WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION

Numerous animals and plants  living in their natural  habitats ,free from human check  or interference ,are  very important part of the treasure of wildlife  in a country .In fact, the wild life  is assemblage  of such  animals and plants .The non -domesticated mammals and birds living in there   natural habitats are regarded as  wildlifeanimals   and their assemblage in a country  is called  animal wildlife of that  country .India  is gifted with very rich wildlife  because of different   eco-system and varying  climatic condition therein .The royal  bengal tiger ,lion ,elephant , buffalo, different kind of deers and  huge assemblage  of different kind of birds  are considered  to be natural wealth  of this country.                                                                                                                    Plants, growing  and flourishing in their   natiral habitats  ,are also  important  part of the wildlife  and like wild animals ,these are also regarded as the natural wealth .However , this chapter  will deal  only with the wildlifeanimals.                                                                                                                                                                                                   IMPORTANCE OF WILDLIFE                                                                                                         The wildlife  is greatly significant ot our existence  and well being .It is important in many  respects  and its  importance can be mainly classified  as biological  importance , economic importance  , and  cultural and aesthetic importance .                                                                                                                                                               Biological  importance; The wildlife is very imprtant component  of the nature .It maintains balance  balance  of different  balance of different eco-systems of the  nature through food chains .If this  balance is  disturbed or lost , unfavourable results will follow  and these will eventually affect the life of  man adversely.In  a heterotrophic food chain , if one level is upset ,the other level will flourish at a tremendous rate ,and finally in want of natural food,  these will prey upon valuable  crops or man  .This   may be illustrated by an example  of afood chain  which include deers,antelops ,etc., as primary consumers and tigers,leopards ,wolves ,etc., as  secondary consumers .In this  food chain if primary consumers fall short in number ,the secondary  consumers [tigers,leopards,wolves,etc]  will prey upon domestic animals  and tereafter if the domesticated animals   fall short in number , the  above mentioned   secondary consumers  will  consume vegetables and crops raised  or cultivated  by farmers .Not only this ,they may also turn into man eaters s.This prey and predator chain maintains  the balance of the nature .Obviously , the destruction of wild life will endanger our civilization .                                                                                                                                                                Bird act as pollinators , cause  dispersal of fruits and seeds  ,devour abnoxious insect pests or of crops and  behave as sca vengers. If these  or their habitats are destroyed ,the man will suffer and immense loss.          

