Animal Responses

Meet the Standards• Living things are classified by shared

characteristics.

• Various body structures and functions change as an organism goes through its life cycle.

• Patterns of development vary among animals (metamorphosis)

• An organism’s body plan and environment determine the way that the organism carries out its life processes.

Meet the Standards• Survival depends on the ability to sense and

respond to the outside environment.

• The methods of obtaining nutrients vary among organisms.

• In all environments, organisms with similar needs may compete with one another for resources.

• The environment may contain dangerous substances that are harmful to an organism.

Meet the Standards• Herbivores obtain energy from plants.

Carnivores obtain energy from animals. Omnivores …

• Food webs identify feeding relationships among producers, consumers and decomposers in an ecosystem.

• Matter is transferred form one organisms to another and between an organism and its environment. (H2O, CO2, O2, N2)

• Animal Systems (organs, tissues) - comparative

Meet the Standards• The environment may be altered through the

activities of an organism. Some species may replace others over time, resulting in long term gradual changes.

• Human activities have resulted in major pollution (impact on) of air, water and soil. Pollution has cumulative ecological effects such as acid rain, global warming or ozone depletion.

Meet the Critters

Mealworms – Tenebrio molitor

MealwormKingdom: Animalia are multicellular eukaryotesPhylum: Arthropoda have jointed limbs and

exoskeletonsClass: Insecta 3 body segments, 3 pair of jointed legsOrder: Coleoptera beetles (sheathed wing)Family: Tenebrionidae darkling beetlesGenus: Tenebrio means ‘lover of darkness’Species: molitor means hardly, with difficulty

I’m not a worm, I am a larvae (grub).

Meet the Critters

Mealworms – Tenebrio molitor

Meet the Critters

Brine Shrimp

Kingdom: Animalia are multicellular eukaryotesPhylum: Arthropoda have jointed limbs and exoskeleton. subPhylum: CrustaceaClass: Branchiopoda have gills on/near their appendagesOrder: Anostraca are the fairy shrimpFamily: ArtemiidaeGenus: ArtemiaSpecies: franciscana

We’ve been marketed as “sea monkeys”

Meet the Critters

Brine ShrimpI’ve been marketed as “sea monkeys”

Meet the Critters

CrayfishI’m the “poor man’s lobster”.

Kingdom: Animalia are multicellular eukaryotesPhylum: Arthropoda have jointed limbs and exoskeleton. subPhylum: CrustaceaClass: Malacostraca have soft shellsOrder: Decapoda are “ten footed”Family: Astacoidea live in fresh water and have feather like gillsGenus: Astacidae or CambaridaeSpecies:

Meet the Critters

Male crayfish

Female crayfish

Sexing Crayfish

Meet the Critters

Male crayfish – arrow points to gonopod legs used to transfer sperm to female

Female crayfish – arrow points to seminal receptacle between legs

Sexing Crayfish

Critter Comparison

• Physiology (body parts)

• Life Cycle

• Behavior

• Food Chains and Webs

• Impact on surroundings

Students should compare the critters on:

Resources

• View the “Animal Responses: Information, Tips and Hints” document.

• Read “Crazy About Crayfish” for inquiry science.