
Any being alive , to be classified as such, must perform all vital functions or, at least, be trained for it.If not, we cannot catalog it as such.That is why this article of Animals and Pets Online, we will tell you that it is a vital function and what are the vital functions of animals.
Solve your doubts below and discover important examples and details, read on!
What are the vital functions of living beings?
First of all, we must define what are the vital functions of a living being.In biology, vital functions are those processes that living beings carry out in order to survive and leave offspring.These functions are, function of nutrition, function of relationship or interaction and function of reproduction.All animals carry out these functions, although each has its peculiarities, however all have the same purpose, live and reproduce.
Nutrition function
In the function of nutrition, animals get matter and energy to be able to grow and maintain themselves.Being heterotrophic beings, animals need other living beings, whether animals or plants , to obtain organic matter and energy.But this function in animals does not end here.It begins with the digestion and assimilation of nutrients, however, once these are absorbed they pass into the circulatory system, bringing food to all the organs of the body and your cells.
These will perform cellular respiration , converting nutrients into energy.Everything that the cells no longer need, returns to the circulatory system and, from here, to the apparatus excretor.This will make the urine that should be expelled from the body along with the feces (non-absorbable organic matter that leaves the digestive system).
So, we can say that the nutrition function has several stages : food intake, digestive n, cellular respiration and excretion.In addition, the animal's own breathing, which is carried out through the lungs or gills, is also necessary to perform the nutrition function.

Relationship or interaction function
All animals must relate to the environment or other living beings , of their species or of any other.If this does not happen, if an animal is not aware of the environment in he who lives and does not respond to the stimuli and changes that may happen, will not be able to survive.
Similarly, he must relate to himself and detect the changes that occur within him.Therefore, the changes or stimuli that an animal experiences can be external or internal:
- External : these are changes that occur outside the body.They exist of all kinds , from sounds or smells to visualizing a predator that tries to hunt or heat in certain animals that, depending on the daylight hours and the temperature it does, will go into heat or not.
- Internal : are the changes or stimuli that come from inside the animal, for example, a sensation of cold, heat, hunger, sleep, etc.Most of these stimuli and they are marked by the biological clock.

Playback function
All functions are equally important for the survival of an animal, but the reproduction function has the quality of being the only one that allows the continuity of a species and that the genes of an individual perpetuates once he has died.There are two types of reproduction, sexual and asexual.There are species that only reproduce sexually and others that can do so asexually.
Sexual reproduction : en It is necessary the presence of two sex cells, one male and one female.Almost all animal species have this type of reproduction, so you need a female and a male or two hermaphrodite individuals (as with snails) so that you can perform this function. Asexual reproduction : you don't need two individuals with different sexes, just one animal produces genetically identical descent to it.In the animal kingdom we find several types of asexual reproduction:
- Gemacion : an adult animal produces a gemacion that grows by another independent individual.Sea sponges and some jellyfish have this type of reproduction.
- Fragmentation : a part of the original animal is sectioned, separated and It grows independently, creating a new being.Starfish are a good example.
- Partenogenesis : In the wake of an unfertilized female germ cell and under certain circumstances it develops an embryo that produces an animal identical to its mother.Some insects (ants or bees), fish and reptiles perform parthenogenesis.The offspring are exclusively female, as a male germ cell does not intervene.

If you want to read more articles similar to Vital functions of animals , we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.
Bibliography
- Hickman.(2014).Integral principles of zoology.Samcgraw-hill/Interamerican of Spain
- Sanchez, F.(2018).ESO 2nd CLASS Material: Vital Functions.Junta de Andalucia.
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