Chapter 33.

1
What is an animal?
●​ Organisms closely related to animals are choanoflagellates (C)
○​ A group of single-celled eukaryotes
○​ Due to similarities in cell shape between C’s and sponges
○​ Mostly unicellular
●​ Animals are heterotrophs → E and carbon gained from organic molecules
●​ Animals lack cell walls → allows cell to move during development
●​ Animals have early embryonic development, that starts with a hollow ball of cells
called the blastula and includes the movement of embryonic cells to form gastrula
○​ Early = Blastula, then moves to Gastrula
○​ Unique to animals
●​ Animals are multicellular heterotrophic eukaryotes with distinctive early mode of
development
Animal Classification Using Symmetry
●​ Animals with the same type of body plan can be placed in the same group called a
phylum
●​ Porifera (sponges) are irregular in form, with no clear plane of symmetry
●​ Cnidaria (sea jellies, corals, anemones) have radial symmetry → many plane of
symmetry
○​ They have an axis that runs from mouth to base –? Allows them to move up
and down the water column by flexing muscle fibers
●​ Most other animals (humans, insects, snails) show bilateral symmetry → they have a
distinct front, back, top, bottom, left, and right with a single plane of symmetry
between the right and left at the midline
●​ Animals with bilateral symmetry are able to move in a horizontal direction
○​ These animals develop specialised sensory organs at the front that allows
movement, grasping, and defense
●​ Poriferans only have a few different cell types, which are organized into only simple
tissues, not well-defined tissues and complex organs
●​ Cnidarians have well-defined tissues, but lack complex organs
●​ Bilaterians have both well-defined tissues and complex organs, which are specialised
for movement, digestion, etc.
Sensory Organs
●​ Bilaterian animals have nervous system tissue (like eyes) that are concentrated at one
end of the body
○​ The concentration of nervous system components at one end of the body is
known as the “front” and is called Cephalization.
○​ Cephalization is the key feature of the body plan of bilaterian animals
●​ Cephalization is considered an adaptation for movement, as it allows them to take in
sensory information and ahead of them as they move
 ●​ Close proximity to the brain allows information to be processed quickly
●​ Also thought to be the adaptation for predation
○​ As they can better detect and capture prey
Segmentation
●​ Another pattern among bilaterian animals is segmentation
●​ Segmentation = Organization of the body into units or segments
○​ Are repeated from front to back, but modified depending on where they are
located in the body.
■​ Like our spinal cord
○​ Allows for the differentiation of segments into distinct body parts that have
evolved for higher function
Embryonic Development
●​ Cnidarians (radially symmetrical) embryos have two germ layers → Endoderm and
Ectoderm → Develops into adult tissue
○​ They are called Diploblastic
●​ In bilaterians, the embryo has 3 germ layers → Endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm
○​ They’re called triploblastic
○​ The evolution of mesoderm allowed the development of new tissues and
organs, such as muscles and circulatory systems.
○​ Facilitated new modes of movement, feeding, and behaviour
 ●​ We are then able to divide bilaterians into two groups: Protosomes (“first mouth) and
Deuterosomes (“second mouth”)
●​ In protosomes, the blastopore –the earliest-forming opening to the internal cavity of
the developing embryo– becomes the mouth
○​ They include nematodes, arthropods, spiders, mollusks, bivalves, cephalopods,
annelids, and flatworms.
●​ In deuterosomes, the blastopore becomes the anus and the mouth forms after.
○​ Includes Chordates such as vertebrate and echinoderms, sea stars, sea urchins,
and sand dollars

Molecular Sequences
●​ Confirm that C’s are the closest protistan relatives of animals
●​ The presence or absence of the coelom/body cavity organizes bilaterians into 3
groups: Acoelomates (without a body cavity), Coelomates and pseudocoelomates,
which different in embryonic origin
●​ The coelom cushions the internal organs against hard blows and allows the body to
turn without twisting these organs
Schizocoelous: Coelom forms by the splitting of the mesoderm (typical in protostomes)
Enterocoelous: Coelom forms the outpockings of the gut (typical in deuterosomes)

33.2 Tissues and Organs

●​ The cells of most animals are organized into 4 types of tissues
○​ Epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous
●​ Tissues are collections of cells that carry out a specific function
●​ They are combined to make organs
○​ Most organs consist of many tissues
■​ Skin, made up of outer epidermis (epidermal tissue) and the dermis
(connective tissue)
Epithelial Tissue
●​ Provides a lining for all spaces inside and outside the body
●​ The outer layer is the epithelial tissue, and it’s the inner lining of the gut, bladder and
blood vessels.
●​ Cells that make up epithelial tissue are closely packed together and connected by
cellular junctions, forming a sheet of cells
○​ This sheet controls the movement of substances into and out of the body
 ●​ Epithelial tissue forms a boundary but also absorbs substances from and secrete
substances into the space it surrounds.
●​ It has no blood vessels, so it gets blood from underlying connective tissue
●​ There are 4 main animal tissues

Connective tissue
●​ Underlies epithelial tissues and is found everywhere else
●​ Has extensive extracellular matrix (ECM) and few cells
●​ The ECM is an insoluble meshwork composed of proteins, polysaccharides
○​ Provides support and also provides informational cues that determine the
activity of cells that are in contact with it
●​ There are many types of connective tissue, each characterized by properties of the
specific extracellular matrix.
○​ Eg, there are two layers of connective tissue that lie beneath the epidermis of
the skin → A specialized connective tissue called the basal lamina, and then
the dermis: A type of connective tissue made up of cells that secrete the
components of the extracellular matrix
●​ The dermis is strong and flexible since ECM is made up of tough protein fibers
○​ Contains blood vessels that nourish the dermis and the epidermis
○​ Also provides a cushion for the body
●​ Other examples of connective tissue include bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments →
which help support the body and provide a system of levers for movement
●​ Specialized connective tissues also include adipose tissue (fat) and blood
Muscle Tissue
●​ Made up of cells called fibers that are able to shorten or contract
●​ Cells contain actin thin filaments and myosin thick filaments
○​ Myosin is a motor protein that uses the energy of ATP to change conformation
■​ Moves the thin filament relative to the thick filament
○​ It results in the individual muscle cells to shorten and the entire muscle tissue
to contract
●​ True muscle tissue is PRESENT in Bilaterians but NOT in cnidarians
●​ Vertebrate animals have 3 types of muscle tissues
1.​ Skeletal muscle: attaches to the bone and makes voluntary movements possible
2.​ Cardiac muscle is found in the heart and contracts to make the heartbeat
3.​ Smooth muscle: found in places like the gut, where it causes waves of contraction that
push food along the digestive
a.​ And in blood vessels, which constrict and relax to control blood flow
​ ​ ​ ​
​ ​ ​ ​ Skeletal muscle

Nervous Tissue
 ●​ Found in the nerve nets of cnidarian, in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves of
vertebrates
●​ Takes in sensory information from the environment, processes information, and sends
signals to target organs to obtain a response
○​ Signals sent to muscles direct movement, signals sent to organs help maintain
homeostasis.
●​ Primarily made of neurons (nerve cells) that send electrical impulses from one end of
the cell to another
●​ They communicate with each other at specialized junctions called synapses, where
chemical signals are released by one nerve cell and received by another
Organ Systems
●​ In bilaterians, multiple tissues can combine to make an organ
○​ Intestine contains all 4 types: Epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous.
●​ The organs combine to form an organ system

●​ Sponges only have simple epithelia that line the surface of the body
●​ Sea jellies, corals, and sea anemones (cnidarians) have many types of tissues, but not
true organs
○​ They have a set of nerves called the nerve net, but their nerves are not
organized into a brain or CNS
●​ Cnidarians have muscle cells, but not well-developed muscle tissues
●​ They exchange gases by diffusion rather than using lungs or gills.
●​ They digest food in a central cavity with a single opening for both eating and
excretion

●​ Mollusks, arthropods, mammals, and other bilaterians have true organs made up of
one or more types of tissue
○​ Heart for pumping blood
○​ Gills or lungs for gas exchange
○​ Stomach and intestine for nutrient absorption
○​ Kidneys or (in invertebrate bilaterians) nephridia for water balance and waste
excretion
●​ Then something about how scientists use biology to build robots → Nature inspires
humans and engineering

33.3 Homeostasis
●​ Organ systems work together to maintain a stable internal environment
○​ Such as body temp, and blood pH.
●​ Homeostasis: The active regulation and maintenance of a stable internal physiological
state in the face of a changing external environment
○​ A critical feature of cells, organisms, and life itself
○​ Environment outside of cells may change, but the environment inside the cells
remains relatively consistent
 ■​ Some chemical reactions and protein folding are only carried out
efficiently within a narrow range of conditions
●​ For cells, the cell membrane actively maintains intracellular conditions compatible
with life
○​ The embedded protein channels and pumps lets some molecules through freely
but restricts the passage of others
○​ Keeps ion concentrations within narrow ranges
●​ The firing of action potentials of neurons is an example of a cell function that requires
particular ion concentrations of either side of the membrane
●​ Temperature and pH are parameters that do not vary much since enzymes often work
effectively in narrow temperature and pH ranges
○​ To do so, they actively pump protons across the cell membrane
●​ Homeostasis is maintained for the whole body
○​ Including temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, blood pH, ion
concentrations, water content of the body is kept stable through the careful
regulation of ions and other soultes
●​ First described by the French physiologist Claude Bernard in 1800s
○​ “homeostasis was coined by Walter Cannon, an american physiologist in 1932
Negative Feedback
●​ A stimulus acts on a sensor that communicates with an effector, which produces a
response that opposes the initial stimulus.
○​ A house is cold, which is detected by the thermostat, which turns on the
furnace, producing heat until the temperature setting of the thermostat is
reached

●​ Humans and other mammals maintain a steady core body temperature in the
hypothalamus → acts as the body’s thermostat or sensor
●​ When a decrease in temperature causes the core body temperature to decrease, the
hypothalamus activates the nervous system to induce shivering and the production of
metabolic heat.
●​ Furthermore, the hypothalamus activates nerves that cause peripheral blood vessels to
constrict → reduces blood flow near the body’s surface and reduces heat loss to
surrounding air.
●​ If it’s too hot, sweat glands secrete moisture and blood vessels dilate to aid heat loss
●​ Homeostatic regulation relies on negative feedback to maintain a set point, or
steady-state value
●​ The ability to maintain a constant body temperature is known as thermoregulation

34.1 Sponges, Cnidarians, Ctenophores, and Placozoans

●​ Animals are sister to the chonanoflagellates → a group of single-celled eukaryotes
○​ They’re mostly marine organisms that feed by ingesting bacteria
○​ They have flagella and microvili
■​ They beat the flagella to push water to the villi, in which the bacteria is
stuck and eaten via phagocytosis
●​ This close evolutionary relationship suggests that the earliest animals were simple
multicellular organisms that lived in the sea
○​ However, they did not have many specialized cells, no true tissues, no true
organs → more similar to a sponge.
○​ This prediction was supported by sponges

●​ The common ancestor of animals and CF’s (Choanoflagellates) carried out all
functions as individual cells
●​ Animals are united by persistent multicellularity and development of an embryo that
includes a blastula.
●​ The cells making up sponges retain the individuality of CF’s while having some
benefits of multicellularity
●​ Multicellularity can provide many functions, but it allows sponges to develop bodies
that extend above the seafloor, giving them access to food suspended in water currents

●​ Similar to flower vase, with many small pores on the sides and large opening on top
●​ Cells on outer surface form a tough layer that acts as the sponge’s skin
●​ Interior surface is lined by cells called choanocytes, which have flagella and function
in nutrition and gas exchange
●​ Each choanocyte cell has a collar of small cilia around its flagellum
●​ Between the interior and exterior lies a gelatinous mass called the mesohyl, which is
mostly noncellular but contains some amoeba-like cells that function in skeleton
formation, reproduction, and dispersal of nutrients
●​ Sponges get nutrition through intracellular digestion
○​ Choanocytes that surround interior chambers and passageways of the sponge
beat their flagella, creating a current that draws water from outside the body
○​ The water moves through the pores and up to the central cavity, where water
exits through the large opening at the top
 ○​ The water contains food particles and dissolved organic matter, which the cells
lining the cavity capture via endocytosis
●​ Sponges are full of bacterial cells, many of which are symbionts
●​ Gas exchange occurs across the cell membranes by diffusion, aided by movement of
water through the sponge cavity
●​ They don't have highly developed reproductive organs, instead, cells from the
choanocyte later migrate into the mesohyl
○​ They undergo meiotic cell division and differentiate into sperm or eggs.
○​ Sperm is released into the water and fuses with eggs in the mesohyl of other
sponges
●​ Sponges build skeletons of simple structures called spicules
●​ Some have spicules of glass-like silica, others make their spicules of calcium
carbonate. Some are made up of proteins
●​ Their cells have as much as function as a single-celled protozoan, but they coordinate
their activities more efficiently
●​ Sponges are a monophyletic group that is a sister to the eumetazoans, a large group
that includes most or all other animals

Cnidarians (C)
●​ Most animal diversity falls within Eumetazoa: A group of anatomically diverse
animals that are united by a number of synapomorphies, including the development of
diverse cell types, distinct tissues, and gastrulation.
○​ Gastrulation: inward movement of cells of the ball-like blastula to form
distinct layers during early development
●​ Cnidaria (C) form a major branch of Eumetazoa, and bilateria form the other
●​ Synapomorphies of cnidarians include radial symmetry and a mouth surrounded by
tentacles with stinging cells
●​ Examples of C’s are: Jellyfish, sea anemones → which cling to sea floor to gather
food and deter predators, corals → secrete massive skeletons of calcium carbonate,
forming reefs
●​ Sea jellies and anemones share a body plan common to all cnidarians
○​ A free-floating jelly is called a medusa, while the sessile anemone a polyp
 ●​ Eumetazoans have a digestive system in which food is taken into a specialized
compartment, where it is digested by using enzymes secreted by cells that line the
walls
●​ In C’s, the gastric cavity is closed: food and water enter and exit through the same
opening
●​ They can digest large food items, which dissolved nutrients can be absorbed through
the walls of the cavity
●​ They can consume many types of food unavailable to sponges
●​ The C’s body develops from a diploblastic embryo → one with two germ layers
○​ Outer layer, the epidermis from outer germ layer
○​ Ectoderm from inner lining of cells
●​ These tissues enclose a gelatinous mass called the mesoglea
Body Plan of C’s and Bilaterians
●​ Cells that form the epidermis and endodermis occur as closely packed layers of cells
embedded in a protein-rich matrix, forming the epithelium
●​ Epithelium comprises of a tight layer of specialised cells, which are bounded by a
matrix composed of protein connected to one another by junctions that regulate the
passage of ions or other molecules
●​ These layers line compartments within eumetazoan animals, secreting or absorbing
substances
●​ Sponges cannot form the epithelium, only on rare occasions
●​ C’s have more cell types, allowing more sophisticated tissue function
○​ Muscle cells allows jellies to swim
○​ A network of nerve cells allows cnidarians to sense their environment and
respond to it through directional movement
●​ No such cells occur in sponges
●​ C’s lack a brain, but have a few light-sensitive cells that function as simple eyes
●​ While sponges are filter feeders, C’s are predators, capturing prey and digesting them
in the gastric cavity
●​ Specialized cells on the cavity contain an organelle called the nematocyst → a small
harpoon-like structure coiled within the cell and contains a neurotoxin
●​ Other specialized cells break down ingested food into molecules that can be taken up
by the cells lining the cavity by endocytosis
●​ There is no waste removal system; food is just let back out.
●​ Oxygen uptake and CO2 release occur by diffusion
 ●​ Many C’s asexually reproduce to form colonies
○​ Corals form extensively shaped colonies by budding, building large colonies
on the sea floor
○​ Portuguese Man-of-war is a bunch of genetically identical individuals that
develop distinct morphologies
■​ Allow it to have different functions
Summary: C’s exhibit more complexity and have a number of features that differentiates
them from sponges. Although they do lack complex organ systems that characterize their
sister group, the bilaterians.

