TYPES OF ANIMALS IN AN ECOSYSTEM | ECOSYSTEM ANIMALS

TYPES  OF ANIMALS IN AN ECOSYSTEM

By: Yusuf Basirat Bolanle

 In the previous lesson,We talked about plants, plants types and functions of plants in an ecosystem. Today, we are going to discuss the animals, animal types and functions in an ecosystem.

This is our topic outline:

-  Introduction to animal

-  Definition of animal

-  Types of animals and their examples

-  Differences between plant and animal

 

Animals 

What is  an animal?

Animals are  living organisms because they  can move from one place to the other, reproduce the young ones, they can breathe in and out and they feed on all organic matters. They are living organisms that can grow and die. All these characteristics define an organisms.

Types of animals 

There are two major categories of animals. They are:

A.  Vertebrate animals and

B.  Invertebrate animals

 

A- Vertebrate animals 

Vertebrate animals are  the animal with back bone and have skeleton in their body. Vertebrate animals are not only with fleshy body but also with some bones that make their body to be flexible enough during movement and lots.

The vertebrate animals are classified into 5 categories:

1- Fish- Examples are; Tilapia, Cat fish and Shark

 

2- Amphibians –  They are: Toads, Frogs, Salamanders

3- Reptiles- Examples are: Snake, Lizard, Turtles, Crocodile and

     Geckos.

4- Birds-Some of them are: Owl, Parrot, Penguins and Sparrow

5- Mammals- These are Examples of Mammals: Lion, Deer,

     Elephants, Rabbit and Humans.

B- Invertebrate animals:

These are the types of animals with fleshy body. They are the animals without a single body in their body. Inveterate animals are animals without skeleton. They have only fleshy body and this helps their flexibility and movement

Examples are: Insects, Worms, Octopus, Amoeba and so on.

 

Difference between plants and animals 

 The following are the major differences between plants and animals

-  Plants cell have cell wall while animals’ cells don’t have cell wall

 

-  Plants have no sense while animals have sense of reasoning and can think

 

-   Plants are rooted in one place and cannot move while animals can  move from one place to another and other animals to survive.

-  Plants give off oxygen and take in carbon dioxide while

 animals give off carbon dioxide and take in oxygen.

 

-  Plants contain chlorophyll and can make their own food

while animals cannot make their own food and depends on

 plants

 

It is very important to take note of the following:

 

Zoology is the study of animals and their behavior. while

Zoologists is the person who studies animals and their interactions with ecosystems.

Biology is The study of life and living things, and Scientists who study biology are known as Biologists. The main branches of biology are ZOOLOGY (the study of animals), BOTANY (the study of plants), and MICROBIOLOGY (the study of tiny organisms).

 

Botany, is also called plant science(s). plant biology or phytology is the science of plant life.

A Botanist,  is a scientist who specializes in studying plants.