Digestive tracts are specialised to suit the food/feed selection and dietary strategies of the animal and the animals’ ability to obtain nutrients from this diet.
a. Why is the giant panda referred to as a ‘vegetarian carnivore’? (10 marks)
b. Describe one other specialist feeder species (can be from anywhere in the world, both terrestrial and aquatic) and briefly describe the key physiology and metabolism that allows the animal to obtain nutrients from this diet. (10 marks)
c. You are a ’mad scientist’ that has found a way to breed an entirely new species of animal from scratch. Describe the basics of a digestive system (including teeth, tract type such as key stomach structure, other accessory organs where relevant, and any metabolic adjustments) for a new species that you have designed that feeds upon one of the following foods (select one only): (25 marks)
i. Meat from seals or other aquatic mammals
ii. Grape plants (including fruit, leaves and stems)
iii. Sugarcane
iv. Insects
v. Another food/feed of your choice (be creative / strange!)
*note – there is no ‘correct’ answer to part c, be creative but use your knowledge (and some more research) on digestive physiology to make these decisions. Use dot points to justify the choices you have made.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Phasellus hendrerit. Pellentesque aliquet nibh nec urna. In nisi neque, aliquet vel, dapibus id, mattis vel, nisi. Sed pretium, ligula sollicitudin laoreet viverra, tortor libero sodales leo, eget blandit nunc tortor eu nibh. Nullam mollis. Ut justo. Suspendisse potenti.
Sed egestas, ante et vulputate volutpat, eros pede semper est, vitae luctus metus libero eu augue. Morbi purus libero, faucibus adipiscing, commodo quis, gravida id, est. Sed lectus. Praesent elementum hendrerit tortor. Sed semper lorem at felis. Vestibulum volutpat, lacus a ultrices sagittis, mi neque euismod dui, eu pulvinar nunc sapien ornare nisl. Phasellus pede arcu, dapibus eu, fermentum et, dapibus sed, urna.
Morbi interdum mollis sapien. Sed ac risus. Phasellus lacinia, magna a ullamcorper laoreet, lectus arcu pulvinar risus, vitae facilisis libero dolor a purus. Sed vel lacus. Mauris nibh felis, adipiscing varius, adipiscing in, lacinia vel, tellus. Suspendisse ac urna. Etiam pellentesque mauris ut lectus. Nunc tellus ante, mattis eget, gravida vitae, ultricies ac, leo. Integer leo pede, ornare a, lacinia eu, vulputate vel, nisl.
Suspendisse mauris. Fusce accumsan mollis eros. Pellentesque a diam sit amet mi ullamcorper vehicula. Integer adipiscing risus a sem. Nullam quis massa sit amet nibh viverra malesuada. Nunc sem lacus, accumsan quis, faucibus non, congue vel, arcu. Ut scelerisque hendrerit tellus. Integer sagittis. Vivamus a mauris eget arcu gravida tristique. Nunc iaculis mi in ante. Vivamus imperdiet nibh feugiat est.
Ut convallis, sem sit amet interdum consectetuer, odio augue aliquam leo, nec dapibus tortor nibh sed augue. Integer eu magna sit amet metus fermentum posuere. Morbi sit amet nulla sed dolor elementum imperdiet. Quisque fermentum. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis xdis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Pellentesque adipiscing eros ut libero. Ut condimentum mi vel tellus. Suspendisse laoreet. Fusce ut est sed dolor gravida convallis. Morbi vitae ante. Vivamus ultrices luctus nunc. Suspendisse et dolor. Etiam dignissim. Proin malesuada adipiscing lacus. Donec metus. Curabitur gravida