Ctenophores and Placozoans

●​ Ctenophores (Ct’s) and placozoans (Pl’s) are nonbilaterian
●​ Ct’s resemble cnidarians in body plan
○​ They have radial symmetry and tissues, with an outer epithelium and inner
endodermis that inclose a gelatinous interior
○​ They have a simple nerve net, as well as rudimentary gonads
●​ They are predators that feed by ingestion, digesting prey within their gastric cavity
through the action of enzymes secreted from the cells lining the gut cavity
●​ Gas exchange occurs by diffusion
●​ Ct’s propel themselves through the oceans by the coordinated beating of cilia that
extend from their epidermal cells
○​ Which are arranged in comblike groups
●​ Digestive waste is eliminated through an anal pore opposite its mouth, similar to
humans
●​ They’re the most complex animal in this chapter so far

●​ Placozoans are the simplest, which are tiny millimeter-scale animals with only a few
thousand cells arranged into upper and lower epithelia that sandwich an interior fluid
crisscrossed by a network of fiber cells with multiple nuclei
 ●​ Pt’s have no specialized tissues and few differentiated cell types
●​ Cilia on their cell surfaces allow movement
●​ Gas exchange occurs by diffusion
●​ Pt’s can absorb dissolved organic molecules, but feed by taking in food particles and
secreting digestive enzymes to break those particles down
●​ The Pt genome contains many of the genes for transcription factors and signaling
molecules that are present in C’s and bilaterian animals

Branching Relationships
●​ Bilaterally symmetrical animals form a monophyletic group whose sister is the
radially symmetric (and also monophyletic) Cnidaria
●​ DNA sequence data place the placozoans as the sister group to both cnidarians and
bilaterian animals
●​ This placement shows us that early animals fed by the ingestion of particles and
absorption of organic molecules by individual cells, as observed in choanoflagellates
and sponges
●​ We don’t know where Ctenophores fit on the tree, as the evidence is foggy

●​ It was originally thought to branch along with cnidarians and bilaterians, sister to the
sponges
●​ DNA sequence comparisons showed that ctenophores are sister groups to all other
animals
○​ If it is right, then it means that either complex tissues of Ct’s evolved
independently of those found in C’s and bilaterians
○​ Or that morphological simplicity of sponges reflects the loss of features
retained in other animals
○​ Regardless of where it evolved, their nervous system evolved independently of
those found in C’s and bilaterian animals.
 Feature Sponges Cnidarians Bilaterians Ctenophor Placozoans
(Porifera) es

Symmetry Irregular; no Radial Bilateral Radial Not

clear plane of symmetry. symmetry. symmetry. explicitly
symmetry. defined;
described as
tiny and
millimeter-sc
ale.

Tissue Only simple Well-defined Both Have No

Complexit epithelia; no tissues, but well-defined tissues specialized
y well-defined lack tissues and (outer tissues and
tissues or complex complex epithelium few
complex organs. organs. and inner differentiate
organs. endodermis) d cell types.
.

Embryonic Includes a Diploblastic Triploblastic Tissues Upper and

Developme blastula. (two germ (three germ enclose a lower
nt layers: layers: gelatinous epithelia
endoderm endoderm, interior. sandwiching
and mesoderm, and fiber cells.
ectoderm). ectoderm).

Nervous None; cells Nerve net; Cephalization; Simple Not

System coordinate no brain or concentration nerve net. mentioned;
activities but central of nervous simplest of
lack nerve nervous system/brain at all animals.
cells. system. the front.
 Digestion Intracellular Gastric True organs Gastric Feed by
& Waste digestion; cavity with (stomach, cavity; taking in
filter feeders one opening intestines) for waste particles and
capturing for both nutrient eliminated secreting
particles via eating and absorption and through an digestive
endocytosis. excretion. specialized anal pore. enzymes.
waste
excretion.

Movement Mostly Use muscle True muscle Propelled Move via

stationary cells (but not tissue allows by the cilia on their
(extended well-develop for diverse coordinated cell surfaces
above ed tissue) to horizontal beating of
seafloor); use flex or movement and cilia.
flagella to swim. predation.
create
currents.

34.2 Protostome Animals

Summary of Bilaterians: Have bilateral symmetry, complex organs that develop from a
triploblastic embryo. Because bilaterian animals are anatomically more complex, they can
perform functions that simpler animals cannot, such as locomotion, feeding, gas exchange,
behaviour, and reproduction

●​ Bilaterians can be divided into two groups based on their early embryological
development
1.​ The Protostomia → The blastopore (the first opening into the embryo interior that
forms during gastrulation ) develops into the organisms mouth
a.​ This can also be divided into two groups
i.​ Lophotrochozoa: includes mollusks and annelid worms
ii.​ Ecdysozoa: Includes insects and other arthropods
2.​ Deuterostomia → the blastopore develops into the anus
Lophotrochozoans (Loph’s)
●​ Includes several different types of animals
1.​ On one branch, brachiopods, bryozoans, and other related phyla that have a
lophophore → a tentacle-lined organ for filter feeding
2.​ Another branch are the mollusks, annelid worms, and their close relatives which
develop from a type of larva called the trochophore
●​ Most Loph’s are small animals that live on or within sediments or swim in the sea
Annelid Worms (such as earthworms)
●​ All annelids have a cylindrical body with distinct sediments → demonstrate bilaterian
advantages
●​ They have a distinct head region and segments that are structurally modified to serve
different functions
●​ The head is at the front end and has a well-developed mouth and an internal cerebral
ganglion → a collection of nerve cells that connects to an extensive nervous system
●​ A digestive system that extends through the body from the head to an anus with
specialized organs for processing food → similar to human digestive system

●​ Aquatic annelids have external gill-like organs for gas exchange, whereas terrestrial
earthworms exchange gases through their skin
●​ In both, they have a closed circulatory system that moves oxygen and other gases
through the body
●​ Annelids have a waste-filtering organ called the Nephridia, Gonads (repeated in most
segments), and a fluid-filled coelom
●​ Fluids in the coelom form a hydrostatic skeleton that works in coordination with
paired muscles in each segment to direct movement
 ●​ Earthworms have a glandular ring in their epidermis called the clitellum which
secretes fluids in which eggs are deposited.
●​ Many annelids are predators that capture and ingest prey, earthworms ingest sediment,
digesting organic matter and excreting mineral particles
○​ Few marine ones have evolved tentacles that allow them to filter food
particles from water
○​ Leeches attach themselves to vertebrate animals and suck out blood
○​ Vestimentiferan worms live around hydrothermal vents deep on the seafloor
lack mouths, and gain nutrition from chemosynthetic bacteria that live within a
collar of specialized tissue found in the worm
Mollusks
●​ Features snails, clams, mussels, squid, and octopi
●​ They are distinguished by their unique structure called the mantle → plays major role
in breathing and excretion and forms their shells (if present)
●​ The mantle lines the body of a squid and the head of an octopus
●​ Mollusks develop from distinctive larva called a trochophore that has a tuft of cilia at
its top and additional cilia bands around its middle
●​ Marine annelids develop from trochophores as well, and this presence of unique form
of larva shows a close evolutionary relationship
○​ Even though they share very few features

●​ Gastropods (snails and slugs, an example of the mollusk body plan) have a head and
well-developed mouth that contains a toothlike structure called the radula for feeding.
●​ The mouth connects to a gut cavity that extends to an anus
●​ Featherlike gills facilitate gas exchange, and a muscular foot is used for locomotion
●​ A neural ganglion in the head coordinates a nervous system that extends through the
body
●​ The body contains a well-developed circulatory system, bonds, and nephridia
●​ Gastropods have a coelom, but the body cavity is reduced to small pouches that
surround the heart and other organs
●​ The outer surface of the body consists of the mantle, which secretes an external
skeleton of calcium carbonate, forming a shell
●​ Some gastropods eat algae, but many are predators.
●​ Approximately half live in the ocean and other half are freshwater or terrestrial (feed
on plants)
●​ On land, snails and slugs lost the gill and have an internal cavity that has been
modified to function as a lung

●​ Cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, octopus, chambered nautilus) are a monophyletic

group with well-developed eyes, a siphon derived from fused mantle tissue that
directs movement by jet propulsion, and muscular tentacles that capture prey and
sense the environment
●​ Cephalopods share a number of features with gastropods, such as internal anatomy,
featherlike gills, and mantle
●​ However, they have muscular tentacles that capture prey and sense the environment
○​ These regions are found in the head region

●​ They dart through the water through a propulsion system that forces water through
mantle tissue that is fused to form a siphon
●​ They have exceptional eyesight and exhibit the most complex behaviour of
invertebrate animals → can learn visual patterns and solve puzzles

●​ Bivalves (clams, oysters, and muscles) have an enclosing skeleton made up of two
mineralized shells connected by a flexible hinge
●​ They have lost their heads, bivalves evolved a skeleton that has two hard shells called
valves connected by a flexible hinge
 ●​ They obtain food by filtering particles from seawater
●​ Those that do not live in sea water (they bury themselves) have siphons that extend
upward from the bivalve’s body to the surface of the seafloor.
○​ These siphons draw water containing food and oxygen
○​ The other returns water and waste to the environment
Ecdysozoans
●​ They are the second major branch of protosomes
●​ They have a protein-rich cuticle that covers their bodies, acting like a suit of flexible
lightweight armour
●​ This armor can be used to form appendages that function as tools, weapons, or even
wings.
●​ The armour is a perfect fit, but cannot stretch so the animals must shed it.

●​ Ecdysozoans contain eight phyla, but two are too small compared to the nematodes
and arthropods
●​ Nematodes are the most numerous of all animals and we’ve never noticed them
 ●​ They’re microscopic, preying microorganisms in soils and marine sediments
●​ They have elongated cylindrical bodies that have a mouth at one end, an intestine for
digestion, and an anus
●​ They have nerve cords that extend along the main axis and form a ring in the back of
the mouth
●​ Rudimentary muscles line the body, and gonads expel sperm and eggs for
reproduction
●​ The nematode body is covered by a tough cuticle that molts during growth.
●​ The second major group of ecdysozoans are arthropods: distinguished by their
segmented bodies and jointed legs.
Summary Table of Protostome Groups (Section 34.2)
Group / Subgroup Key Anatomical & Biological Movement & Notable Examples
Features Development

Lophotrochozoan Named for two features: the Most are small and live Brachiopods,
s lophophore (a tentacle-lined within sediments or bryozoans, mollusks,
feeding organ) or the swim. and annelid worms.
trochophore larva.

Annelid Worms Segmented bodies with a Use a hydrostatic Earthworms, leeches,

distinct head, cerebral ganglion, skeleton (fluid-filled and vestimentiferan
and a closed circulatory system. coelom) and paired worms.
They have a waste-filtering muscles for movement.
organ called nephridia.

Mollusks Distinguished by a mantle, Develop from a Snails, clams, squid,

(General) which is used for breathing, trochophore larva and octopi.
excretion, and secreting shells. with a tuft of cilia.

- Gastropods Have a head with a toothlike Use a muscular foot Snails and slugs.
(Mollusk) radula for feeding; terrestrial for locomotion.
versions have an internal cavity
modified into a lung.
- Cephalopods Features include exceptional Move via jet Squid, cuttlefish,
(Mollusk) eyesight, muscular tentacles, propulsion using a octopus, and
and the most complex behavior siphon derived from chambered nautilus.
of all invertebrates. mantle tissue.

- Bivalves Have no head and a skeleton Primarily stationary; Clams, oysters, and
(Mollusk) consisting of two mineralized obtain food by mussels.
shells (valves) connected by a filtering particles
hinge. from seawater.

Ecdysozoans A major group of protostomes Part of the bilaterian Insects, spiders,

where the blastopore becomes branch. arthropods, and
the mouth. nematodes.

