• Instructor: Manuela Gardner• Textbook: Principles of Animal

Physiology

• Course website (Manuela Gardner): www.zoology.ubc.ca/~gardner

Biology 364 – Animal Physiology

Manuela GardnerOffice: Room 1370, Biological Sciences Bldg.

Email: gardner@zoology.ubc.ca

Office Hours: Fridays 1200-1300

Contact info

Respiratory System – uptake of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide

Circulatory System –primary internal transport for substances (eg oxygen & nutrients) and other functions

Ion and water regulation – deals with ion and water balance, and nitrogen excretion

Biology 364 – Animal Physiology

Marking Scheme

Problem sets: 30% 1 per section (3 total)These will be representative of questions

given on the final exam.

Final: Open book/notes - 70%

Grading and assessment

Animal Physiology - definition

“The study of how animals work” – Knut Schmidt-Nielsen

Structure and function of various parts- How these parts work together

Unifying Themes in Physiology (Table 1.1)

• Physiological processes obey physical and chemical laws

• Physiological processes are usually regulated– Homeostasis – maintenance of internal constancy

• Phenotype is a product of genotype and its interaction with the environment– Genotype – genetic makeup– Phenotype – expression of genotype in morphology, physiology,

and behavior– Phenotypic plasticity – single genotype generates more than one

phenotypic outcome depending on environmental conditions

• Genotype is the product of evolution

Unifying Themes in Physiology (Table 1.1)• Physiological processes obey physical and

chemical laws

Physical properties of a material are linked to function (e.g., bone)

Chemical laws govern molecular interactions (e.g., effects of temperature)

Electrical laws describe membrane function, including excitable cells

Body size influences biochemical and physical patterns – allometric scaling

Unifying Themes in Physiology (Table 1.1)

• Physiological processes are usually regulated– Homeostasis – maintenance of internal

constancy

How do animals deal with variations in their environment?

How do animals deal with variations in their environment?

• Conformers• (a) Allow internal

conditions to change when faced with variations in external conditions

• (b) Internal environment adjusts to reflect external conditions

Physiological Regulation

Moyes and Schulte; Figure 1.4

Physiological Regulation

• Regulators• (a) Maintain relatively

constant internal conditions regardless of the conditions in the external environment

• (b) Keep internal environment within narrow limits

Physiological Regulation

• Maintenance of internal conditions in the face of environmental perturbations

• Controlled by feedback loops or reflex control pathways– Negative feedback loops– Positive feedback loops

Figure 1.5

Physiological Regulation - Homeostasis

• Phenotype is a product of genotype and its interaction with the environment– Genotype – genetic makeup– Phenotype – morphology, physiology, and behavior– Phenotypic plasticity – single genotype generates more than one

phenotype depending on environmental conditions

Unifying Themes in Physiology (Table 1.1)

• Can be irreversible or reversible• Irreversible

– Polyphenism - developmental plasticity• Reversible

– Acclimation - lab– Acclimatization – natural environment

Phenotypic Plasticity

Unifying Themes in Physiology (Table 1.1)

• Genotype is the product of evolution

• Adaptation – Change in a population over evolutionary time (i.e.

many generations)

Trait that confers an increase in reproductive success via natural selection

• Physiologists attempt to understand and account for diversity of animal body form and strategies that animals use to cope with their environments

• Two types of questions• Proximate cause – How?• Ultimate cause – Why?

Physiology and evolution

Respiratory System – uptake of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide

Circulatory System –primary internal transport for substances (eg oxygen & nutrients) and other functions

Ion and water regulation – deals with ion and water balance, and nitrogen excretion

Biology 364 – Animal Physiology