Animal Nutrition

• Calorie

  • unit of energy that indicates the amount of energy contained in food.
  • the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg (2.2 lb.) of water by 1 C (1.8 F).
  • The greater the number of Calories, the greater the energy
• Calories Conversion

  • 1 Cal / 1 kCal = 1000 Cal
  • 1 Cal = 4. 184 J (Joules)
• Nutritional Requirement for Animals

  • Carbohydrates
  • Proteins
  • Fats
• Carbohydrates

  • serve as a major energy source for the cells in the body. On average, carbohydrates contain 4 Calories per gram.
• Proteins

  • can also be used as an energy source but the body mainly uses these as building materials for cell structures and as enzymes, hormones, parts of muscles, and bones.
  • It also contains 4 Calories per gram.
• Fats

  • are used to build cell membranes, steroid hormones, and other cellular structures; also used to insulate nervous tissue; and also serve as an energy source.
  • Fats contain 9 Calories per gram.
• Essential Nutrients - Nutrients that the body cannot synthesize and must be obtained from the diet.

  • Essential Amino acids
  • Essential Fatty acids
  • Vitamins
  • Trace elements or minerals
• Essential amino acids

  • needed for the synthesis of proteins and enzymes; among the 20 amino acids, eight could not be synthesized by humans: lysine, tryptophan, threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
• Essential Fatty Acids

  • used for making special membrane lipids; an example is linoleic acid in humans.
• Vitamins

  • organic molecules required in small amounts for normal metabolism.
• Trace elements or minerals

  • inorganic nutrients needed by the body in minute amounts, these form part of enzymes, body tissues, and body fluids.
• • Rickets - Vitamin D, Calcium, and Phosphate deficiency.
  • Goiter - idk
• Food Uptake in Cells via the Three Types of Endocytosis

  1. Phagocytosis
  2. Pinocytosis
  3. Receptor-mediated Endocytosis
• Phagocytosis

  • engulfment of organic fragments or big particles, e.g. pseudopod formation in Amoeba.
• Pinocytosis

  • uptake of extracellular fluid by a cell using small vesicles derived from the plasma membrane.
• Receptor-mediated Endocytosis

  • this relies on membrane receptor recognition of specific solutes which are then taken up by the cell via receptor-coated pits.
• Types of Animals Based on Feeding Mechanisms

  1. Substrate-feeders
  2. Filter-feeders
  3. Fluid-feeders
  4. Bulk-feeders
• Substrate-feeders

  • animals that live in or on their food source.
• Filter-feeders

  • include many aquatic animals which draw in water and strain small organisms and food particles present in the medium.
• Fluid-feeders

  • suck fluids containing nutrients from a living host. Examples: mosquitoes, leeches, head lice, aphids.
• Bulk-feeders

  • eat relatively large chunks of food and have adaptations like jaws, teeth, tentacles, claws, pincers, etc. that help in securing the food and tearing it to pieces.