34.3 Arthropods
●​ The most diverse animal phylum, derived from the greek words anthro (jointed) and
foot/leg (pod)
●​ The jointed leg has been modified into many structures for many functions
○​ Such as paddles, spears, stilts, piners, needles, hammers, and more
●​ The jointed leg allowed them to colonize land by providing suspension → adapted to
locomotion on uneven ground
●​ Research shows that the limbs arise from limb buds in the first segments of the
developing embryo.
○​ The buds in the same segments develop into similar structures in closely
related groups
○​ In more distantly related groups, the same segments develop into different
structures
●​ The versability of the arthropod limb enabled is enabled by the material that forms
their hard external skeleton
○​ It is a lightweight, nearly indestructible polysaccharide called chitin: A
modified polysaccharide containing nitrogen that makes up the cell walls of
fungi and the hard exoskeletons of arthropods.
●​ It also forms fungal cell walls
●​ There are 4 main groups of arthropods:
1.​ Insects
2.​ Chelicerates (spiders, scorpions)
3.​ Myriapods (relatives of chelicerates, includes centipedes and millipedes)
 4.​ Crustaceans (lobsters, shrimp, crabs, and their relatives)

Chelicerates
●​ Has pincerlike claws called chelicerae, are the only arthropods that lack antennae
●​ They’re mostly carnivores, except plant-eating mites
●​ Scorpions and spiders use venom to subdue prey
○​ In spiders, the venom is injected through chelicerae modified to form fanglike
appendages
○​ In scorpions, the venom is injected through the curved tail of the abdomen
●​ The chelicerates were among the first animals to invade land
Myriapods
●​ Has many pairs of legs
●​ Centipedes have as many as 300 pairs of legs and are fast-moving predators with front
legs modified into venomous fanglike organs
●​ Millipedes may have several hundred legs and are slow-moving herbivores and
detritivores (eaters of the dead)
○​ They have glands that line their long bodies producing cyanide → used for
defense
Crustaceans
●​ Have branched legs
 ●​ Are a paraphyletic group → descendants of common ancestor includes some
descendants
●​ They navigate with the aid of two pairs of sensory antennae, the larger of which as
two branches
●​ Crustaceans have unique larva, called a nauplius, which swims with the aid of the
smaller antenna and has a single eye that disappears by adulthood
●​ They fill many ecological roles and live on land and sea.
○​ Tiny shrimplike plankton known as krill occur in vast numbers in polar seas,
supporting ecosystems as food
○​ Many crabs and lobsters are detritivores,
○​ Some are parasites (barnacles), which resemble a shrimp early in their life, but
then attach onto a surface for filter feeding then are covered with thickened
plates of armour
Insects
●​ Make up majority of the known animal species and have adaptations that allow them
to live in diverse habitats
●​ There are 4 main adaptations that allow them to live in diverse habitats
1.​ Desiccation-resistant eggs
a.​ Insects have highly specialized eggshells that can withstand
desiccation while allowing still gas exchange → allows them to be laid
on almost any surface
2.​ Wings
a.​ The first animals and the only arthropods to have evolved them
b.​ Silverfish and rockhoppers are primitively wingless since they evolved
before the origin of wings
c.​ No insects can molt wings, so only adult insects can fly
3.​ Specialized respiratory systems
a.​ Aquatic arthropods obtain oxygen through gills, which don’t work well
in air because their large surface area dries out
b.​ Insects exchange gases through small pores in their exoskeletons called
spiracles
c.​ They connect to an internal system of tubes, called the tracheae, which
directs oxygen to and removes CO2 from respiring tissues (similar to
air ducts)
4.​ Metamorphosis: A major change in form from one developmental stage to
another.
Metamorphosis
●​ Insects with incomplete metamorphosis look like miniature adults when they hatch
●​ The main change in their body form is the appearance of wings
●​ Complete metamorphosis is the transformation from a wormlike larval form
specialized for feeding to an adult specialized for mating and reproduction
●​ During the pupa stage, the body tissues undergo dramatic change
 ●​ They undergo a near complete dissolution (breaking down, unmaking, or
disintegration that acts as a necessary precursor to forming a new structure or state of
being) of their muscles and other body parts
●​ The pupa must be immobile within its chitinous exoskeleton and is sometimes
encased in a cocoon
Summary:
Key Characteristics of Arthropods
• Jointed Legs: These limbs are highly versatile and have been modified into structures such as paddles,
spears, pincers, and needles. They allowed arthropods to colonize land by providing suspension and
locomotion on uneven ground.
• Chitinous Exoskeleton: Their hard external skeleton is made of chitin, a lightweight and nearly
indestructible nitrogen-containing polysaccharide. Because this "armor" cannot stretch, arthropods must
molt (shed) it to grow.
• Embryonic Development: Limbs arise from limb buds in the first segments of the developing embryo.
Comparison of the Four Main Arthropod Groups
Group Notable Examples Key Features

Chelicerates Spiders, scorpions, Have pincerlike claws called chelicerae; the only arthropods
mites that lack antennae; most are carnivores using venom.

Myriapods Centipedes, Have many pairs of legs (up to 300); centipedes are fast
millipedes predators with venomous fangs, while millipedes are slow
herbivores that produce cyanide for defense.

Crustaceans Lobsters, shrimp, Have branched legs and two pairs of sensory antennae;
crabs, krill, barnacles develop from a unique, one-eyed larva called a nauplius.

Insects Beetles, silverfish, Make up the majority of known animal species; the only
etc. arthropods to evolve wings.

Specialized Adaptations of Insects

Insects have four specific adaptations that allow them to live in diverse habitats:
1. Desiccation-resistant eggs: Specialized shells withstand drying out while still allowing gas exchange,
enabling eggs to be laid on almost any surface.
2. Wings: These allow for flight, though they only appear in adult stages; insects cannot molt their wings.
3. Specialized Respiratory System: Instead of gills, insects use small pores in the exoskeleton called
spiracles. These connect to an internal system of tubes called tracheae that direct oxygen to tissues.
4. Metamorphosis: A major change in form during development.
◦ Incomplete metamorphosis: The hatchlings look like miniature adults.
◦ Complete metamorphosis: A wormlike larva (specialized for feeding) transforms into a pupa, where
body tissues undergo near-complete dissolution before becoming an adult (specialized for mating).
 34.4 Deuterostome Animals
●​ The feature that separates them is a feature in early development:
○​ Deuterostomes, the blastopore develops into the anus
○​ In Protostomes, the blastopore develops into the mouth
●​ There are 3 major phyla of deuterostome animals
1.​ Hemichordata (acorn worms and peterobrachs)
2.​ Echinodermata (sea urchins and sea stars)
3.​ Chordata (vertebrates and closely related invertebrates
Hemichordates (most distantly related to vertebrates)
●​ Acorn worms and pterobranchs are both hemichordates, which move and attach
through/to the seafloor to search/filter for food
●​ ALL hemichordates have a mouth situated on an elongated protuberance called a
proboscis that connects to the digestive tract by the pharynx
○​ Pharynx: in chordates, the region of the throat that connects the mouth and
nasal cavities to the digestive system and to the lungs (in vertebrates)
●​ Pharynx contains many vertical openings called the pharyngeal slits, separated by stiff
rods of protein that function in filter feeding
●​ They also have a dorsal nerve cord that forms the basis of a nervous system, unique to
chordates

Echinoderms (closest relatives of hemicordates)

●​ Includes sea stars, sea urchins, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, and sea lilies. All share a
fivefold symmetry on top of the bilaterian organization
●​ Most echinoderms form distinctive skeletons made of interlocking plates of porous
calcite, a form of calcium carbonate
○​ Makes them hard and stony
●​ A unique feature is their water vascular system → a aries of fluid-filled canals that
permits bulk transport of oxygen and nutrients
○​ Tube feet: small projections of the water vascular system that extend outward
allow echinoderms to crawl, sense their environment, capture food, and
breathe
○​ They can use these tube feet to pull open clam valves
Chordates
●​ The phylum that includes vertebrate animals
●​ Within this phyla, it includes 3 subphyla
1.​ Cephalochordates
2.​ Tunicates
3.​ Vertebrates (sometimes called craniates)
●​ Like hemichordates, all of them have a pharynx with pharyngeal slits
●​ In fish, the pharyngeal slits are modified to form gills
○​ Terrestrial animals have gills only seen during embryonic development
●​ The notochord, a unique feature of chordates, is a stiff rod of collagen and other
proteins that runs along the back, providing resistance for the muscles along each side
in some chordates
○​ Important for skeletal development (acts as a midline guideline)
●​ In vertebrates, the notochord is apparently during early embryogenesis and is then
functionally replaced by the vertebral column later
○​ Vertebral Column: A skeletal structure in vertebrates that functionally replaces
the embryonic notochord that supports the body.
●​ Forming in early development is the neural tube, a cylinder of embryological tissue
that develops into a dorsal nerve cord
●​ Body musculature is organized into a series of segments called myotomes, most
visible in fish as flakes of muscle when the fish is cooked
○​ Explains why fish break when you cut into it
●​ Chordates have a tail that extends posterior to the anus
●​ Some chordates have muscularized appendages that include the fins of fish and limbs
of terrestrial vertebrates
●​ Cephalochordates share key features of body organization with vertebrates, but lack a
well-developed brain and eyes, have no lateral appendages, and do not form a
mineralized skeleton
●​ Have similar molecular sequences to vertebrates

●​ The tunicates share key features of the chordate body plan during early development,
such as the notochord, neural tube, and long tail with muscles arranged in myotomes.
●​ They have a unique adult form, with the pharynx and pharyngeal slits being the only
obvious similarities to other chordates
○​ It is a basketlike structure highly modified for filter feeding
 ●​ They are similar to sponges, but they have complex internal structure
○​ The body wall (tunic), has a siphon-like mouth at one end that draws water
through an expanded pharynx
○​ The pharynx captures food particles and exchanges gases.
○​ Water and wastes are expelled through an anal siphon
●​ Tunicates are considered the closest invertebrate relatives

34.5 Vertebrates
●​ Named for the jointed skeletons, which runs along the main axis of the body and form
a series of hard segments collectively termed vertebrae
●​ Distinguished by the head enclosing a cranium that protects a well-developed brain, a
pair of eyes, a distinctive mouth, and an internal skeleton mineralized by calcium
phosphate
●​ They also have a coelom in which the organs are suspended and a closed circulatory
system
●​ They also have pharyngeal slits in their early embryonic stages

●​ Many features separate vertebrates and chordates can be found in the head
○​ Bony cranium that protects the brain
○​ In most vertebrates, the cranium joins with the jawbone to form a skull
○​ Permits the development of a larger brain
○​ The jawbone allows vertebrates to eat foods protected by hard shells and
plants
●​ Fish are the most diverse vertebrates
Hagfish and Lampreys
●​ Have a cranium built of cartilage and lack jaws
●​ Have a vertebral column built of cartilage
●​ Hagfish lack vertebrae, even though the trait existed in a common ancestor
●​ They eat soft food without the aid of jaws
●​ Hagfish feed on marine worms and on dead and dying sea animals, while lampreys
live parasitically, sucking body fluids
 ●​ Both have gill slits in which water enters to bring oxygen
●​ Lampresy have a vertebral column while hagfish do not have it.
●​ Together, they form a sister group to all other vertebrates

Cartilaginous Fishes
●​ Formally known as the chondrichthyes
●​ Includes sharks, rays, and chimaeras, all of which have jaws and a skeleton made of
cartilage
●​ Cartilaginous fishes form deposits of hard calcium phosphate minerals like those in
human bones
●​ But only in their teeth and in small toothlike structure called denticles embedded in
the skin
●​ Whale sharks are filter-feeders
●​ Rays have a flattened body adapted for the seafloor, where they feed on clams and
crabs
●​ They can retain levels of urea in their tissues that can poison other vertebrates
○​ A physiological adaptation helps them to maintain their salt balance without
well-developed kidneys
Bony Fishes
●​ Osteichthyes; fish that have a cranium, jaws, and mineralized bones made up of
mineralized calcium phosphate.
●​ This group includes about 20,000–25,000 species.
●​ They have unique features that allow them to live in diverse habitats
1.​ A system of movable elements in their jaws that allow them to specialize and
diversify their feeding on many different types of food
2.​ Possess a unique gas-filled sac called a swim bladder that permits exquisite
control over their position in the water column by changing their buoyancy
3.​ Kidneys that allow them to regulate water balance → allows them to occupy
waters at different salinities
●​ Early vertebrates evolved a gut sac that enabled them to obtain additional oxygen
●​ In some fish, the sac evolved into the swim bladder, in one group it was modified into
the lung
○​ Swim bladder and lung are homologous organs
Lobe-finned fishes
●​ Most bony fishes have fins supported by a raylike array of thin bones and have
pectoral and pelvic fins that extend from a muscularized bony stalk
●​ These are called Lobe-finned fishes, which include the coelacanth and lungfish
○​ They’re the closest relatives of tetrapods → 4 legged animals
●​ Coelacanths first appeared more than 400 million years ago, were thought to be
extinct until rediscovered → got the name living fossil
Lung Fishes
●​ The swim bladder has been modified to form a simple lung
 ○​ Allows them to survive period when their habitat dries up by breathing air
through moist mud

Amphibians
●​ Amphibian (“double life”): A monophyletic group of vertebrates, including frogs and
salamanders, with an aquatic larval form with gills and an adult terrestrial form that
usually has lungs.
●​ Their eggs dry out easily → must reproduce in water or in moist habitats, so they’re
not completely terrestrial
●​ Amphibian larvae graze on algae, the adults are predators that have a muscular tongue
for capturing prey
●​ Many are protected by toxins secreted from glands in their skin → advertised by
bright colour patterns
●​ Most amphibian adults have simple lungs and require moist skin to obtain oxygen
Amniotes
●​ Some vertebrates evolved an egg adapted to tolerate dry conditions that accompany
life on land
●​ The amniotic egg has a desiccation-resistant shell and four membranes that permit gas
exchange and management of waste products produced by the embryo
●​ The eggs must be fertilized internally before the eggshell is produced → sperm cannot
penetrate the eggshell
●​ The amniotic egg can exchange gases while retaining water, which enables the group
of vertebrates known as amniotes to live in dry terrestrial habitats that amphibians
cannot tolerate
●​ The eggs have long development times, with the embryo’s nutrition being supplied by
a large yolk or placenta
●​ They keep wastes separated from the embryo so they don’t poison it, giving the
embryo time to build a more complex body
●​ Amniotes include lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodilians (reptiles), birds, and mammals
○​ Most mammals, many lizards, and some snakes evolved to give birth rather
than laying eggs
○​ Instead of being wrapped around the embryo inside a tough eggshell, these
membranes surround and protect the embryo inside the womb
 ●​ Amniotes form a monophyletic group with two major branches → the mammals and
the reptiles
●​ Molecular sequence comparisons indicate that crocodiles are the closest living
relatives of birds
●​ Birds lack teeth, and their scales have been modified into feathers and are adapted for
flight
○​ Includes hollow bones that are light but remain strong
○​ And a method of breathing that extracts much more oxygen from each breath
●​ One consequence of the lightweight body is that the lack of heavy jaws
○​ They have a grinding organ, called the gizzard inside their bodies near their
centre of gravity → interferes less with flight
Mammals
●​ All mammals are covered with hair and feed their young milk from mammary glands
○​ Appeared approximately 210 million years ago
●​ Hair permits retention of body heat
●​ The earliest branching living mammals, the monotremes, laid eggs
○​ But their hatchlings drank milk secreted from pores in the skin of the mother’s
belly
○​ This is the platypus
●​ First mammals that gave birth to live young appeared in the Jurassic period
●​ Gave rise to two major living groups:
1.​ Marsupials
a.​ Includes kangaroos, koalas, and opossums.
b.​ They are born at an early stage of development and complete development
while attached to mammary glands equipped with nipples that provide them
with milk
c.​ In some marsupials, (kangaroos), the development occurs inside a pouch,
which then venture outside when fully formed
2.​ Placental mammals
a.​ Named for a temporary organ called the placenta
i.​ Placenta: In placental mammals, an organ formed by the fusion of the
chorion and allantois that allows the embryo to obtain nutrients directly
from the mother.
b.​ Provides nutrition that enables the offspring to be larger and more quickly
independent
i.​ Includes carnivores such as lions, weasels, primates such as monkeys,
apes, humans, and hooved animals, which includes cattle pigs and
dear, and whales
c.​ The most diverse mammals belong to the bats and rodents
d.​ Bats evolved flight and sonar (echolocation) to find food at night
e.​ Beavers, gophers, rats, mice, hamsters, and squirrels are all rodents
f.​ They have evolutionary success because of their teeth, which grow continually
throughout their life
 g.​ This constant growth permits continuous wear, allowing them to gnaw through
hard protective coverings to obtain nutrition.

