Animal Biology

What is it :

• Define an animal, using the shared characteristics of animals.
• Describe basic animal body plans, and relate different tissue types to their functions.
• Define homeostasis and explain its maintenance through negative feedback mechanisms, using appropriate examples.
• Describe early developmental processes in model animals (sea urchins, frogs).
• Compare and contrast signaling in the nervous and endocrine systems, and explain how the mechanisms allow for body-wide communication and coordination of a variety of functions.
• Describe mechanisms used by animals to obtain energy and nutrients, with emphasis on mammalian digestive systems.
• Describe mechanisms used by animals to exchange gases with their external environment, with emphasis on mammalian respiratory systems.
• Describe the long distance transport of materials within animal bodies, with emphasis on mammalian circulatory systems.
• Describe mechanisms of osmoregulation and thermoregulation in a variety of animals.
• Describe basic elements of immune systems and how they function to protect animals from pathogens.
• Describe skeletal muscle structure and function; describe various forms of locomotion with respect to their biomechanics and energetics.
• Provide examples of the interconnected functioning of multiple organ systems