Feeding & Nutrition
Objectives
Nutrition concerns the chemicals which organisms require for growth, development, reproduction and all other life activities. At the end of this topic you should know:
- Know what the basic nutritional requirements of insects are
- Understand how insects obtain nutrients; ingestion, synthesized by the insect, or via the use of symbionts
- Understand why nutrient balance matters
- Knowledge of the arsenal of mechanisms insects have to match demand with supply will be investigated; pre-ingestive, pre-absorptive, absorptive, metabolic and differential excretion.
- Feeding behavior of insects when restricted to suboptimal diets
Topic outline
Most insects have similar nutritional requirements since the basic chemical composition of their tissues and their metabolic processes are similar. While foods mostly contain the nutrients an insect requires these nutrients are often not supplied in the required balance. Nutrition is the outcome of ingestion, digestion, absorption, metabolism and excretion. Insects have an arsenal of mechanisms to match demand with supply which will be investigated; pre-ingestive, pre-absorptive, absorptive, post-absorptive (metabolic and differential excretion). Various behavioural, physiological and morphological adaptations will also be discussed. Insects do not forage randomly and have simple mechanisms that enable them to balance their nutritional needs. However, insects are often not able to meet their demand for nutrients and the consequences of feeding on suboptimal diets will be investigated. These topics will be covered in three minilectures (see links below), and reviewed in a study quiz (link at bottom of page)
Activities:
- Listen to the 3 mini-lectures on nutrition, feeding and alimentary canal
- Listen to an audio of an interview with Steve Simpson on the ABC
- Do the Study Quiz
Mini-lecture:FeedingPrepared and Presented by F. Clissold |
Alternative format mp4 video file |
Mini-lecture:Alimentary CanalPrepared and Presented by F. Clissold |
Alternative format mp4 video file |
Mini-lecture:NutritionPrepared and Presented by F. Clissold |
Alternative format (44MB) mp4 video file |
Listen to the interview with Professor Stephen Simpson on the ABC's World Today program:
Reading:
Ch 4, Chapman 1998;
Ch 9, Chapman & de Boer, 1995;
Ch 2, Chown & Nicolson, 2004;
Ch 3, Nation, 2008.
Further reading:
Behmer, S. T. 2009 Insect herbivore nutritient regulation. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 54, 165-187.
Raubenheimer, D. & Simpson, S. J. 2004 Unravelling the tangle of nutritional complexity. In Yearbook of the Wissenschaftskolly zu Berlin.
Raubenheimer, D., Simpson, S. J. & Mayntz, D. 2009 Nutrition, ecology and nutritional ecology: toward an integrated framework. Funct. Ecol. 23, 4-16.
Simpson, S. J. & Raubenheimer, D. 1996 Feeding behaviour, sensory physiology and nutrient feedback: a unifying model. Ent. Exp. Appl. 80, 55-64.
Simpson, S. J. & Raubenheimer, D. 2000 The hungry locust. Advances in the Study of Behavior 29, 1-44.
Simpson, S. J., Sibly, R. M., Lee, K. P., Behmer, S. T. & Raubenheimer, D. 2004 Optimal foraging when regulating intake of multiple nutrients. Anim. Behav. 68, 1299-1311.
Test your knowledge with the Module Study Quiz.
The midterm exam will cover all the material up to this point.