43.1 Tinbergen’s Questions

Table of his 4 questions
Proximate: Short-term Ultimate: Long-term
processes acting within an evolutionary processes
individual’s lifetime affecting affecting this behaviour
the behaviour

Origin of a Behaviour Developmental: How is the Evolutionary: Where and how

behaviour acquired over an did the behaviour arise in the
individual’s lifetime? past?

Implementation of a Mechanistic: How is the Adaptive: how does the

Behaviour behaviour caused through behaviour enhance the survival
neural, muscular, and other and/or reproduction of
processes? individuals?

●​ In the book, they used the example: why does a bird sing?
○​ They broke the question down into 4 smaller and more specific questions
1.​ Adaptive: What is the behaviour for? How does the behavior promote the individual’s
ability to survive and reproduce? In the case of a bird’s song, the answer to the
question might be that a male bird sings to attract a mate.

2.​ Mechanistic causation. What physiological mechanisms cause the behavior? This
question can have multiple answers. A bird sings because its hormone levels change
in response to changes in day length. Or, more immediately, a bird sings because air
passing through its specialized singing organ, the syrinx, causes membranes to vibrate
rhythmically.

3.​ Development. How did the behavior develop? Here, the focus is on the role of genes
and the environment in shaping the development of the behavior. In birds, typically
the male sings, and he has learned the song from his father or other males.

4.​ Evolutionary history. How did the behavior evolve over time? Complex bird songs
may have evolved from vocalizations made by ancestors that became increasingly
standardized and distinctive over time, so much so that we can often identify a bird
species simply by hearing it sing. A behavior may have originated to fulfill a function
different from the one it currently serves. For example, the song of a particular bird
species may have first evolved to claim a territory but now is used to attract mates.
●​ Two categories, mechanistic and developmental provide and proximate (immediate,
short-cause) explanation of HOW the behaviour came to be
 ●​ Adaptive function and evolutionary history provide evolutionary explanations of how
natural selection shaped a behaviour over time → ultimate explanation of WHY this
behaviour came to be
●​ The influence of genes is clear in innate behaviours: which are behaviours that are
instinctive and carried out regardless of earlier experience
○​ Male moths have an instinct to fly toward female pheromones
●​ A learned behaviour depends on an individual’s experience

Type Question It Answers Example Answer

Mechanistic What physiological Increasing melatonin and

processes make it happen changes in daylight length
now? activate neural circuits that
trigger migratory
restlessness.

Developmental How did this behavior Young birds learn migration

develop in this individual? routes by following
experienced adults during
their first migration.

Adaptive What survival/reproductive Migration allows birds to

benefit does it provide? access food resources and
avoid harsh winter
conditions, increasing
survival and reproductive
success.

Evolutionary How did it evolve across Natural selection favored

generations? individuals that migrated
because they survived
winter better and produced
more offspring.

43.2 Dissecting Behaviour

●​ Displays: species-specific patterns of behaviour that tend to follow the sequence of
actions whenever they are performed, in a way that is similar from one individual to
the next
○​ Often considered stereotyped
○​ Naturals selection favours display behaviours that send clear signals
○​ Example, a bird left in isolation still performs the stereotyped courtship dance
with great precision
■​ The behaviour is genetically encoded → instinctual rather than learned
●​ Many displays are fixed action patterns (FAPs): a sequence of behaviours that, once
triggered, is followed through to completion
●​ A key stimulus initiates the behaviour
○​ Example is when a goose notices an egg is misplaced (stimulus)
○​ The goose will roll the egg back to the nest
○​ When a string is attached and pulls the egg away, the goose will continue to
roll the egg even if it’s absent

●​ In this example, the goose responds more stronger to a larger rounder object
●​ This is a supernormal stimulus: An exaggerated stimulus that elicits a response more
strongly than the normal stimulus.

●​ Stimulus recognition is extremely important, as many items could look like stimuli
●​ Stimulus recognition is often carried out by feature detectors: specialized sensory
receptors or groups of sensory receptors that respond to important signals in the
environment
○​ Male frogs call out to females to attract them and ward off other males
○​ A pond can be noisy, so it’s important frogs can distinguish their own species’
○​ They do this by having sensory nerves that listen for specific features of the
call, such as pitch, duration, and frequency
○​ Once the sound is correctly identified, the appropriate behaviour follows

●​ Hormones can also trigger behaviours, as it can affect multiple cells in target organs
simultaneously
●​ Since behaviours depend on both genetics and environment, humans artificially select
and breed animals and plants for particular traits
●​ Some studies have shown that the behaviours are strongly influenced by a single gene
○​ Done using the Drosophila fruit fly
●​ In Drosophila there are different alleles for foraging fors and forR.
●​ The gene encodes an enzyme exposed in the brain that affects neuronal activity and
alters behaviour
●​ In the absence of food, both “sitter” (forS) and “rover” (forR) move to search for food.
●​ In the presence of food, “sitters” barely move, feeding on patches they find
themselves,
●​ Rovers move extensively for food within a patch and between patches
 ●​ Both alleles are present, with a 7:3 ratio for rovers to sitters.
●​ Shows that there is no inferior strategy, as Natural selection would eliminate it
○​ In crowded environments, rovers are selected as they move to find new food
sources
○​ In less crowded environments,s sitters take maximum advantage of their
current food source.
●​ The variation of a single gene affects the behaviour in the fruit flies

43.3 Learning
●​ Learning: the process in which experience leads to changes in behaviour
●​ There are different types of learning
Nonassociative Learning
●​ Nonassociative learning: learning that occurs in the absence of any particular
outcome, such as a reward or punishment
●​ One type of this learning is habituation: the reduction or elimination of a behavioural
response to a repeatedly presented stimulus
○​ Chicks presented with silhouettes of predators flying above them provokes a
defensive crouching posture
○​ The chicks learn that the silhouettes mean no harm → no consequence, so they
no longer crouch
●​ Another type is called sensitization: the enhancement of a response to a stimulus that
is achieved by presenting a prior strong or novel stimulus
●​ The initial stimulus makes the animal more alert and responsive to the next stimulus
○​ Sea slug withdraws its gills in response to being touched
○​ If the sea slug is shocked first, then they will withdraw gills faster if touched
○​ The shock made it more sensitive to stimuli
Associative Learning
●​ Occurs when two events are linked
●​ Associative learning (AKA conditioning): occurs when an animal learns to link two
events
○​ When training Ivan Pavlov’s dogs, he rung a bell then gave them meat
○​ The dogs learned that the ringing of the bell = meat, so they started salivating
○​ This is called Classical Conditioning: A type of associative learning in which
two stimuli are paired
●​ The second form of associative learning is called Operant conditioning: a behaviour
that was initially undirected has become paired with a particular stimulus through
reward/punishment reinforcement.
●​ The undirected behaviour becomes more or less likely over time
○​ If the behaviour is rewarded, it is more likely to occur the next time
○​ If the behaviour is punished, it is less likely to occur
Summary: Association made between a stimulus and behaviour is called Associative
Learning/ Conditioning. Operant Conditioning is a behaviour associated with a reward or
punishment, so said behaviour becomes more/less likely

Adaptation
●​ Learning has adaptive functions
●​ Imitation: one individual copies another
○​ Animals watch humans or another species do something, they learn it
○​ Octopus opening a jar after watching a human do it
●​ An example is done with wasps, where the scientist put a ring of cones around the
opening.
●​ After the wasps leave and enter a few times, the scientist shifts the cones a bit to the
left.
●​ The wasp ignores her nest and flies straight to the middle of the ring → learning that
the landmark = home

●​ Taste aversion is also used for animal learning, in which an animal learns to avoid
certain flavours associated with a negative outcome.
○​ Rats avoid flavoured water if it is associated with nausea
○​ However, they don’t avoid it if it’s associated with a different form of negative
reinforcement
■​ If they get shocked after drinking it
●​ The associations the rats can learn are biologically meaningful ones, as they favour
survival
○​ Their ancestors encountered nauseating water, so they evolved to detect it
better.
○​ They’ve never experienced electric shocks, so that never evolved
○​ Shows how specific evolutionary history of the species is when analyzing
animal behaviour

●​ Many species exhibit predispositions for when learning takes place

●​ Usually in the form of Imprinting: A form of learning seen in young animals in which
they acquire a certain behaviour in response to key experiences during a critical
period of development
○​ Example are geese, as newly hatched goslings learn to treat their mother as
any sufficiently large moving object they see shortly after hatching
○​ If any gosling saw a human, they would imprint and believe they are their
mother.
●​ This is called Filial imprinting, resulting in close parent-offspring association
●​ This is adaptive
●​ Experiments have shown that filial imprinting typically occurs during a specific
sensitive period in the animal’s life and is usually IRREVERSIBLE
 ○​ The goslings wouldn’t change their mind about who their mom was, even after
being shown their real mom
●​ Imprinting is time sensitive, as it can happen before they are even hatched
○​ Cliff-nesting sea birds imprint on auditory stimuli before they even hatch.

Slideshow 1 Notes (mainly a copy and paste of the book)

●​ The simplified tree of life starts at a common ancestor of all living organisms
●​ From there, it splits into 3 major domains → Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
●​ Within Eukarya:
○​ There are several subgroups
1.​ Archaeplastida
a.​ Red algae
b.​ Green algae
c.​ Land plants
d.​ They’re primarily photosynthetic
2.​ Chromalveolata
a.​ Brown Algae
b.​ Various protists
c.​ Many are marine and photosynthetic
3.​ Rhizaria
a.​ Foraminifera
b.​ Amoeboid Protists
c.​ Single-celled and important in marine ecosystems
4.​ Amoebozoa
a.​ Amoebas
b.​ Slime molds
c.​ Move using pseudopodia
5.​ Excavata
a.​ Many flagellated protozoa
b.​ Often unicellular and motile
6.​ Opisthokonta
a.​ Animals
b.​ Fungi
c.​ Choanoflagellates
d.​ Tells us that animals are more closely related to fungi than to plants
e.​ Choanoflagellates are the closest living relatives of animals
●​ Tells us that all life shares a common ancestor and that complex animals arose from
simpler eukaryotic lineages
●​ The position of opisthokonta shows that:
○​ Animals evolved within a broader eukaryotic lineage
○​ Our closest non-animal relatives are single-celled protists (choanoflagellates)
○​ Multicellularity evolved from unicellular ancestors
What is an animal?
●​ Animal cells lack cell walls and chloroplasts
○​ Allows cells to move and change position during development and in adult
animals
○​ Distinguishes animals from both plants and fungi, which both have cell walls
●​ Animals have a unique mode of early development
○​ Development begins with a blastula → a hollow ball of cells
○​ Followed by gastrulation, involving extensive movement of embryonic cells
■​ This establishes the 3 primary germ layers: Endoderm, mesoderm, and
ectoderm

Development of Animals
●​ There are two types of development
○​ Diploblastic: Develop from 2 germ layers
○​ Triploblastic: develop from 3 germ layers
●​ Diploblastic animals are known as the Cnidaria, which form from 2 germ layers, ecto
and endoderm.
●​ The triploblastic animals are the Bilateria, which form from 3 germ layers, ecto, endo,
and mesoderm.
○​ The Bilaterians can be subdivided into two groups, the protostomes and
deuterostomes.
●​ Within protostomes, the gastrula’s blastopore forms the mouth
●​ Within deuterostomes, the gastrula’s blastopore forms the anus
Evolution of Animal Kingdom
 ●​ The opisthokonta divides into two groups, holomycota (fungi-like) and Holozoa
(animal-like)
●​ The holozoa then develops into the choanozoa, which splits into two phyla →
choanoflagellates and the Metazoa.
○​ Meta standing for many → many cells
●​ This develops into the parazoa (no tissues) and eumetazoa (specialized tissues)

