Principles of
Animal Physiology
Moyes & Schulte
2008
Physiology
“The study of how animals work”
Knut Schmidt-Nielsen (1915–2007)
Structure and function of various parts
 How these parts work together
Diversity of animals
 More than 1 million species live on Earth
Unifying themes
 Apply to all physiological processes
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
History of Animal Physiology
Hippocrates (460–circa 377 B.C.)
 Father of medicine
 Careful observation
Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
 Father of natural history
 Relationship between structure and function
Claudius Galenus, “Galen” (129–circa 199)
 First experimental physiologist
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
History of Animal Physiology
Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288)
 Anatomy of heart and lungs
Jean-Francois Fernal (1497–1558)
 Outlined current knowledge of human health and
disease
Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564)
 First modern anatomy textbook
William Harvey (1578–1657)
 Circulation of blood through the body by
contractions of the heart
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
History of Animal Physiology
Herman Boerhaave and Albrecht von Haller (1700s)
 Bodily functions are a combination of chemical and
physical processes
 Prior to this all physiologists were either
 Latrochemists (body functions involved only chemical
reactions)
 Latrophysicists (body functions involved only
physical processes)
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
History of Animal Physiology
Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann (1838)
 “Cell theory”
Claude Bernard (1813–1878)
 Milieu interieur (internal environment)
 Internal environment distinct from external
environment
Walter Cannon (1871–1945)
 “Homeostasis”
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
History of Animal Physiology
Per Scholander (1905–1980)
 Comparative physiology
C. Ladd Prosser (1907–2002)
 Central pattern generators
Knut Schmidt-Nielsen (1915–2007)
 Animals in harsh and unusual environments
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
History of Animal Physiology
George Bartholomew (1923–2006)
 Ecological physiology
Peter Hochachka (1937–2002) and George Somero
(1941– )
 Biochemical adaptations
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
•ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY
the study of how animals function
how they interact with their environment
how they grow, reproduce, survive
Animal Physiology BIO 3420, Environmental Physiology BIO 4890
•Integrative science
cells-tissues-organs-organ systems-whole animal
biological, physical and chemical principles
Concept of natural selection and speciation
•Diversity of animal species, strategies and mechanisms
•Study of adaptations
- functional
- structural
- biochemical
•Unity of processes
Physiological Subdisciplines
Based on




Biological level of organization
Process that causes physiological variation
Ultimate goals of the research
Many physiological questions encompass elements
from each subdiscipline
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Subdisciplines of Animal physiology
•
Comparative physiology
•
Environmental physiology (BIOL 4890)
•
Evolutionary physiology
•
Development physiology
•
Cell physiology
•
Reproductive, Renal, Endocrinology
Applications of Animal physiology
•
Medicine
•
Veterinary medicine
•
Agriculture
•
Aquaculture
•
Toxicology (BIOL 3440)
•
Protection of vulnerable species
•ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY
the study of how animals function
how they interact with their environment
how they grow, reproduce, survive
Animal Physiology BIO 3420, Environmental Physiology BIO 4890
•Integrative science
cells-tissues-organs-organ systems-whole animal
biological, physical and chemical principles
Concept of natural selection and speciation
•Diversity of animal species, strategies and mechanisms
•Study of adaptations
- functional
- structural
- biochemical
•Unity of processes
Levels of biological organization – Integration
Fig.1.2
STRUCTURE / FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS
- function dependent on structure at all
levels of organization
•ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY
the study of how animals function
how they interact with their environment
how they grow, reproduce, survive
Animal Physiology BIO 3420, Environmental Physiology BIO 4890
•Integrative science
cells-tissues-organs-organ systems-whole animal
biological, physical and chemical principles
Concept of natural selection and speciation
•Diversity of animal species, strategies and mechanisms
•Unity of processes
•Study of adaptations
- functional
- structural
- biochemical
DIVERSITY OF ENVIRONMENTS
·
tropics  arctic
·
desert  rainforest
·
freshwater  marine
·
sea level  mountain top
UNITY – Key themes of physiology
•physiological processes are influenced by
laws of physics and chemistry
•physiological processes are the product of both
the genotype and the environment
•they are homeostatically regulated
•they are linked to evolutionary history
DIVERSITY
·
·
tropics  arctic
desert  rainforest
·
freshwater  marine
·
sea level  mountain top
UNITY – Key themes of physiology
1.physiological processes are influenced by
laws of physics and chemistry
2.physiological processes are the product of
both the genotype and the environment
3.they are homeostatically regulated
4. they are linked to evolutionary history
1. Physiol. processes obey the laws of
physics and chemistry
2. ADAPTATION
•
physiological processes are the product of both the
genotype and the environment
•
physiological, biochemical, or anatomical change
within individual
•
improves chance of survival
Fig.1.5
Adaptation
Acclimation
Acclimatization
Phenotype, Genotype, and the Environment
Phenotype is a product of genotype and its
interaction with the environment
 Genotype – genetic makeup
 Phenotype – morphology, physiology, and behavior
 Phenotypic plasticity – single genotype generates
more than one phenotype depending on
environmental conditions
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Factors Influencing Phenotype
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Figure 1.1
Phenotypic Plasticity
Can be irreversible or reversible
 Irreversible
 Polyphenism – developmental plasticity
 Reversible
 Acclimation – under laboratory conditions
 Acclimatization – natural environment
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Not All Differences are Adaptations
Genetic drift
 Random changes in the frequency of genotypes
over time
 Independent of adaptive evolution
 Most common in small populations
 For example, forest fire resulting in founder effect
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
3. HOMEOSTASIS
Physiological processes are homeostatically regulated
Capacity to regulate and maintain relative internal
stability in a changing environment
Response to
environmental
change
•Claude Bernard (1872)
•Walter Cannon (1929) – “homeostasis”
The effects of an external heat source on body temperature in
an iguana
Physiological Regulation
Strategies for coping with changing conditions
 Conformers – allow internal conditions to change
with external conditions
 Regulators – maintain relatively constant internal
conditions regardless of external conditions
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Change in internal conditions as external conditions vary
FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS
Sensory information
Comparison to Set point
Relay to effectors
Adjustment/Change
Negative feedback
correction of a disturbance
Fig.1.4
Disturbance
Sensor activation
Error signal
Signal inversion
Negative feedback
Correction
Positive feedback
Amplification of a change
Rapid departure from the set point
e.g.
Review
How is Animal Physiology studied?
•Formulating and testing of hypotheses
•Use of appropriate animal models
•Carefully chosen methods
use of radioisopotes
use of antibodies
molecular techniques
microinstruments (electrodes, pipettes,…)
microscopy
cell cultures
biochemical methods (spectrophotometer,
HPLC,…)
organ studies
whole animal (behaviour, fertility,…)
•Publication of results in scientific journals