NUTRITION IN ANIMALS

Nutrition in Animals
Nutrition in animals depends upon the feeding habits of the animals. The process of taking in food is
called ingestion. The method of ingestion is different in different animals. For example-Bees and
hummingbirds suck nectar from plants, a python swallows its prey and cattle feed on grass.
Different feeding habits of animals are the result of evolution. Among the terrestrial animals, the
earliest forms were large amphibians that ate fish. While amphibians like frogs fed on small fish and
insects, the reptiles began feeding on other animals and plants.
The specialization of organisms towards specific food sources and of course specific ways of
eating is one of the major causes of the evolution of form and function. For example, the differences
in the parts of the mouth and shape of the teeth in whales, mosquitos, tigers and sharks or distinct
forms of beaks in birds, such as in hawks, woodpeckers, pelicans, hummingbirds, and parrots are
the results of adaptation to different types of eating by these animals.
Animals can be divided into the following groups depending upon their food habits:
Herbivores: Herbivores are animals that depend upon plants and fruits for their nutrition. Cows,
goats, sheep, buffaloes, etc. are herbivores.
Carnivores: Carnivores are animals that depend upon other animals for food. Lion, tigers, wolfs are
some examples of carnivores.
Omnivores: These include organisms that eat both plants and animals. Humans, bears, dogs, crows
are omnivores.

Types of Nutrition in Animals

The different types of nutrition in animals include:
1. Filter Feeding: obtaining nutrients from particles suspended in water. Commonly used by
fish.
2. Deposit feeding: obtaining nutrients from particles suspended in the soil. Earthworms use
this mode of ingestion.
3. Fluid feeding: obtaining nutrients by consuming other organisms’ fluids. Honey bees, and
mosquitos exhibit this mode of food intake.
4. Bulk feeding: obtaining nutrients by eating the whole of an organism. Example: Python.
5. Ram feeding and suction feeding: ingesting prey via the surrounding fluids. This mode of
ingestion is usually exhibited by aquatic predators such as bony fish.

Process of Nutrition in Animals

The process of nutrition in animals involves the following steps:
Ingestion
Ingestion is the process of taking in food.

Digestion
In this process, the larger food particles are broken down into smaller, water-soluble particles. There
are physical or chemical processes for digesting food.

Absorption
The digested food is absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal wall.

Assimilation
The absorbed food is used for energy, growth and repair of the cells of the body.

Egestion
The undigested food is removed from the body in the form of faeces. This process is known as
egestion.

Nutrition in Simple Animals

Amoeba
● Amoeba ingests its food with the help of pseudopodia.
● The food is engulfed by forming a vacuole and is digested with the help of digestive
enzymes.
● The digested food is absorbed directly into the cytoplasm by the process of diffusion.
● Energy is obtained from the absorbed food that helps in its growth.
● The undigested food is egested out of the body of amoeba by rupturing the cell wall.
Additional Informations:
● Salivary Glands produces enzymes which is called the salivary amylase.
● Villi are tiny, finger-like projections made up of cells that line the entire length of
your small intestine. Villi absorb nutrients from the food you eat and then shuttle
them into your bloodstream so they can travel where they're needed.
● Phagocytosis, or “cell eating”, is the process by which a cell engulfs a particle
and digests it. Cells in the immune systems of organisms use phagocytosis to
devour bodily intruders such as bacteria, and they also engulf and get rid of cell
debris. Some single-celled organisms like amoebas use phagocytosis in order to
eat and acquire nutrients.
● Exocytosis is the process of moving materials from within a cell to the exterior of
the cell. This process requires energy and is therefore a type of active transport.
Exocytosis is an important process of plant and animal cells as it performs the
opposite function of endocytosis. In endocytosis, substances that are external to a
cell are brought into the cell.
In exocytosis, membrane-bound vesicles containing cellular molecules are
transported to the cell membrane. The vesicles fuse with the cell membrane and
expel their contents to the exterior of the cell. The process of exocytosis can be
summarized in a few steps.
● Every organism requires energy to be active. However, to obtain energy from its
outside environment, cells must not only retrieve molecules from their
surroundings but also break them down. This process is known as intracellular
digestion. In its broadest sense, intracellular digestion is the breakdown of
substances within the cytoplasm of a cell. In detail, a phagocyte's duty is
obtaining food particles and digesting it in a vacuole.\ For example, following
phagocytosis, the ingested particle (or phagosome) fuses with a lysosome
containing hydrolytic enzymes to form a phagolysosome; the pathogens or food
particles within the phagosome are then digested by the lysosome's enzymes.
Intracellular digestion can also refer to the process in which animals that lack a
digestive tract bring food items into the cell for the purposes of digestion for
nutritional needs. This kind of intracellular digestion occurs in many unicellular
protozoans, in Pycnogonida, in some molluscs, Cnidaria and Porifera. There is
another type of digestion, called extracellular digestion. In amphioxus, digestion
is both extracellular and intracellular.
● Extracellular digestion takes place outside of the cell. In this type of digestion
process the cell membrane secretes enzymes onto the ingested food. The food is
broken down into small molecules by the enzyme.
The small molecules are broken down until they can pass through the cell
membrane and enter into a cell. Then the nutrients are transferred into the blood
stream and other body fluid. The blood and body fluids distributes the nutrients to
all body parts.