●​ It states that we are closely related to choanoflagellates, but animals are different from
them because they have:
○​ Persistent multicellularity
○​ Embryonic cell movement
○​ Simple tissues
Features of Animals
1.​ Symmetry
●​ There are two types of symmetry, radial and bilateral
●​ Radial symmetry is a body plan in which an animal’s body parts are arranged around
a central axis so that any plane passing through the axis produces similar halves.
○​ Basically just draw a line through the organism anywhere and the two halves
should look the same
●​ Bilateral symmetry is the body plan in which the animal’s body can be divided into
two equal mirror-image halves by a single longitudinal plane
 2.​ Cephalization
●​ Cephalization is the concentration of the nervous system and special sensory organs in
the front of the body, important for directed locomotion
3.​ Segmentation
●​ Segmentation is the organization of the body into repeated units along the anterior to
posterior (head to tail) axis
○​ Arthropods, annelids, and chordates are 3 animal phyla known for a
segmented body plan

Body Cavities of Bilaterians

●​ Coelom: a fluid-filled body cavity between the body wall and gut, lined by the
mesoderm
●​ It cushions internal organs against external forces and allows the body to turn without
twisting organs
●​ Schizocoelous: coelom forms by the splitting of the mesoderm → typical in
protostomes
●​ Enterocoelous: coelom forms from outpocketings of the gut → typical of
deuterostomes
Animal Tissue Types
1.​ Muscle tissue: helps the body in movement, posture, and heat production
a.​ Muscle cells make 3 types of muscular tissue, cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle,
and smooth muscle
2.​ Epithelial Tissue: provides a lining for all of the hollow spaces inside and covers the
outside of the body
3.​ Nerve tissue: sends electrical impulses along their length
a.​ Made up of nerve cells
4.​ Connective tissue: underlies the epithelial tissues and is mostly extracellular matrix
a.​ Consists of tendons, bones, and fat cells
●​ Tissues organize to form an organ system
●​ Organs are structures composed of two or more different types of tissues that work
together to form specific functions
●​ Multiple organs work together to form organ systems
●​ True organs are found only in bilaterian animals
●​ Porifera lack true tissues and do not possess organs
●​ Cnidarians have true tissues but do not form organs
○​ Although they contain muscle cells, they lack true muscle tissues
●​ All organ systems work together to maintain homeostasis in response to changes to
both the external and internal environment
How is Homeostasis Maintained?
●​ Depends on Feedback loops → Negative feedback and positive feedback
1.​ Negative feedback is also known as thermoregulation
a.​ Our internal thermometer, the hypothalamus, detects the change in
temperature and causes are muscles to shiver
b.​ This generates heat, warming us up
2.​ Positive feedback, from labor and lactation
a.​ A blood vessel tears, platelets adhere to the site and release chemicals
b.​ The released chemicals attract more platelets
c.​ This proceeds until the break is sealed by the clot
 ●​ This tree summarizes the different phyla and the features that led to their evolution

Choanoflagellates
Structure of choanoflagellates includes:
1.​ Apical Flagellum: a single, whip-like appendage that creates water currents for both
swimming and drawing in food particles
2.​ Microvillar collar: a funnel-shaped ring of 30-40 actin-filled “fingers” that acts as a
sieve to trap bacteria and organic matter
3.​ Polarized cell body: Small ovoid body with organelles in a fixed layout: the nucleus
and golgi near the flagellum, and food vacuoles at the base
4.​ Extracellular matrix: A thick protective theca (organic coating) or lorica (a complex,
basket-like house made of silica strips)
5.​ Colonial Architecture: In colonies, cells are linked by intercellular bridges or a shared
ECM, with flagella pointing outward to coordinate movement
●​ Choanoflagellates represent the “missing link” for how single-celled organisms
evolved into complex multicellular life
Porifera
●​ Aquatic animals, mostly marine, with a few species that live in freshwater
●​ Has a porous body (ostia), that allows water to enter and exit through a larger opening
called the osculum
○​ An interior surface is lined by cells called choanocytes that have flagella
function in filter feeding and gas exchange
●​ Asymmetrical with no true tissues or organs
●​ Internal skeleton is made up of spicules (silica or calcium carbonate) with spongin
fibers for support
●​ A gelatinous mass between the inner and outer layers called the mesohyl
○​ The cells that migrate into the mesohyl differentiate as sperm or eggs
●​ Reproduction is asexual, through budding or fragmentation
●​ Can be sexual, as most are hermaphrodites
Cnidarians
All cnidarians have:
●​ Radial symmetry
●​ A mouth surrounded by tentacles
●​ A closed gastric cavity
●​ Two tissue layers (endo and ectodermis)
●​ A mesoglea, a hydrostatic skeleton, surrounded by epidermis on outside and
endodermis on inside
●​ Cnidarians produce asexually to produce colonies, which make up coral reels
Unlike sponges, cnidarians have:
●​ Epithelial-lined compartments
●​ Tissues and organs
●​ Wider array of cell types
●​ Are predators

Ctenophores
Similar to cnidarians, they have:
●​ Radial symmetry
●​ Outer epithelium and inner endodermis that encloses a gelatinous layer
●​ Have preying cells called colloblasts in their tentacles
●​ Simple nerve net
●​ Rudimentary gonads
●​ Gastric cavity
●​ Digestive wastes move through the gut and exit through an anal pore
●​ Movement is done through the beating of cilia on comb rows called Ctenes

Placozoans
●​ They’re the most simple animals
●​ Tiny and contain only a few thousand cells organized into upper and lower epithelia
●​ Has an interior fluid crisscrossed by a network of multinucleate fiber cells in between
●​ Have no specialized tissues and few differentiated cell types
●​ Cilia on their surfaces allow movement
●​ Gas exchange occurs by diffusion
 ●​ Placozoans can absorb dissolved organic molecules but commonly feed by secreting
digestive enzymes to break down surrounding food particles
●​ Although they have no specialized tissues, they contain genes and signalling
molecules similar to bilaterians

●​ There are two hypothesis’s for the placement of ctenophores

○​ Traditional is that the porifera is the sister group to all other animals
○​ Alternative is that the ctenophores is the sister group to all animals
Protostomes
Lophotrocozoans: Protostomes that either possess a lophophore, a tentacle lined organ for
filter feeding or develop through a ciliated motile larval stage called the trochophore larva
●​ Includes mollusks, annelid worms, and related phyla
●​ Many species produce a trochophore larva, which uses cilia used for swimming and
feeding
●​ Presence of cilia-based larvae links these groups evolutionary despite adult body
differences
Ecdysozoans: Protostomes that grow by ecdysis (molting), shedding a rigid external cuticle
during development
●​ Includes arthropods (insects, crustaceans) and nematodes
●​ Lack a ciliated larval stage, instead , movement is based on muscles
 ●​ Lophotrochozoans are small animals that live on or within sediments or swim in the
sea
●​ It branches off into many groups, but we’re focusing on the annelid worms and
mollusks
Annelida
●​ Includes earthworms, leeches, polychaete worms, and vestimentiferan worms, which
both live in oceans
●​ A digestive system extends through the body from the head to an anus, with a
sequence of specialized organs for crushing, digesting, and excretion
●​ Aquatic annelids have external gill-like organs for gas exchange, whereas terrestrial
earthworms exchange gases through their skin
●​ They have waste-filtering organs called Nephridia, gonads, and a fluid-filled
coelom/body cavity

Mollusks
●​ The second major phylum of Lophotrochozoa, includes snails, clams, mussels, squids,
and octopi
●​ They’re distinguished by their mantle
●​ Mollusks larva trochophore has a tuft of cilia at its top and additional cilia bands
around its middle
 ●​ Mollusks can be broken down into classes: Gastropods, cephalopods, and bivalves

Gastropods
●​ Mainly snails and slugs, >80k species
●​ The outer body consists of the mantle
●​ The mantle tissue secretes external skeletons of calcium carbonate, forming shells
●​ About half live in the ocean, the other half are freshwater and terrestrial species that
primarily feed on plants
Features of Gastropods include
●​ A head with a well-developed mouth that contains a toothlike structure called a radula
●​ A gut cavity that extends from the mouth to an anus
●​ Featherlike gills that allow gas exchange
●​ A muscular foot for movement
●​ A neural ganglion in the head that coordinates a nervous system that extends through
the body
●​ A well-developed circulatory system
●​ Gonads
●​ Nephridia
Cephlapods
●​ About 700 species of squid, cuttlefish, octopi, and chambered nautilus’
●​ They share features with gastropods, including much of the internal anatomy,
featherlike gills, and the mantle
●​ Unique to cephalopods are the muscular tentacles, found in the head region, that
capture prey and sense the environment
●​ They’re able to dart through the water using a jet propulsion system that forces water
through the mantle tissue fused to form a siphon
●​ They have exceptional eyesight and exhibit the most complex behaviour of any
invertebrate animals
Bivalves
●​ Includes clams, oysters, and mussels
●​ Mostly from oceans and freshwater
●​ Have no head but evolved a skeleton with two hard shells called valves are connected
by flexible hinges
●​ Other bivalves live in marine sediments, burrowing into sand or mud with their
muscular foot
○​ This group has a modified mantle in which flaps of mantle tissue fused to form
a pair of siphons that extend upward
●​ One siphon draws water containing food and oxygen, while the other returns water

☠️
and waste materials
Stopped here because this is legit a copy and paste of the textbook

35.1 Nervous System Function and Evolution

●​ Most multicellular animals possess a nervous system → a network of many
interconnected nerve cells
●​ First evolved in sea jellies and flatworms
○​ The early ones could sense the environment, light, temperature, and chemical
odors.
○​ Useful for triggering movements to obtain food, finding a mate, and choosing
a suitable habitat
●​ More intricate nervous systems evolved, allowing regulation of internal body
functions
Nerve Cells
●​ There are 3 types of nerve cells
●​ Nerve cells, or neurons are the functional units of nervous systems
1.​ Sensory neurons: which receive and transmit information about an animal’s
environment or internal physiological state
a.​ They respond to the physical features of the environment such as temperature,
light, and chemical signals
2.​ Interneurons: process the information received by sensory neurons and transmits them
to different body regions to produce a suitable response
a.​ Often communicates with motor neurons
3.​ Motor neuron: signals a muscle or gland to cause a response in the body
a.​ Stimulates muscles to contract to produce movement
b.​ Allows blood vessels to constrict
●​ Most nerve cells have fiber-like extensions, some of which can receive and transmit
information
●​ The result is a network of interconnected nerve cells that form a circuit
○​ Circuit allows information to be received, processed, and delivered
●​ In most animals, interneurons form circuits that may consist of many nerve cells
having different shapes, sizes, and chemical properties
 ●​ The ability to process information evolved with the formulation of the ganglia: groups
of nerve cell bodies that process sensory information received by a nearby region,
then send signals to motor neurons that control the physiological function of the
animal
○​ Thought as relay stations in nerve circuits
○​ Eg. assisting in processing information from the eyes and controlling the
digestive state of an animal’s gut
●​ Over time, centralized concentration of the neurons evolved the brain
○​ Can process complex sensory stimuli from the anywhere in the body and the
environment
Nervous system from simple to complex
●​ Single-celled organisms have cell-surface receptors that allow them to sense and
respond to their environment
●​ Most multicellular animals have a nervous system
○​ Nervous complexity depends on lifestyle → clams are sessile, and have simple
nervous systems
●​ Sponges lack a nervous system, it has specialized cells to perform functions
mentioned in earlier chapters

●​ Simplest nervous systems are found in cnidarians; has a net-like arrangement instead
of a ganglia and central brain
●​ It’s organized around the internal cavity
●​ Sensory neurons signal the motor neurons whenever the tentacles have captured food
○​ Also allows the anemone to attach if in a noxious environment
●​ Lophotrochozoans have more complex nerve connections, with sensory neurons being
most numerous in the front end of the animal → animal can perceive the environment
in front of them
●​ Can compare inputs from different sensory neurons and send signals to appropriate
muscles

●​ Animals with an organized nervous system have signals transmitted along nerves
○​ Nerves are bundles of long, fiberlike extensions from multiple nerve cells
○​ Nerves connect the ganglia of a flatworm to the muscles used for motion
●​ Brain is present in earthworms and other Lophotrochozoans
○​ Allowed vertebrates to evolve complex behaviours, learning, and memory

35.2 Neuron Structure

●​ Although animal nervous systems differ, the nerve cells are fundamentally alike
●​ Neurons have a cell body that has two fiberlike extensions
1.​ Dendrites: A fiberlike extension from the cell body of a neuron that receives
signals from other nerve cells or from specialized sensory endings; the input
end of a nerve cell.
2.​ Axons: A fiberlike extension from the cell body of a neuron that receives
signals from other nerve cells or from specialized sensory endings; the input
end of a nerve cell.
 ●​ The dendrites receive signals from other nerve cells or specialized sensory endings (if
it’s a sensory nerve)
●​ The signals travel along the dendrites the the neuron’s cell body
●​ Multiple signals are combined at the junction of the cell body and its axon called the
Axon Hillock → initiates action potential: A brief membrane electrical signal
transmitted from the nerve cell body along one or more axons.
●​ The action potential/nerve impulse travels down the axon
●​ Axons generally transmit signals away from the nerve’s cell body
●​ At the end of each axon, a swelling forms, called the axon terminal, which
communicates with its neighboring cell through a junction called the Synapse
○​ Synapse: A brief membrane electrical signal transmitted from the nerve cell
body along one or more axons.
●​ The synapse cleft separates the end of the axon of the presynaptic cell and the
neighboring postsynaptic cell
○​ Around 10-20 nm wide
●​ Molecules called neurotransmitters convey the signal from the presynaptic cell across
the synaptic cleft to the postsynaptic cell
○​ Neurotransmitters: A brief membrane electrical signal transmitted from the
nerve cell body along one or more axons.
○​ Acts as a bridge between the synaptic cells
●​ The arrival of a nerve signal at the axon terminal triggers the release of
neurotransmitters
●​ The vesicles fuse with the axon membrane, releasing the neurotransmitters into the
synaptic cleft
●​ The molecules then diffuse across the synapse and bind to receptors on the cell
membrane of the target cell
●​ The binding of neurotransmitters causes a change in the electrical charge across the
membrane of the receiving postsynaptic cell, which propagates the signal in the
second cell
●​ Some neurons don’t synapse with other neurons, but they produce a physiological
response instead
○​ Muscle cells contract in response
○​ Secretory cells in glands release hormones
Shape and Size of Neurons
●​ Interneurons are very short
●​ Motor neurons are very long, as they can extend from your spinal cord to muscles that
control your toes
●​ The number of extensions also vary, as sensory neurons involved in smell, sight, and
taste might just have two extensions, while other neurons can have more
 ●​ Neurons with more dendrites receives inputs from more sources
●​ Neurons that receive information from nearby regions have a few dendrites that
branch close to the cell body
●​ Axons typically have fewer branches than dendrites
●​ Signals from all dendrites converge on the neuron cell bod
○​ Frequency of the signals determines the strength
●​ The process of bringing information together from different sources is called
Information Integration
Neuron Support
●​ Neurons are supported by other types of cells that do not transmit signals
○​ The glial cells
○​ Humans have more glial cells than neurons
●​ They surround neurons and provide them with nutrition and physical support
●​ Some glial cells, called astrocytes, support endothelial cells that make up blood
vessels in the brain.
●​ The endothelial cells are linked by tight junctions to form a selective barrier, called
the blood-brain barrier
○​ Limits the types of compounds that can diffuse from the blood to the brain
●​ Nerve cells have limited capacity to regenerate
●​ Lipid-soluble compounds such as alcohol can readily diffuse through the blood-brain
barrier, affecting neurons and animal mental state
●​ During development, glial cells help orient neurons so that they develop their
connections
●​ They also provide electrical insulation to vertebrate neurons that allow nerve signals
to be transmitted rapidly.
 35.3 Signal Transmission
Summary of 35.2: Neurons send signals to other neurons by releasing neurotransmitters that
diffuse across the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors
Once the receptor has been bound and activated, neurons send electrical signals from one end
of the cell to another, travelling to around 200 m/s

