AP Biology, Chapter 41

Animal Nutrition
The Need to Feed
41.1 An animals diet must supply chemical energy, organic molecules,
and essential nutrients
Intro
1. Define essential nutrients and describe the four classes of essential
nutrients.
Essential Nutrients
Essential cannot be manufactured by the feeding organism
Vary widely: guinea pigs require C, mice do not
Also varies by age/development
Essential Amino Acids
8/20 for humans
Essential Fatty Acids
Linoleic for humans
Vitamins
13 for humans
Minerals
Ca, Fe, K, P, Mg, etc.
41.2 The main stages of food processing are ingestion, digestion,
absorption, and elimination
Intro
2. Define and compare the four main stages of food processing.
Ingestion: act of eating; teeth, lips, tongue
Digestion
Mechanical smaller pieces
Chemical break covalent bonds mostly using enzymes
Absorption
Small products of chemical digestion taken up by animal
cells
By diffusion and/or active transport
Elimination of undigested material from the digestive
compartment
Digestive Compartments
Intro
3. Compare intracellular and extracellular digestion.
Intracellular Digestion
In a membrane-bound space in the cytoplasm
Extracellular Digestion
In compartments that open to the environment
Gastrovascular cavity closes, enzymes/acid added
Alimentary canal
One direction
Specialized parts
Stepwise processing
41.3 Organs specialized for sequential stages of food processing form the
mammalian digestive system [no objectives]

41.4 Evolutionary adaptations of vertebrate digestive systems correlate

with diet
Intro
4. Relate variations in digestive system adaptations to the feeding
strategies of
animals.
Dental Adaptations
Incisors cut meat and vegetation
Canines pierce prey and rip meat
Premolars and molars grind plant material
Stomach and Intestinal Adaptations
Carnivores have a shorter system with reduced large intestine
and cecum
Herbivores have a longer system with a long cecum and welldeveloped large
intestine
Omnivores in between
Mutualistic Adaptations
Microorganisms break down cellulose in termites and ungulates
Produce/convert nutrients in most large intestines
Mutualistic autotrophs in corals and deep-sea worms
41.5 Feedback circuits regulate digestion, energy storage, and appetite
Intro
5. Compare the bioenergetics of animals when energy balance is
positive and when it is
negative.
Positive (more than enough nutrients)
Allocate for growth and reproduction
Storage
Glycogen in the liver stimulated by insulin
Lipids in adipose
Excess carbohydrates converted to lipid
Negative
Retrieval of stored material
Sugar from the liver stimulated by glucagon
Lipids from adipose
Recycling of muscle proteins
Regulation of Digestion
6. Explain how hormones influence the digestive process.
Organ activities are coordinated by enteric nervous system and
hormones
Hormones
Gastrin causes stomach to release acid
Hormones made by the small intestine
Secretin bicarbonate release from pancreas
Cholecystokinin bile from gallbladder, enzymes
from the
pancreas
Regulation of Appetite and Consumption
7. Describe the negative feedback loop controlling appetite.
Gherlin from the stomach stimulates hunger
After eating
Gherlin production stops

Insulin, leptin, and PYY suppress appetite

Obesity and Evolution