Introduction
Introduction
Introduction
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal
physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a
conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body
structure through cell growth and differentiation.
[1]
Some insects, fish, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidari
ans, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which
is often accompanied by a change of nutrition source
or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo
complete metamorphosis ("holometaboly"), incomplete
metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"), or no metamorphosis
("ametaboly").
Scientific usage of the term is technically precise, and it is not
applied to general aspects of cell growth, including rapid growth
spurts. Generally organisms with a larva stage undergo
metamorphosis, and during metamorphosis the organism loses
larval characteristics. [4] References to "metamorphosis"
in mammals are imprecise and only colloquial, but historically
idealist ideas of transformation and morphology, as
in Goethe's Metamorphosis of Plants, have influenced the
development of ideas of evolution.
Hormonal control
In insects, growth and metamorphosis are controlled
by hormones synthesized by endocrine glands near the front of
the body (anterior). Neurosecretory cells in an insect's
brain secrete a hormone, the prothoracicotropic
hormone (PTTH) that activates prothoracic glands, which
secrete a second hormone, usually ecdysone (an ecdysteroid),
that induces ecdysis.] PTTH also stimulates the corpora allata, a
retrocerebral organ, to produce juvenile hormone, which
prevents the development of adult characteristics during ecdysis.
In holometabolous insects, molts between larval instars have a
high level of juvenile hormone, the moult to the pupal stage has
a low level of juvenile hormone, and the final, or imaginal, molt
has no juvenile hormone present at all.] Experiments
on firebugs have shown how juvenile hormone can affect the
number of nymph instar stages in hemimetabolous insects.
Insects
All three categories of metamorphosis can be found in the
diversity of insects, including no metamorphosis ("ametaboly"),
incomplete or partial metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"), and
complete metamorphosis ("holometaboly"). While ametabolous
insects show very little difference between larval and adult
forms (also known as "direct development"), both
hemimetabolous and holometabolous insects have significant
morphological and behavioral differences between larval and
adult forms, the most significant being the inclusion, in
holometabolus organisms, of a pupal or resting stage between
the larval and adult forms.
Temperature-dependent metamorphosis
According to a 2009 study, temperature plays an important role
in insect development as each individual species are found to
have specific thermal windows that allow them to progress
through their developmental stages. These windows are not
significantly affected by ecological traits, rather, the windows
are phylogenetically adapted to the ecological circumstances
insects are living in.
Recent research
According to research from 2008, adult Manduca sexta is able to
retain behavior learned as a caterpillar. Another caterpillar, the
ornate moth caterpillar, is able to carry toxins that it acquires
from its diet through metamorphosis and into adulthood, where
the toxins still serve for protection against predators.
Many observations published in 2002, and supported in 2013
indicate that programmed cell death plays a considerable role
during physiological processes of multicellular organisms,
particularly during embryogenesis, and
metamorphosis. Additional research in 2019 found that
both autophagy and apoptosis, the two ways programmed cell
death occur, are processes undergone during insect
metamorphosis.
Below is the sequence of steps in the metamorphosis of the
butterfly (illustrated):
BREEDING
The breeding season for frogs usually occurs during the spring
in temperate climates and during the rainy season in tropical
climates. When male frogs are ready to breed, they often use
loud croaking calls to attract partners. Males produce these calls
by filling a vocal sac with air and moving the air back and forth
to create a chirp-like sound.
When mating, the male frog holds onto the female's back,
clasping his front legs around her waist or neck. This embrace is
referred to as amplexus; its purpose is to ensure that the male is
in the optimal position to fertilize the female's eggs as she lays
them.
STAGE 1: EGG