Membrane Potential
●​ The inside surface of a neuron carries an electrical charge due to having charged ion;
the same is true for the outside surface
○​ The inside and outside charge are different due to unequal number of ions
●​ When no signal is present, there are more negative ions inside the cell, some of which
cannot cross the cell’s membrane → inside is negatively charged relative to the
outside
●​ Because the charge differs from inside and outside, this is said to be Polarized
●​ The difference between the inside and outside charges is called the Membrane
Potential (V): A difference in electrical charge across the cell membrane
●​ Only nerve and muscle cells respond to membrane potential → the cells are
electrically excitable
●​ The movement of positive and negative ions creates a change in electrical charge,
constituting the electrical signal
●​ When the neuron is at rest and there is no signal being received or sent, the membrane
potential (Voltage) is negative
○​ Due to the buildup of negative ions inside
●​ The Resting Membrane Potential: The negative voltage across a cell membrane at
rest, ranging from -40 to -85 mV

●​ At rest, nerve and muscle cells have a greater concentration of Na+ ions outside and a
greater concentration of K+ ions inside
 ○​ This is due to the sodium potassium pump, abbreviated by [Link]
○​ Na Outside, K inside, A = 1 atp consumed
○​ 1 atp for 3 Na outside, 2 K inside
●​ K+ diffuses out of the channels, as it leaves, it leaves behind negatively charged
proteins
●​ The inside becomes more negative, and is what creates the resting membrane
potential
●​ The voltage is not dependent on ion concentration, it’s due to the movement of K+
ions
○​ It is due to the differing permeabilities and concentrations of K+ and Na+
inside vs outside the cell
●​ When a nerve cell is excited, its voltage becomes less negative
○​ The inside becomes more positive than the outside
●​ The increase in voltage is called Depolarization of the membrane
●​ It doesn’t occur over the entire cell at once, it starts at the end of the dendrite, in
response to neurotransmitter binding to membrane receptors, and travels to the cell
body, losing strength along the way
●​ If the depolarization is strong enough at the axon hillock, the cell fires an action
potential that carries the signal from the cell body to the end of the axon
●​ The nerve cell fires an action potential at the axon hillock if the membrane at the
hillock is depolarized to about 15 mV above resting voltage
○​ Action potential: a rapid, short-lasting rise and fall in membrane potential
●​ The critical depolarization voltage of -55 mV is required for an action potential, this is
known as the Threshold potential
●​ When the threshold potential is exceeded, the magnitude of the action potential is
always the same, known as the all-or-nothing principle
 ●​ Voltage-gated channels: Ion membrane channels that open and close in response to
changes in membrane potential.
●​ As the cell membrane crosses the threshold potential, a dramatic change occurs in the
state of the voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels in the axon membrane
○​ Causes a large number of voltage-gated Na+ channels to open rapidly and
allow Na+ to rush inside
●​ Causes a flow of positive charges along the inside of the cell, toward the more
negative regions
●​ This causes more channels to open, increasing Na+ permeability
○​ An example of positive feedback
○​ Depolarization leads to open voltage-gated Na+ channels, which enhances the
signal, causing more channels to open
●​ When action potential (AP) rises, voltage-gated K+ channels also begin to open, but
slower
○​ Slower rise in K+ permeability
○​ Cell voltage continues to rise; become less negative
●​ After the phase of AP rising, it’s followed by rapid repolarization
○​ This is due to the closing of Na+ channels and the continuous opening of K+
channels
○​ The Na+ channels close and are inactivated until the voltage is positive
●​ The charge in the axon briefly falls below the resting potential, known as
hyperpolarization or negative overshoot.
●​ During this , the inactivated Na+ channels return to their closed state, then the Na+ and
K+ channels return to closed state
●​ This period is called the refractory period: The Voltage falls below and then returns to
the resting potential
○​ During this period, a neuron cannot fire another AP
●​ All AP’s are all-or-nothing and uniform, so it contains little information.
○​ Neurons code information by changing the rate, timing, and frequency.
○​ Greater frequency = more intense stimulus
Summary
●​ Action potential starts at the axon hillock
●​ Local depolarization opens nearby voltage-gated Na⁺ channels
●​ Na⁺ influx causes neighboring regions to reach threshold
●​ Depolarization spreads down the axon
●​ Voltage-gated K⁺ channels open afterward to restore resting potential
●​ Action potentials are self-propagating
●​ They travel in one direction (toward axon terminal)
●​ Refractory period prevents backward firing
●​ Na⁺ channel inactivation ensures unidirectional propagation
○​ From cell body, to axon hillock, to the axon terminal
○​ Refractory period blocks any AP’s
 ●​ Glial cells form lipid-rich layers or sheaths called myelin that wrap around axons of
neurons
●​ Insulates the axon, spreading the charge over a much greater distance
○​ Basically allows the AP to go farther

●​ The axon membrane is exposed at sites called the nodes of Ranvier that lie between
adjacent segments wrapped with myelin
●​ The Na+ and K+ channels are concentrated at the nodes
●​ In myelinated axons, the AP’s jump from node to node, this is called saltatory
propagation, which greatly increases the speed of signal transmission
Neuron Communication
●​ Nerve cells communicate at specialized junctions called synapses, which can be
electrical or chemical
●​ Electrical synapses provide direct electrical communications through junctions
between cells
●​ Chemical synapses are more common, in which signals at chemical synapses are
neurotransmitters contained within small vesicles in the axon terminal
●​ When an AP reaches the end of an axon, the depolarization induces voltage-gated
Ca2+ channels to open.
○​ These channels are only found in the axon terminal membrane
2+
●​ Ca diffuses through these channels into the axon terminal (due to greater conc.
outside)
●​ In response to the rise in [Ca2+], the vesicles fuse with the presynaptic membrane and
release neurotransmitter molecules into the synaptic cleft by exocytosis
●​ The neurotransmitters diffuse across the cleft and bind to postsynaptic membrane
receptors of the neighboring cell
○​ The binding closes or open ion channels, changing voltage and allowing signal
to propagate

●​ Postsynaptic membrane receptors are called ligand-gated ion channels because when a
neurotransmitter binds as a ligand, it causes the ion channel to open
●​ They underlie the signal transmission at synapses’, regulating the activity of nerve
and muscle cells
●​ The neurotransmitter’s effect on the postsynaptic membrane ends after binding
 ●​ NT’s unbind from the receptor, causing the ligand-gated ion channels to close, and the
NT’s in the synaptic cleft are broken down by enzymes, actively taken up by the
presynaptic cell, then reassembled in newly formed vesicles
Types of Signals
●​ NT’s bound to postsynaptic membrane receptors can either stimulate or inhibit AP
firing in the postsynaptic neuron
○​ You’re wondering how it does that, that’s the type of signals
1. Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential
●​ The binding of neurotransmitters depolarizes the postsynaptic membrane by opening
the ligand-gated Na+ channels, allowing Na ions to diffuse into the cell, making the
membrane potential more positive
●​ This is called Excitatory postsynaptic potential
●​ Membrane depolarization makes a neuron more likely to respond and transmit an AP
2. Inhibitory Postsynaptic potential
●​ The binding of neurotransmitters can make the postsynaptic membrane potential more
negative/hyperpolarized through the opening of ligand-gated Cl- or K+ channels
●​ This allows Cl- ions to diffuse into the cell or K+ ions to diffuse out of the cell
●​ The negative charge in the membrane potential is called an inhibitory postsynaptic
potential
●​ Membrane hyperpolarization inhibits the neuron from sending an AP
●​ The postsynaptic nerve combines the two inputs through its dendrites and cell body
●​ The neuron fires an AP only if the sum of synaptic stimulation results in the
membrane potential to exceed the threshold at the axon hillock
 ●​ Temporal summation: The summation of postsynaptic potentials over time, which
determines whether the postsynaptic cell fires an action potential.
●​ Spatial summation: The converging of multiple receptors onto a neighboring neuron,
increasing its firing rate proportionally to the number of signals received.

●​ There are many different types of NT’s, some include: Amino acid glutamate
(excitatory), glycine (inhibitory), and GABA (inhibitory)
●​ Excitatory synapses tend to transmit relevant information between nerve cells, and
inhibitory synapses filter out unimportant information
○​ Also important for controlling the timing of muscle activity required for
coordinated movement
Summary: An action potential travels down a myelinated axon by saltatory conduction,
where voltage-gated Na⁺ channels at the nodes of Ranvier open and allow Na⁺ to enter,
causing depolarization (the inside becomes more positive). The signal moves forward
because previously activated regions enter a refractory period. When the action potential
reaches the axon terminal, voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels open and Ca²⁺ enters the presynaptic
neuron. This calcium influx triggers vesicles to release neurotransmitters into the synaptic
cleft. Neurotransmitters bind to receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, producing graded
potentials (EPSPs or IPSPs). If the summed graded potentials at the axon hillock reach
threshold, a new action potential is generated in the postsynaptic neuron.

●​ Action potential moves by saltatory conduction (node to node)

●​ Na⁺ enters at nodes → depolarization (inside becomes positive)
●​ Refractory period ensures one-directional movement
●​ At axon terminal, Ca²⁺ enters (does NOT leave)
●​ Ca²⁺ triggers neurotransmitter release
●​ Neurotransmitters cross synaptic cleft
●​ Bind postsynaptic receptors
●​ Create graded potentials:
●​ EPSP → depolarization
●​ IPSP → hyperpolarization
●​ Summation occurs at axon hillock
●​ If threshold reached → new action potential generated

35.4 Nervous System Organization

●​ Animal nervous systems are organized into peripheral and central components
●​ The eyes, touch receptors, and other sensory organs are located on the surface of the
body, where they can receive signals from the environment
●​ The brain and main nerve cord are located in the interior
○​ Reminder, only Cnidarians lack a central and peripheral nervous system, they
have a nerve net
 ●​ Nerves are the lines of communication between the nervous system structures
●​ Composed of axons and dendrites from many different nerve cells
Central Nervous and Peripheral Nervous System
●​ Nerves connecting to the muscles and sensory organs make up the peripheral nervous
system
●​ These communicate with the central nervous system, made up of the brain, main
nerve cord, and centralized ganglia (flatworms that lack a brain)
●​ Sensory organs near at the body surface transmit information toward CNS
●​ The CNS then processes the info and sends the signals through efferent neurons,
which send information away from the CNS
○​ Coordinates muscle and gland activity
●​ CNS of vertebrates includes the brain and spinal cord
○​ Spinal cord is a central tract of neurons that passes through the vertebrae to
transmit information between the brain and the periphery of the body
●​ The spinal cord is segmented, which controls body movement in a particular region
along the animal
●​ Each spinal segment contains axons from peripheral sensory neurons, a set of
interneurons, and a set of motor neuron cells
 ●​ In humans and other vertebrates, the peripheral NS (PNS) is organized into left and
right sets of cranial nerves located within the head and spinal nerves running from the
spinal cord to the periphery
●​ Cranial Nerves: In vertebrates, one of twelve paired nerves that emerge from the
brain; they are involved in many sensory functions, including smell, vision, hearing,
and taste, and motor functions of the face, neck, and upper body.
●​ Spinal nerves: In vertebrates, a nerve running from the spinal cord to the periphery
containing axons of both sensory and motor neurons.
●​ Most of the cranial nerves and all spinal nerves contain axons of both sensory and
motor neurons
●​ Cranial nerves link specialized sensory organs to the brain
○​ Also controls eye movement, facial expression, speech, and feeding
●​ Spinal nerves exit from the spinal cord through the openings between adjacent
vertebrae and tread through the limbs of an animal
○​ They receive sensory information from receptors in nearby body regions and
send motor signals from the spinal cord back to those regions
Voluntary and Involuntary Components
●​ Two components of the PNS evolve
○​ A conscious and unconscious control
○​ A gazelle sees a predator, nerves signal it to run → conscious control
○​ Other nerve circuits signal the heart to beat faster, blood vessels to dilate →
unconscious control
●​ Conscious reactions are under control of the voluntary component of the PNS
●​ Unconscious ones are under the involuntary component of the PNS
●​ Voluntary components mainly handle sensing and responding to external stimuli
●​ Involuntary components regulate internal bodily functions
○​ Both are found in invertebrates and vertebrates
●​ The term for these two PNS components is the Somatic and Autonomic components
○​ Somatic is made up of sensory neurons that respond to external stimuli and
motor neurons that synapse with voluntary muscles
○​ It is under conscious control
○​ Autonomic NS controls internal functions of the body, such as heart rate,
blood flow, digestion, excretion, and temperature
○​ Critical for homeostasis
●​ Autonomic nervous system is organized into sympathetic and parasympathetic
divisions
○​ Both continuously monitor and regulate internal functions of the body
○​ Their nerves have opposite effects, sympathetic neurons stimulate the heart to
beat more rapidly
○​ Parasympathetic neurons cause the heart to beat more slowly
●​ Sympathetic NS causes an increase an alertness and activity, resulting in the
flight-or-fight response
○​ It increases heart and breathing rate, stimulates the liver to release glucose,
inhibits digestion
●​ Parasympathetic slows down the heart and stimulates digestion as well as metabolic
processes that store energy
 ●​ In addition to having different functions, the two nerves are distributed in different
regions of the CNS
●​ Sympathetic nerves leave the CNS from the middle region of the spinal cord, forming
ganglia along the spinal cord that processes information and coordinates activity
within a local region of the body
●​ Parasympathetic nerves leave the CNS from the brain by cranial nerves and from the
lower levels of the spinal cord
Stimuli Response
●​ Simple spinal reflex circuits connect sensory and motor neurons directly in the spinal
cord of vertebrates
●​ The knee-extension reflex is an example of a simple nerve circuit that includes only a
single synapse between two neurons
○​ A sensory and motor neuron
○​ Used to evaluate performance of PNS and muscular systems

