14.1: Coordination
Animals must be able to sense and respond to the environment in which they live if they are to survive. They need to be able to sense the temperature of their surroundings, for example, so they can avoid the hot sun. They must also be able to identify food and escape predators.
The various systems and organs in the body must also be linked so they work together. For example, once a predator has identified suitable prey it has to catch it. This involves coordinating the contraction of the muscle so the predator can run, there must then be an increased blood supply to the muscles to provide them with oxygen and nutrients. At the same time the respiration rate must increase to supply the oxygen and remove the carbon dioxide produced as a result of this increased activity. Once the prey has been caught and eaten, the digestive system must be activated to digest it.
The adjustment of an animal’s response to changes in the environment and the complex linking of the various processes in the body that this response involves are called co-ordination . Two systems are involved in co-ordination in animals. These are the nervous and endocrine systems . The first operates via electrical impulses along nerve fibres and the second by releasing special chemicals or hormones into the bloodstream from glands.