ZOOLOGY STUDY GUIDE - Ye. O. Nevedomska - 2013

LECTURE 2. ZOOLOGY AS A SCIENCE

2. Shared and Distinctive Features of Animals and Plants

Animals share the following features with plants:

✵ cellular Structure (all of them are eukaryotes);

✵ coding, transmission, and expression of Genetic information;

✵ METABOLISM (Nutrition, Respiration, excretion);

✵ growth, development,

✵ reproduction;

✵ irritability.

Distinctive features of plants and animals (Table 4):

Class="center">Table 4

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Characteristics	Typical plant	Typical animal
Mode of nutrition	Autotrophic, rarely heterotrophic	Heterotrophic
Metabolism	Through Photosynthesis	Through the ingestion of food
Locomotion	Most are immobile	The vast majority move actively
Cell Structure	Rigid Cellulose Cell wall. Large, permanent vacuole containing cell sap. Chloroplasts containing chlorophyll or other Plastids are present. CARBOHYDRATES are stored as starch. Centrosome is present in lower plants, absent in higher plants.	No rigid cell wall. Contractile and digestive vacuoles are present only in Protozoans. No chloroplasts or other plastids. Carbohydrates are stored as Glycogen. Centrosome is present.
Tissues	Meristematic, dermal, vascular, mechanical, ground	Epithelial, muscular, connective (internal environment), nervous
Organ Systems	No organ systems	Most Multicellular Organisms possess musculoskeletal, circulatory, respiratory, excretory, digestive, endocrine, nervous, reproductive, and sensory organ systems
Irritability	Regulated only by phytohormones; there is no Nervous system. Responds slowly to stimuli, mostly through growth responses (Tropisms and nasties)	Regulated by Hormones and The Nervous System; the latter allows for rapid response to stimuli (Reflexes)
Role in the food chain	Producers (from Latin producens — producing) — organisms that produce organic matter from inorganic substances	Consumers (from Latin consumo — consuming) — organisms that feed on plant or animal food, as well as their remains
Growth	Restricted to specific areas where Meristems are located (in multicellular plants); they grow throughout their lifetime	Growth of the entire body up to a certain age
Excretion	Few excretory products; no specialized excretory Organs	Most multicellular organisms have specialized excretory organs, particularly for The excretion of nitrogenous wastes

Last update: 14/08/2026

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