●​ The pathway starts with specialized “stretch” receptors located on the dendrites of a
sensory neuron in the extensor muscles of the leg
●​ The dendrites extend to cell bodies in the ganglia alongside the spinal cord
●​ Axons extend from the cell bodies into the spinal cord
●​ The stretch receptors sense the stretch that occurs in the movement
●​ In response to it, a signal is sent from the stretch receptor through the dendrite and
cell body, to the axon.
●​ In the spinal cord, the axon of the sensory neuron forms synapses with motor neurons
that travel from the spinal cord back to the muscle where the stretch originated
○​ The signal stimulates the motor neurons → muscle contracts and leg extends
●​ This is composed of two neurons and one synapse
●​ Since muscles only contract, opposing movements such as flexion and extension
require flexor and extensor muscles on either side of the joint
●​ Are often activated out of phase, so that when one is working, the other is relaxed
●​ This is called reciprocal inhibition: when stretch receptors of the extensor muscles are
activated, it inhibits the opening of flexor muscles
 ●​ It’s possible because he axons from the stretch receptor neurons synapse with the
motor neurons of the extensor muscles, and the interneurons that inhibit motor neuron
stimulation of the flexor muscles
●​ This pathway contains two synapses: one between the sensory and interneuron and a
second between the interneuron and the motor neuron to the flexor muscle

35.5 Sensory Systems

●​ Specialized sensory cells respond to signals and code them as information that can be
transmitted and processed by the NS
●​ Animals can detect stimuli in their environment, allows navigation and senses
○​ This is done using specialized receptors, such as the chemical-sensing
membrane receptors in cnidarians
●​ The senses of smell, taste, and sight in animals rely on membrane receptors
○​ These receptors are embedded in specialized sensory receptor cells, which can
communicate with neurons
●​ In most animals, sensory receptors are organized into specialized sensory organs that
convert stimuli into signals for the brain
●​ Sensory organs: A group of sensory receptors that converts particular physical and
chemical stimuli into nerve impulses that are processed by a nervous system and sent
to a brain.
●​ Evolution of these sensory organs allow different stimuli to be detected
○​ Insects are sensitive to UV light, we aren’t
Sensory Transduction
●​ The conversion of physical or chemical stimuli into nerve impulses is called Sensory
Transduction
○​ Receptors located in the ear convert the energy of sound waves into nerve
impulses that allow an animal to hear
●​ The processes starts with the sensory receptor, in which the stimulus causes ion
channels in the cell membrane to open
●​ The influx of ions depolarizes the membrane potential by altering the distribution of
charged ions on either side of the membrane
●​ The depolarization allows the firing of an AP
●​ Sensory receptors can fire AP’s themselves or synapse with neurons that fire AP’s
Chemoreceptors
●​ Underlies the senses of smell and taste
●​ In animals, Chemoreceptors are sensory receptor cells that respond to molecules that
bind to protein receptors on the cell membrane
●​ Many animals detect food by sensing key molecules such as O2, CO2, glucose, and
amino acids.
●​ The sense of smell in mammals depends on the specialized sensory neurons that line
the nasal cavity
●​ The neurons have long, hairlike extensions containing membrane receptors that
project into the nasal mucus
○​ Odor molecules are captured by the mucus and bind to the membrane
receptors
●​ Each sensory neuron has one type of membrane receptor, which can detect a specific
group of chemically similar odor molecules
●​ Animals typically have many distinct receptors, each specific to a different group of
odor molecules

●​ When bound to odor molecules, the sensory receptors activate intracellular G

protein-coupled receptors that lead to the opening of Na+ and Ca2+ ion channels,
which depolarize the receptor cell membrane and produce excitatory postsynaptic
potentials
●​ If enough odor molecules bind to the receptor cell, the EPSP’s are summed and it
triggers an AP
●​ The AP travels down the axon to an interneuron in an olfactory bulb that receives
information from the sensory receptors
●​ Sensory neurons that bind the same odor all meet at the same interneuron, which then
amplifies the signal
 ●​ Clusters of chemo receptors are also located in specialized taste buds
●​ Human tongue has approximately 10k taste buds, which are contained within raised
structures called papillae, giving the tough its rough surface
●​ Fingerlike projections called microvilli extend through a pore in each taste bud
●​ The microvilli contact the food items and provide a large surface area rich in
membrane receptors
●​ The binding of a molecule to a taste receptor causes the receptor to change
conformation, which triggers the opening of Na+ channels through G protein signal
transduction pathways
●​ The influx of Na ions depolarizes the receptor cell which travels down the axon to
trigger the release of Neurotransmitters.
●​ The taste bud sensory cells synapse with neurons that send axons to the brain
Mechanoreceptors
●​ Mechanoreceptors respond to physical deformations of their membrane produced by
touch, stretch ,pressure, motion, and sound
●​ Found in all multicellular animals
●​ In both bacteria and multicellular organisms, the protein receptor is a sodium ion
channel
○​ The deformation of receptor membrane opens sodium channels directly,
causing the endings of the cell’s dendrites to depolarize
●​ Pressure-sensitive protein receptors detect internal cell pressure; when cell pressure is
too high, the stretching causes the membrane channels to open and water to leave
●​ One mechanoreceptor in humans is the sensory receptor in the skin that senses touch
and pressure
●​ The cell bodies of these neurons are located in ganglia near the spinal cord, which
extensions going to the skin and spinal cord
○​ In the skin, the neurons have branched tips containing ion channels sensitive
to membrane deformation
○​ They act as initial sensors of touch and pressure
●​ Hair cells:A specialized mechanoreceptor that senses movement and vibration.
Provide the ability to orient the animal’s body w.r.t gravity, detect motion, and hear
●​ They sense mechanical vibration, which move projections from the surface of the hair
cell called stereocilia, causing a depolarization of the cell’s membrane via ion
channels
○​ Hair cells don't fire action potentials, they become depolarized, releasing
neurotransmitters
●​ Hair cells are generally similar in structure, there is no specific hair cell for a
particular body orientation or pitch of sound
 ●​ Statocysts are gravity-sensing organs found in most invertebrates
●​ The statocyst is a chamber lined by hair cells with stereocilia that project into the
chamber
●​ Small granules of sand or other material form a dense particle called a statolith that is
free to move within the statocyst organ
●​ Statolith: In plants, a large starch-filled organelle in the root cap that senses gravity; in
animals, a dense particle that moves freely within a statocyst, enabling it to sense
gravity.
●​ By pressing down on hair cells at the”bottom” of the chamber, the statolith activates
those cells
The Mammalian Inner Ear
●​ Has organs that sense the motions of the head and its orientation
●​ The organs make up the vestibular system, consisting of two otolith organs and three
semicircular canals
○​ Vestibular system: A system in the vertebrate inner ear made up of two
statocyst chambers and three semicircular canals.
○​ Semicircular canal: One of three connected fluid-filled tubes in the
mammalian inner ear that contains hair cells that sense angular motions of the
head in three perpendicular planes.
●​ Hair cells in the semicircular canals sense rotation in the head
●​ When the head rotates, fluid in the semicircular canals is accelerated, deflecting the
stereocilia of the hair cells to activate sensory neurons
 ●​ It allows us to sense angular motions of the head in 3 planes: Vertical. Horizontal, and
side-to-side
●​ Hair cells in the ear also allow mammals to detect sound
●​ The pinna, auditory canal, and tympanic membrane make up the outer ear.
●​ Sound ways enter the outer ear and lead to vibrations of the tympanic membrane
●​ The middle earl consists of 3 small bones: the malleus, incus, and stapes
●​ They amplify the vibrations of the tympanic membrane and transmit them to a thin
membrane of the cochlea in the inner ear

●​ The cochlea is a coiled chamber in the skull

●​ It contains two fluid-filled canals separated by a basilar membrane that supports hair
cells
●​ The stereocilia of the hair cells project into a rigid tectorial membrane
●​ Vibrations in the oval window create fluid waves in the cochlea, which induce
motions in the basilar membrane, bending the stereocilia and stimulating the hair cell
to release excitatory neurotransmitters
●​ The ability to discriminate different sound frequencies results in differences in
mechanical properties of the basilar membrane along its length
○​ The basilar membrane is wide, thin, and flexible at one end and narrow, thick,
and stiff at the other end
Cochlear Implants
●​ Restore partial hearing to people with hearing loss
●​ They’re small neuro-prosthetic devices that bypass the damaged hair cells in the
cochlea
●​ Sounds are received by an external microphone worn behind the ear, decoded by a
speech processor (analyzes the sounds)
●​ The processor transmits the decoded signals to a receiver that that is implanted under
the skin
●​ The receiver sends the signals to electrodes that stimulate the auditory nerve, which
transmits signals to the brain
●​ The microphone, speech processor, and electrodes mimic the function of the outer,
middle, and inner ear that converts sound waves into electrical signals
Electromagnetic Receptors
●​ Electromagnetic receptors (EMR’s) are sensory cells that respond to electrical,
magnetic, and light stimuli
●​ Light-detecting photoreceptors are the most common and diverse types
●​ Photoreceptors: A molecule whose chemical properties are altered when it absorbs
light; also, photoreceptors are the sensory receptors in the eye.
●​ They rely on the same light-sensitive protein, called opsin, which converts light
energy into electrical signals in the receptor cell
●​ Opsins are receptor proteins that are sensitive to many different stimuli, including
light
●​ They are G protein-coupled receptors that activate G proteins, leading to a cellular
response
●​ The cellular response is a change in membrane potential
●​ Photoreceptors respond to individual photons of light energy
●​ In vertebrates, opsin molecules are arranged in cylindrical groups in the cell
membrane of photoreceptor cells
●​ Each opsin protein contains a light-absorbing pigment molecule called retinal
○​ It is derivative of vitamin A that changes confirmation when it absorbs a
photon

●​ In most invertebrates, light causes Na+ channels to open, depolarizing the cell
●​ Vertebrate photoreceptor cells have leaky Na+ channels that let some Na ions into the
cell even at rest, resulting in the resting membrane potential to be less negative than of
nerve cells
●​ When a photoreceptor is in the dark, the resting potential is about -35 mV, and
continuously releases the neurotransmitter glutamate
●​ When retinal absorbs a photon, it undergoes a conformational change from a cis to
trans configuration, causing Na+ channels to close → due to it being straighter
●​ Without Na ions entering the cell, the membrane becomes hyperpolarized and the
cell’s release of glutamate is reduced
●​ The reduction in neurotransmitters triggers EPSPs and IPSPs in some connecting
neurons
Types of eyes

●​ In flatworms, it has two eyecups on the back surface of the head that detect the
direction and intensity of light sources
●​ Each eyecup contains photoreceptors that point up and to the left or right
●​ In response to light, flatworms turn to move away from the light source, seeking a
dark region that hides them
●​ To find the dark region, the flatworm’s NS compares the light intensity received by
the photoreceptors of the two eyecups, then allows the organism to move in the darker
area
●​ Key innovation for detecting images was the evolution of lens
●​ There are two major types of lens: Compound eyes and single-lens eyes
●​ Insects and crustaceans have compound eyes that consist of individual light focusing
elements, each having a lens called ommatidia
●​ The number of ommatidia in the eye determines the resolution , or sharpness of the
image
●​ Single-lens eyes of vertebrates and cephalopod mollusks like squid and octopi
produce sharply defined images
●​ Single-lens eyes evolved independently in vertebrates and cephalopod mollusks
●​ They can focus light rays on a particular region of photoreceptors, improving image
quality and light sensitivity
●​ To form an image, light is focused on a thin, light-sensitive tissue called the retina,
located in the back of the eye
●​ The retina contains the photoreceptor cells that sense light stimuli and other neve cells
that process them
●​ There are two types of photoreceptor cells: rod cells and cone cells
●​ Rod cells are sensitive to blue-green light
○​ Since they all have the same opsin (rhodopsin), the brain interprets the light
detected as shades of gray, not blue-green
○​ They’re more numerous and sensitive than cone cells, so they allow animals to
see in low light
●​ Cone cells contain opsins sensitive to different wavelengths of light, they’re
responsible for color vision and provide greater spatial acuity than rod cells
 35.6 Brain Organization and Function
●​ The vertebrate brain is organized into a hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain, with a
cerebral cortex formed from a portion of the forebrain
●​ The hindbrain and midgrain control body functions and behaviours
●​ The forebrain, mainly the cerebral cortex, governs more advanced cognitive functions

