How Animals Survive

Animals exhibit the biological concept of structure-

function relationship, referring to the connection of the
specifically designed body parts of an organism to their
particular functions. All organisms maintain an organized
body structure with various functions that allow them to
stay alive, grow, develop, and reproduce themselves.
Animals are made up of cells, which are then
organized to form tissues; tissues are grouped together to
form organs. In animals, the organs are organized to form
organ systems that perform one or more major complex
functions. Humans possess a well-design body plan
where the organ systems coordinate together to perform
life process that ensure survival.
A tarsier resting in its habitat during the day
In this chapter, you will learn about the functional
relationships of the different organ systems in
representative animals’ digestive system, circulatory system, respiratory system,
excretory system, immune system, nervous system, endocrine system, skeletal system,
muscular system and the need for homeostasis. Indeed, the structural design and
correlated functions of these systems enable the organisms to perform their daily life
functions and stay alive.

How Well Do You Know These?

1. What are the functions of each organ system in animals?
2. How does the structure of each organ system relate to the functions?
3. How do the different organ systems work together in ensuring animal survive?

4.1 Food Getting, Digestion and Absorption

Like plants, animals need nutrients in order to live; but unlike plants, they cannot
make their own food. In order to survive, animals must bring food to the body cells,
through consumption. The digestive system brings foods from outside the organism,
digests them into simple nutrient molecules, and absorbs the nutrients for distribution to
all the cells in the body.
Invertebrates and vertebrates have different ways of digesting their food.

4.1.1 Invertebrate Digestive Systems

Invertebrates can be classifies as those having gastrovascular cavities and those
having alimentary canals.
 Platyhelminthes (flatworms) and cnidarians (corals, sea anemones, jelly fish)
digest their food through a gastrovascular cavity—a tube or cavity with only one opening
that serves as both mouth and anus. Ingested materials enter the mouth and pass
though the cavity, where digestive enzymes are secreted to break down the food. The
cells lining the cavity engulf the food particles.
Some invertebrate, such as earthworms and insects, have more complex
digestive systems. Like vertebrates, they have an alimentary canal, the pathway which
receives food through the mouth on one end and eliminates wastes through the anus on
another. The alimentary canal of the invertebrates consists of the mouth, esophagus,
crop, gizzard, intestines and anus.

4.1.2 Vertebrate Digestive Systems

Animal digestion among the vertebrates begins in the mouth, the move through
the pharynx, into the esophagus, into the stomach, and the, into the intestines. Nutrients
are absorbed in the small intestine, and wastes are prepared for elimination in the large
intestine.
There are four types of digestive systems among the vertebrate namely;
monogastric, avian, ruminant, and pseudo-ruminant.
Monogastric Digestive System
The monogastric digestive system—like those of humans (omnivore), cats
(carnivore), and rabbits (herbivore)—consists of a single stomach chamber. In this type
of digestion, both physical and chemical digestion of food begins in the mouth. The first
step in obtaining nutrition is ingestion, a process where food is taken in through the
mouth and broken down by the teeth and saliva. The breaking down of food in the
mouth is called mastication (chewing). In order for the nutrients (carbohydrates, lipids,
vitamins) to be absorbed, food must go down the esophagus through peristalsis. Food
then reaches the stomach and intestines, where it is further broken down into acid
chime and undergoes absorption of nutrients. Undigested food enters the colon where
water is reabsorbed into the body and excess waste is eliminated through the anus.
The human digestive system functions as a monogastric digestive system, as
shown in Figure 4.1.
Avian Digestive System
Birds do not have teeth, and therefore, do not masticate their food. In an avian
digestive system, food enters through the mouth, then the esophagus, and empties
directly into the first stomach—the crop, where the food is stored and soaked. From the
crop, food enters the proventriculus, where gastric juiced are secreted to digest the
food. It then enters the second stomach—the gizzard—where the food id mechanically
ground Then, it passes through the small and large intestines where absorption
happens. The undigested food becomes food pellets that are excreted as waste through
the cloaca, or are sometimes regurgitated. Because most birds fly, they have high
metabolism which can keep their body weight low.

Ruminant Digestive System

A ruminant digestive system—like those of cows, sheep, and goats—is
polygastrics, which means that the stomach has multiple compartments; the rumen,
reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. Because the diet of ruminants consists largely of
roughage or fiber, their digestive system enables them to break down cellulose (the
main component of the rigid cell wall in plant cells). The rumen—the first and largest
chamber—contains many bacteria and microbes that promote fermentation, and break
down the food. The second chamber is the reticulum, a small pouch that traps foreign
materials which the ruminant animal may have swallowed. The third chamber is the
omasum, which grinds the food and removes water from it. The fourth chamber—the
abomasum—serves as the “true” stomach in that it functions similarly as the stomach of
monogastric animals. After passing through the four chambers, the food finally reaches
the small and large intestines for absorption of nutrients and elimination of waste,
respectively. A unique feature of this type of digestive system is that it relies greatly on
microorganisms for the digestion of roughage.
Pseudo-ruminant Digestive System
Presudo-ruminants—like camels, horses, rabbits, and guinea pigs—are similar to
ruminants in that they eat a lot of roughage, fiber, forages, and grains. They are slightly
different from ruminants, however, in that their stomach has three chambers: reticulum,
omasum, and abomasum. Their digestive system also has an enlarge cecum where
food if fermented and digested. As in the ruminant, this type of digestive system aso
relies on microbial support for digestion.