Introduction The animal’s body has evolved various mechanisms for defending itself. There are numerous animal species that have come to adapt different ways in which they protect themselves. Protection measures usually boil down to fight or flight. On one hand, the animal could protect itself by confronting what is harming it, while on the other hand, it could attempt to run, hide, or defend itself the much it can. Various animals’ bodies have different ways of doing both flight and fight. These mechanisms fall into three Major categories: body coverings, body parts, and animal behaviors. Any one of these different types of adaptations plays a critical role in the survival of the animal. Body protection mechanisms Many animals have evolved specific body parts that are adapted for surviving in specific environments. Among these adaptations are sharp claws, webbed feet, whiskers, large beaks, sharp teeth, wings, and hooves. The development of the webbed feet aids aquatic animals in swimming. The feet propel the animals through water quite easily. This mechanism helps the animal escape a predator (Arthur, 1997). Numerous land animals have developed sharp claws that are used for a variety of purposes. Carnivores use their claws for defense. Retracting the claws is an enough warning for competitors or even predators to back off. Some animals such as the cat family have evolved whiskers which serve as feelers. The whiskers are important defense adaptations as they help an animal sense the prey (Arthur, 1997). Perhaps one of the most visible animal body defense mechanism is the sharp teeth found in carnivores. Other than their usual use in tearing and chewing meat, sharp teeth are used in defense. The presence of large te... ... middle of paper ... ...ther threats to ensure their survival. The main mechanisms of body defense fall into three major categories: body coverings, body parts, and behaviors. Body parts such as sharp claws, webbed feet, whiskers, large beaks, sharp teeth, wings, and hooves are essential for survival. The same is true for behaviors such as fight and flight. Other than protection against external enemies, animals’ bodies have also evolved mechanisms to protect themselves from diseases and pathogens. This is achieved through two lines of defenses; the primary and secondary defense mechanisms. The primary line of defense against foreign bodies is achieved mainly with the help of the skin, the digestive and the respiratory tracts. The secondary line of defense is achieved through mobile cells that are abundant in the bloodstream, which scan surfaces of cells throughout the animals’ body.
Predation refers to the consumption of one organism known as the prey by another known as the predator in which the prey is alive when the predator first attacks it. Predation is beneficial to the predator and harmful to the prey. This is a broad group which covers a wide variety of interactions and numerous types of predators. For the purpose of this essay we will concentrate on classifying predators according to their individual taxonomic and functional responses.
Litman, Gary W. ìSharks and the Origin of Vertebrate Immunity.î Scientific American November 1996: 67-71.
All animals under go a process of constant change in their physical appearance and in their behaviour. These changes take place over millions of years and the species that survive, do so because throughout their evolution they have perfected certain strategies that have enabled them to develop more successfully in the environment they inhabit. One such case of this successful development is the great hammerhead shark.
For example, water loss abrasion from outside. The system covers the skin and its appendages. Its main function is to act as an impediment to shield the body from the outside world. It also functions to possess body fluids, protect against disease, oust waste products.
...e ability to climb and jump are two other traits that help this mammal survive. Its claws are hard and curved which permits it to scale the tall forest trees; its hindfoot 180 degrees so it can push off and jump incredible distances (Fischer).
There are some animals that just have strong muscles that help them carry out their daily lives. The big cat family is one family of predators that knows how to use these...
good source of food. The Trilobites fought back for a time, growing spines during the
Gould, Edwin, George McKay, and David Kirshner. Encyclopedia of Mammals. San Francisco, CA: Fog City, 2003. Print.
..."9 Reasons Your Canine Teeth Don't Make You a Meat-Eater." Free From Harm. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. .
“In life, sharks are very flexible. Even hammerheads and large ocean sharks are quite flexible,” Lauder said. “If you watch a shark swim, the head does not move very much, so it could be that the denticles on the head are mostly reducing drag, but those on the tail are enhancing thrust. But we don’t know what that balance may be. Ultimately, though, one of the key messages of this paper is that shark skin needs to be studied when they’re moving, which hadn’t been done before.”
Throughout the course of evolution the cat’s ability to survive in the wild has become extremely dependent upon its hunting ability. In order for feral, or undomesticated, cats to survive on their own in the wild they have developed hereditary traits and instincts from their ancestors throughout time. Though these hereditary traits that they have inherited are helpful for undomesticated cats, they can often cause problems when domesticated house cats revert back to the ways of their ancestors, often influencing the ways that cats kept as pets are managed. Cats are carnivorous predators and pet owners must accommodate this lifestyle by feeding them a meat-based diet with high protein, providing them with a play outlet to avoid predatory aggression, as well as keeping them inside or monitoring their activities while outside to avoid the unnecessary killing of birds or any other type of animal.
...for more accurate predictions of how species will evolve and whether or not certain species will survive and what adaptations could promote or inhibit that process. There are different methods of adaptation available for animals and plants to employ in nature. Thus, exploring adaptations during our lectures would grant us better insight into what caused certain things to demonstrate specific adaptations and would aid in the explanation and expansion of convergent evolution.
The first step was to obtain the White Rat and to tie it in the supine position, anterior surface facing up in side the dissection pan. To tie the animal, we used butcher’s twine and secured the front and hinds legs using a “lasso” technique, careful not touch the sharp claws. To make the first insicion I had to locate the Xifoid Process of the rat (distal aspect of the sternum). Once I had located the Xifoid Process, I had to use forceps to pull the skin of the animal’s abdomen up and use the scissors to cut. The first incision is made from stem to sternum, cutting through the errectos abdomen muscle down to the groin. The second incision ion is perpendicular to the first below the diaphragm. Because of this technique we were able to open the abdominal cavity first. The third and forth incisions were made bilaterally above the legs. The last two incisions were made in upside down “V” shape on the collarbone, to expose the thoracic cavity. This dissection was both sharp, because of the use of the scissors and scapel and blunt because of the use of the probe and forceps to move organs and skin to expose other organs not yet identified.
The evolution from water to land was a major event in the vertebrates. Species respiratory, circulation, and reproduction system show how they evolved and adapted to the environment. Vertebrates who belong the phylum Chordata had at least at some point of their life, a dorsal hollow nerve cord, a notochord, pharyngeal pouches, and a tail that extends beyond the anus. It is said that fishes were amongst the first vertebrates. The earliest fish to appear in the fossil record were jawless, covered with bony plates, gills, scales, but no fins. According to Arreola, they later evolved by adapting to their environment and began to form jaws and paired fins. The jaws were useful with their muscles and teeth, which helped them eat a wider variety of food, and were even able to defend themselves by bi...