Animal Science 101: Introduction to Animal Science

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the Animal Science 101 lecture, including definitions, roles of animals, agricultural systems, and human-animal interactions.

Agriculture

The practice of cultivating soil, growing crops, raising livestock, and/or preparing and marketing the resulting products.

Domesticate

To adapt an animal’s behavior and traits to fit the needs/desires of humans through confinement for a purpose, controlled breeding, and developing traits not found in wild relatives.

Breed

A group of animals that resemble one another and pass similar traits to their offspring.

Animal Contributions/Roles

Include food, by-products, body coverings, manure, transportation & work, service, companionship, currency or capitol, conservation, sports, recreation, entertainment, research, and religion.

Developed Agriculture

Characterized by less than 10% of the population engaged in farming, highly specialized production, high mechanization, and high per capita income and literacy rates.

Subsistence Agriculture

Characterized by roughly half the population engaged in farming, producing mostly for self-consumption with a small surplus, little mechanization, much hand and animal labor, and relatively low per capita income and literacy rates.

Primitive Agriculture

Characterized by almost the entire population involved in food production, scarcity of food, low nutritional levels, no mechanization, very little animal power, and extremely low per capita income and literacy rates.

Omnivores

Organisms that consume both plant-based and animal-based foods.

Animal Protein Sources (Worldwide)

Approximated as Meat (48%), Milk (26%), Fish (17%), and Eggs (9%), supplying 40% of the protein consumed globally.

By-products

Substances that remain from an animal carcass after the products of greatest value have been removed, which can be edible or inedible.

Edible Slaughter By-Products (Variety Meats)

Considered delicacies or often discarded in developed countries, but serve as dietary staples in developing countries.

Manure

Utilized as fertilizer, fuel for cooking/heating, construction material/plaster, poultices for wound healing, and animal bedding material.

Draft Animals

Major species used for transportation and work purposes such as plowing, pulling carts or sleds, and packing, including oxen, donkeys, horses, buffalos, mules, and camels.

Service Animals

Specially trained animals that assist people with disabilities (e.g., visual/hearing deficits, seizures, diabetes, autism) and aid law enforcement (e.g., search and rescue, detection).

Human Health Benefits of Human-Animal Interactions

Include improved social access and skills, increased physical activity, increased joy and happiness, and decreased stress (lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and heart disease risk).

Animals as Currency or Capitol

In developing countries, animals (particularly livestock like cattle) are used as a means to generate income, serve as currency for sale or barter, or act as a vehicle for storing surplus capital.

Conservation (Animal Role)

Animals contribute to pest and weed control by grazing, which reduces insect/snail populations, decreases crop damage, controls insect-borne diseases, and can reduce pesticide use.

Xenotransplantation

The replacement of human organs with those from animals, a field advanced through recombinant DNA technology in animal research.

Religious Influences on Livestock

Major religions impact the number and use of livestock; for example, Hinduism protects cattle, while Islam and Judaism forbid pork consumption.

Temperate Climates

Regions characterized by seasons and identified as the most productive agricultural regions of the world, found in at least part of all developed countries.