Animal Nutrition

Flashcards covering key concepts and vocabulary related to animal nutrition.

Essential Nutrients

Materials that an animal requires but cannot assemble from simple organic molecules.

Essential Amino Acids

Amino acids that must be obtained from food in prefabricated form as animals can only synthesize about half of the 20 amino acids.

Essential Fatty Acids

Certain unsaturated fatty acids that must be obtained from the diet.

Vitamins

Organic molecules required in very small amounts, with 13 essential for humans.

Minerals

Simple inorganic nutrients usually required in small amounts.

Undernourishment

A condition resulting from a diet that does not provide enough chemical energy.

Filter Feeders

Aquatic animals that sift small food particles from the surrounding medium.

Substrate Feeders

Animals that live in or on their food source.

Fluid Feeders

Animals that suck nutrient-rich fluid from a living host.

Bulk Feeders

Animals that eat relatively large pieces of food.

Complete Digestive Tract

A digestive tube with two openings, a mouth and an anus.

Mutualistic Symbiosis

A type of interaction where humans and bacteria coexist and benefit from each other.

Ruminants

Animals with specialized adaptations for digesting cellulose, including multiple stomach compartments.