own food and must take in nutrients
from its environment.

• Some were able to establish symbiosis with other organisms to perform their function
• Symbiosis – a relationship between two(2) distinct type of organisms, in which they live
together.
• Symbiosis is of three types,
• Parasitism,
• Mutualism
• Commensalism

• Generally, animals needs carbohydarates, lipids and protein as basic organic compounds
and supply of vitamins,minerals and water as additional nutrient requirements
• Carbohydrates and lipids serve as energy stores in which the energy to form (ATP), the
energy currency of the cell, is derived.
• Essential fatty acids and amino acids are obtained either from gut symbionts or direct food
sources.

• Vitamins, similar in plants, are organic compounds that are only needed in minute amounts
but essential for metabolic functions.
• Water soluble vitamins are regularly consumed whereas fat- soluble vitamins (vitamins
A,D,E and K) are readily stored in the body.
• Minerals are also needed for ion exchange, body component and ATP production.
• Most minerals are utilized as enzyme cofactor or as part of a transport system.
Circulation and Gas Exchange
• Oxygen availability to animal depends on the external respiratory medium and
environmental factors such as temperature, salinity ( aquatic life), altitude (terrestrial life) and
distance from air interference.
• Terrestrial organisms directly take in oxygen from the atmosphere whereas aquatic
organisms obtain the supply as dissolved oxygen, which occurs in minute amounts. Thus, it is
more challenging and energy intensive for aquatic organisms to perform gas exchange.

• The simplest multicellular animal, the sponges have no organs to facilitate gas exchange but
they utilize the pores canals and chambers present on their entire body surface.
• Cells lining the body of the sponge, known as “choanocytes”, initiate and maintain the
water current to constantly bring in food and oxygen as well as to remove wastes and CO ₂.
• Choanocytes – a flagellated endodermal cell that lines the cavity of a sponge and has a
contractile protoplasmic cup surrounding the flagellum.
• Another form of gas exchange adapted by oligochaetes is by cutaneous exchange.

• Oligochaetes – any of a class or order of hermaphroditic terrestrial or aquatic annelids that

lack a specialized head.
• This involves a direct exchange across the general body surface and relies heavily on
natural convection and active ventilation by the organisms.

• Due to a thicker protective outer body covering, larger animals cannot rely on the above
mentioned gas exchange mechanism.
• Some fish and amphibians can perform cutaneous exchange, this will not be sufficient and
sustainable for them.
• Thus simple organs are used to facilitate gas exchange.
• Among aquatic crustaceans and mollusks, the gills, an outgrowth of the body surface serves
as the respiratory organ.
• This is covered by a gill, chamber, however, some species have gills that hangs freely in the
water.

• The more complex the gill structure means more surface area and higher respiration.
• In order to facilitate active ventilation of the gills, the cilia present on the surface of the gill
chamber creates a rhythmical beating that creates an unidirectional flow of water.
• In most the fish, the gills an outgrowth of the pharynx, is covered with an operculum. To
increase the surface area for higher respiration, most fish has four gill arches, each containing
a filament.
• Individual filaments have lamellae that are oriented vertically on the dorsal and ventral
surface.
• Active ventilation of the gills occurs when the buccal and opercular cavities contract.

• During inspiration, the mouth opens, opercula remains closed then the water gets in.
• During expiration, the mouth closes, opercula opens and the water moves from buccal to
opercula cavity then out of the opening.
• In the capillaries of the lamellae in each gill filament, blood flows on the opposite direction.
• This coordinated movement of buccal and opercular cavities maintains the hydrostatic
pressure difference across the gills.
• Buccal cavity – the mouth
Animal Nervous System
Most animals have some type of nervous system w/ distinct organization of neurons (nerve
cell)
• Neuron or Nerve Cell – transmits info to a muscle or gland from the brain or spinal cord.
• CNS (Central Nervous System) – composed of the brain and ventral nerve cords with
clusters of neurons called “ganglia”.
• PNS (Peripheral Nervous System) – part of the NS that is outside the CNS and comprises
the cranial nerves excepting the optic nerve, spinal nerve and the autonomic NS

• There are three stages in the interpretation of signals that reaches the brain:
• Sensory Input
• Integration
• Motor Output
• Sensory neurons are responsible for receiving the external stimuli (light, heat, sound) and
internal conditions (blood pressure, muscle tension).
• Interneurons integrate the sensory signal in the CNS then the motor output (using motor
neurons) leaves the CNS to send signal to effector cells (muscle or endocrine cells). These
effector cells then perform a response to the stimulus.

• Neuron – is the basic unit of the nervous system, is composed of a nucleus from the cell
body and two types of extensions: dendrites and axon.
• An axon hillock connects the axon to the cell body where signals are generated.
• An axon is divided into several branch and end in a synaptic terminal where a small gap is
present called ”synapse”.
• Dendrite – finely divided branches of a neuron that carry impulses towards the cell body.
• Axon – a long thin branch of a neuron that carries impulses away from the cell body. A
neuron process that carries nerve impulses away from the cell.

• This is also a site of communication between neurons.

• Axons are covered with a myelin sheath. Information is passed from the presynaptic cell to
the postsynaptic cell using chemical transmitter called “neurotransmitters”.
• Glial cells – astrocytes and oligodendrocytes
• myelin sheath – a substance forming an outer layer, normally found around the neuron. •
Electrically insulates neurons thus allow proper functions of the nervous system.
• Glial – supporting tissue intermingled with the essential elements of nervous tissue
especially in the brain, spinal cord and ganglia
• Astrocytes – a large star shaped cell of the glia.
• Oligodendrocytes – a glial cell that resembles an astrocytes but is smaller with few and
slender processes having few branches.

Vertebrate Nervous System

• All vertebrate brains contains three regions.
• Hindbrain, Midbrain and Forebrain
• Hindbrain – junction of the brain and spinal cord; it coordinates autonomic processes and
motor responses. The cerebellum, which is an extension of the hindbrain, assists in regulating
motor responses.
• Midbrain – responsible for visual processing and some motor control.
• Forebrain – located near the anterior end; can be divided into two distinct regions
• Diacephalon – contains thalamus and hypothalamus
• Telencephalon – for directing an appropriate response to all sensory info.