●​ The hindbrain develops into the cerebellum and a portion of the brainstem
●​ The remainder of the brainstem develops into the midbrain
 ●​ The cerebellum coordinates the body’s actions for complex motor tasks, such as
catching a ball or writing
○​ It uses both motor and sensory information
●​ The brainstem consists of the medulla, pons, and midbrain, initiates and regulates
motor functions such as walking , controlling posture, and coordinates breathing and
swallowing
○​ The brainstem activates the forebrain by relaying information from lower
spinal levels
●​ The forebrain consists of an inner brain that forms the thalamus and the hypothalamus
and the more anterior region called the cerebrum
●​ The thalamus is a central relay station for sensory information sent to higher brain
centres of the cerebrum
●​ The hypothalamus interacts closely with the autonomic and endocrine systems to
regulate the body
●​ In humans, the cerebral cortex is the largest part of the brain, overseeing sensory
perception, memory and learning
●​ Other inner components of the forebrain constitute the limbic system, which controls
physiological drives, instincts, emotion, motivation, and sense of reward.
●​ Stimulation of the limbic system can induce strong sensations of pleasure, pain, or
rage
●​ The posterior region of the limbic system, the hippocampus, is involved with
long-term memory formation
●​ Sensory information reaches the cerebral cortex from the cranial nerves and nerves
passing through the spinal cord
○​ It first passes through the brainstem then the thalamus → the central relay
station for sensory information
●​ From the thalamus, info goes to different regions of the brain specialized for that type
of sense
Brain Divisions and Lobes
●​ The central hemispheres contain the outer gray matter that forms the cerebral cortex,
which is made up of densely packed neuron cell bodies and their dendrites
●​ The folds increase surface area of the cortex
●​ Deep inside the cerebral cortex is the white matter, which contains axons of the
cortical neurons
○​ White because of the myelin
●​ The lobes are separated by deep crevices called sulci
●​ The frontal lobe is located at the front region of the cerebral cortex, and is important
for decision making and planning
●​ The parietal lobe is behind the frontal lobe, and controls body awareness and the
ability to perform complex tasks
●​ The temporal lobe is below the parietal lobe, and is used in processing sound and
other functions
●​ At the back of the brain is the occipital lobe, which processes visual information
●​ The central sulcus separates the primary motor cortex of the frontal lobe from the
primary somatosensory cortex of the parity al lobe
●​ “Command” neurons in the primary motor cortex produces complex coordinate
behaviours by controlling skeletal muscle movements
●​ The primary somatosensory cortex integrates information about pressure and touch
from body regions and relays the information to the motor cortex
●​ Both cortices make connections to the opposite side of the body by sending axons that
cross over in the brainstem and spinal cord
○​ The right cortex controls the left side of the body and the left controls the right
 ●​ The primary somatosensory cortex and motor cortex are organized as topographic
maps that represent different body regions
●​ The auditory cortex in the temporal lobe is organized this way
●​ This is the region that processes sound transmitted from the cochlea of the ear
●​ Neurons in the auditory cortex are organized by pitch: neurons sensitive to low
frequencies are at one end, while neurons sensitive to high frequencies are found at
the other
●​ The occipital lobe maps visual information received from the optic nerves
●​ The topographic mapping of information enables the brain to relate patterns and
motion to precise regions of the visual field
Learning and Recognition
●​ The hippocampus transforms reinforced short-term memories into long-term
memories
●​ The hippocampus forms long-term memories by repetitively relaying information to
regions of the cerebral cortex
●​ Memory and learning depend on establishing particular neural circuits in the
hippocampus and cerebral cortex
○​ The circuits can be activated to recall a memory by a particular sound, sight,
or other stimulus
●​ Establishing a memory circuit requires changes in synapses → establishing a set of
connections between neurons
●​ Cognition: The ability of the brain to process and integrate complex sources of
information, interpret and remember past events, solve problems, reason, and form
ideas.
 Chapter 37 Core Concepts Summary
Chapter 37.1 Endocrine Function
●​ Animal endocrine systems release hormones into the circulatory system that responds
to environmental cues, regulate growth and development, and maintain homeostasis
●​ The nervous system responds to the sensory information, providing immediate
physiological responses
●​ The endocrine system is slower and acts over prolonged periods to make broad
changes in the physiological and behavioural state of an animal
●​ Endocrine system helps an animal respond to its environment
○​ Involved in growth and development
●​ Both nervous and endocrine regulate physiological functions to maintain homeostasis
○​ Achieved by negative feedback, which opposes the stimulus
●​ A stimulus can be amplified by a positive feedback, in which the response amplifies
the initial stimulus

37.2 Hormones
●​ Hormones bind to receptors on or inside target cels
●​ Their signals are amplified to exert strong effects on target cells
●​ Hormones are chemical compounds that are secreted and transported by the
circulatory system all over the body
●​ Peptide and amine hormones are hydrophilic and bind to cell-membrane receptors
○​ Stimulates second messenger pathways to alter the biochemical function of
target cells
●​ Steroids are hydrophobic and bind to intracellular or nuclear receptors
○​ Acts as transcription factors to regulate gene expression and protein synthesis
●​ Hormones communicate by signalling cascades to amplify the strength of their
downstream effects on target cells
●​ The hypothalamic-pituitary axis forms the central endocrine pathway by which
vertebrates regulate and integrate diverse bodily functions
●​ Hormones are evolutionarily conserved molecules that are common to diverse groups
of animals, but have evolved functions
37.3 The Vertebrate Endocrine system
●​ The hypothalamus and pituitary gland control and integrate diverse physiological
functions and behaviours
●​ The anterior pituitary secretes hormones in response to hormones secreted by the
hypothalamus
●​ Hormones released by the anterior pituitary include: Thyroid-stimulating hormone
(TSH), the gonadotropic hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing
hormone (LH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), growth hormone, and prolactin
 ●​ Posterior pituitary gland contains the axons of neurosecretory cells that release
peptide hormones oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone.
●​ Tropic hormones act on endocrine glands to produce additional hormones
○​ They are the hormones that travel to the Ant. Pit. to stimulate the release of
more hormones
●​ TSH acts on the thyroid gland to release thyroid hormones, FSH and LH.
○​ They both act on the female ovaries to produce estrogen and progesterone
○​ In males they act on the testes to produce testosterone
●​ ACTH acts on the adrenal gland to release cortisol
●​ Some glands do not respond to the pituitary gland, which include:
○​ Parathyroid gland: releases parathyroid hormone that helps control calcium
levels
○​ The pancreas, secretes insulin and glucagon to regulate blood glucose
○​ Pineal gland, secretes melatonin in response to light and dark cycles
37.4 Other Forms of Chemical Communication
●​ Chemical communication can occur locally between neighboring cells or between
individuals, coordinating social interactions
●​ Paracrine signals act locally to affect neighboring cells
●​ Autocrine signals stimulate or inhibit its own secretion
●​ Blood-borne hormones send more distant signals
●​ Pheromones are chemical signals released into the air or water, signalling behavioural
cues between individuals of a species
●​ Sex pheromones attract males and coordinate ritualized mating behaviour
●​ Alarm pheromones signal predatory threats
●​ Trail pheromones signal the location of food sources
○​ Ants use it; basically a trail of smell that lead ants from the nest to food
sources
●​ Territorial pheromones signal a male’s dominance and breeding area.
 Chapter 36 Core Concepts Summary
36.1 How Muscles Work
Muscles are biological motors, made up of actin and myosin that generate force to produce
movement, support, locomotion, and control of physiological functions
●​ Two main types of muscle:
1.​ Striated (skeletal and cardiac)
2.​ Smooth
●​ Skeletal and cardiac muscles appear striated when viewed under a microscope due to
the regular spacing of sarcomeres along their length
○​ Striated means marked with thin, parallel streaks, grooves, ridges, or bands of
color

●​ Smooth muscle regulates flow for breathing, blood through arteries, and passage of
food through the gut, lacks sarcomeres and appears smooth when under a microscope
●​ Skeletal muscle fibers are long, thin cells made up of parallel sets of myofibrils built
of of actin and myosin
●​ A sarcomere is a basic contractile unit of skeletal muscle
○​ Arranged in series along the length of a myofibril
●​ Muscles change length and produce force by forming actin-myosin cross bridges,
which causes myosin and actin filaments to slide relative to each other
●​ Muscles are stimulated by motor neurons at the fiber’s motor endplate, leading to the
depolarization of the muscle cell that triggers the release of Ca2+ ions from the
sarcoplasmic reticulum
 ●​ Ca2+ binds to troponin, which moves tropomyosin off the myosin-binding sites on
actin, allowing myosin head to form cross-bridges with actin
●​ Excitation-contraction coupling is the process by which depolarization of the muscle
cell leads to its shortening
36.2 Muscle Contractile Properties
●​ The force generated by a muscle depends on muscle size, degree of actin-myosin
overlap, shortening velocity, and stimulation rate
●​ Muscles can transmit force ONLY by pulling on the skeleton, they are arranged as
antagonist pairs to produce reciprocal motions of a joint or limb
●​ Muscles exert their greatest force when actin-myosin filaments have max overlap,
allowing the largest number of cross-bridges to form
●​ Muscles exert more force when contracted at slower velocities compared to higher
●​ In vertebrates, a motor unit consists of a single motor neuron and muscle fibres it
innervates
●​ Muscle force is increased by increasing the motor neuron firing rate and increasing
the number of motor units activated (in vertebrates)
●​ Vertebrate muscles contain two types of fibers: red slow-twitch that contract slowly
over longer periods of time
○​ Fast-twitch fibers that contract rapidly but fatigue quickly
36.3 Animal skeletons
●​ Hydrostatic skeletons, exoskeletons, and endoskeletons provide animals with
mechanical support and protection
○​ The rigidity of the hydrostatic skeleton is an incompressible fluid within a
body cavity, used to support the body and change shape
○​ Invertebrate exoskeletons form an external rigid support system, which
protects the animal and limits water loss, but also limits growth and repair
○​ Vertebrate skeletons have a bony endoskeleton and provide rigid support and
protection of body organs that can grow and be repaired
●​ The vertebrate endoskeleton is organized into axial (central) and appendicular (limb)
components
●​ Vertebrate skeletons consist of bone; a composite tissue of calcium phosphate, type 1
collagen, and cartilage → a fluid-based gel that provides cushioning at joint surfaces
36.4 Vertebrate Skeletons
●​ Allow for growth and repair and transmit muscle forces across joints
●​ Vertebrate bones develop by one of two processes: either directly or by the way of a
cartilage model
●​ Cartilage forms much of the embryonic skeleton and remains as growth plates within
the bone to provide rapid growth after birth, as well as forming the bones’s joint
surfaces
●​ Bone has two basic structures: compact bone which forms the solid walls of the bone
shaft, and spongy bone which forms a mesh that supports the cartilage at bone’s ends
●​ Bone formation by osteoblasts and removal by osteoclasts is a continuing process of
growth, shape change, and repair
 ●​ The shape of a bone’s joint surface determines the range of motion and stability of a
joint

Chapter 38 Core Concepts Summary

38.1 Delivery of Oxygen and Elimination of CO2
●​ Respiration and circulation depend on diffusion over short distances and bulk flow
over long distances
●​ Diffusion is effective only over short distances and requires large exchange surface
areas with thin barriers
●​ Ventilation and circulation provide bulk flow over long distances
●​ Oxygen is delivered to tissues in 4 steps
1.​ Bulk flow of water or air past the respiratory surface (gills and lungs)
2.​ Diffusion of Oxygen across the respiratory surface into the circulatory systems
3.​ Bulk flow through the circulatory system
4.​ Diffusion of oxygen into tissues and cells
38.2 Respiratory Gas Exchange
●​ Respiration provides oxygen and eliminates carbon dioxide in support of cellular
metabolism
●​ Many aquatic animals exchange gases with water through gills
●​ Countercurrent flow of water relative to blood in the gills enhances Oxygen from the
water
●​ Terrestrial animals breathe air by internal trachea or lungs
●​ Terrestrial vertebrates inflate and deflate their lungs during bidirectional tidal
ventilation driven by changes in pressure
●​ Unidirectional flow of air maximizes oxygen uptake by bird lungs
●​ Both the voluntary and involuntary nervous systems control breathing
38.3 Oxygen Transport by Hemoglobin
●​ In vertebrates, red blood cells produce hemoglobin, greatly increases the amount of
oxygen transported by the blood
●​ Hemoglobin increases the capacity of blood to transport oxygen
●​ RBC’s contain hemoglobin with iron-containing heme groups that reversibly bind and
release O2
●​ Sigmoidal oxygen dissociation curve describes the change in the binding affinity of
hemoglobin for O2 with changes in partial pressure
○​ The shape of the curve results in the cooperative binding of oxygen by
hemoglobin
●​ Fetal hemoglobin has a higher binding affinity for oxygen to allow oxygen uptake
from the mother’s blood
●​ Myoglobin binds and storess oxygen in muscle cells, increasing the delivery of
oxygen to muscle mitochondria
●​ The affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen is reduced by a decreased in pH and an
increase in CO2 levels
38.4 Circulatory systems
●​ Circulatory systems have vessels of different sizes that facilitate bulk flow and
diffusion
●​ The fluid in an open circulatory system moves through only a few vessels and is
mostly obtained within the animal’s body cavity
●​ The fluid in a closed circulatory system travels through a set of internal vessels,
moved by the heart (the pump)
●​ Resistance to blood flow depends most strongly on vessel radius
○​ Larger radius = less resistance
●​ Arteries are thick walled vessels that contain collagen and clastin fibers, which
provide support against pressure and elastic rebound
●​ Arterioles control blood flow within the body by changing their resistance through
contraction and relaxation of the smooth muscle in their walls
●​ Capillaries are small-diameter, thin-walled vessels that facilitate diffusion of oxygen
and CO2
●​ Veins are thin-walled vessels that return blood to the heart under low pressure
●​ Liquids, gases, and other compounds move across the capillary walls by diffusion,
filtration, and osmosis
○​ INvertebrates, some fluid is returned to the bloodstream by the lymphatic
system
38.5 Structure and Function of the Vertebrate Heart
●​ Fishes have two chambered hearts and a single circulatory path
●​ Amphibians and reptiles have three-chambered hearts and a partially divided
circulatory path
●​ Birds and mammals have four-chambered hearts and a double circulatory path,
consisting of a pulmonary circulation, from heart to the lungs, and a systemic
circulation, from the heart to the rest of the body.
●​ One-way valves control blood flow through the heart
●​ The cardiac cycle has discrete ventricular filling (diastole) and ventricular emptying
(systole) phases
●​ Cardiac muscle cells are electrically connected, allowing them to contract in
synchrony as a unified heartbeat
●​ Contraction of the heart is controlled by signals from the pacemaker cells of the
sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes
○​ These signals are transmitted by electrical conducting fibers to the ventricles
●​ Vertebrate autonomic system regulates the heart’s cardiac output through changes in
heart rate and stroke volume