BLOOD PRESSURE

The force of the strength of the jerk  with which blood flows in blood vessels  is called blood pressure .The source of this pressure is strong rythemic  contraction of the heart . This  force is sufficient for moving the blood  from heart to organs through arteries  and  then from organs to heart through  veins . The blood pressure in arteries is more than that in veins .The blood pressure  is of two types ;systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure .When  heart contracts ,the artery has high blood pressure .This blood pressure is called systolic blood pressure  But whe heart relaxes , the artery has reduced  or less  blood pressure  called diastolic  blood pressure .The blood pressure  is measured by an instrument  called  sphygmomanometer .It depends upon the  upon mental and physical conditions and age  .Among young men the systolic  blood pressure ranges  from 100-140  mm Hg and the diastolic blod pressure  fromm 55-80 mm Hg .The  systolic pressure is  is 90 plus age + 10 .Sometimes ,the blood  pressure becomes  high or low to the  normal level  .The high blood pressure  develops  due to unbalanced diet ,or heavy work ,or mental tension [anxiety ,worry an emotion ] or in old age because the diameter  of arteries is reduced .Therefore, heart  has to use more force  for moving blood to organs .This may lead to  heart  failure .                                                                       The low  blood pressure develops due to fatigue  and reduction in blood volume .There fore heart propels blood in arteries  with less force.   Consequently , body organs donot get  nutrients  and other  substances in adequate  quantities .Therfore , body becomes weak and this may lead to heart failure .                                             Control  of Body Heat By Blood                                                                                                                                  All the  invertebrates and lower vertebrates animals like  fish , amphibia and reptiles  are poikilothermic,that  is , thier body temperature varies with that  of thei surroundings .The  temperature  of such animal is usually  a few  degrees above that of its  environment , but a  rise or fall  in the temperature of the air  or water in which it lives  will produce acorresponding change  in the animal's body temperature .These animals  produce heat but thy have very little  capacity for conserving  it or for  adjusting supply and demand .                                      Since the speed  of most chemical changes that takes place  in living organisms increased by a rise in temperature , it follow  that the rate of activity  of a poikilothermic  animal will depend to a large extent  on the surrounding temperature ;  in cold conditions  their  low body temperature  slows down all chemical changes   and reduces the organism to  a state of inactivity . Insects  can be   immobilized  by a sudden fall of temperature .                                                                                                                                                                                                           The quality of homiothermic  condition is restricted  to birds and mammals  and means the ability ok keeping the temperature  of the body constant, day and night , year in and year out  Take your own example .A certain amount of heat is  always produced by oxidation .Human muscles are about 40 % efficient  as mechanical machines .This  means that about 40% of energy  produced by a muscle is available for machanical work  and the other 60%  appears as heat .the heat produced in cotracting muscle cells   warms the blood in the surrounding  capilaries .The warm  warm blood transfers the heat   to cooler tissues through which it passes  .This  is much like the distribution  of heat by a hot water system  Birds and mammals  produce considerable  amount of heat which is   well distributed  by the rapid circulating blood  .This ,plus  the mechanism  for excreting  excess heat, makes it possible  for them to maintain  a constant temperature of the body.                       

BLOOD

The blood is a liquid connective tissue ,consisting  of a liquid part called plasma  and a cellular or solid  part called formed elements ,consisting  of blood cells or blood corpuscles .It is a dynamic  connective tissue  which adjusts  its composition  continuosly according to  need of the body    .                                                                        PLASMA ;It is a whole  blood minus formed element  [blood corpuscles and blood platelets] ,  and can  be separated from  the whole body by centrifugation .If it is  left to stand , it coagulates , forming  a gel-like matter and  a clear  fluid called serum .The serum  is similar to the  plasma excepts that is lack  coagulation  factors  .The  plasma, atransparent ,alkaline  and yellow fluid is composed of about 90% water and about 10%   solid and it contributes  to about 55%  of the blood volume .The solid part of the plasma  consists of proteins , inorganic salts  and other substances  such as  glucose  , amino acids  , urea , enzymes ,hormones, anti bodies , oxygen  ,carbon -dioxide , etc. The inorganic constituents of the plasma are  Na,K,CL,HCO3, CA,etc.                     The main plasma proteins include albumin , globulin  and fibrinogen  which are large molecules  and cannot pass through  the thin wall of the blood  capillaries.These proteins  contribute   mostly to the osmotic pressure  of the plasma .Besides ,these   also help to buffer changes  in the blood acidity [ph] .The albumin is most  abundants and the plasma proteins  and accounts  for the most osmotic pressure of the plasma .It checks  excess loss of fliud from  the blood .It also  help many substance  dissolved in the plasma by binding to them .Thus it plays  important role in plasma transport .The globulin exists as alpha , beta  and  gamma globulins . the gamma globulins  are antibodies which are involved in the  immunological  defence of the body.The alpha and beta globulins  contribute to the osmotic pressure  of the blood and also  seve as carrier for substances.The fibrinogen, produced  in the liver , serves as  foundation of the  coagulation of the blood during  which it gets converted into  insoluble fibrins as a networks of fibres .                            Blood  corpuscles or blood cells ; The  formed element of the blood are represent by blood corpuscles  which are of three basic types ,the erythrocytes[=red blood corpusles , or red blood cells  written as RBCin the abbreviated form] ,Leucocytes [=whitwe blood corpuscles or cells  written as  WBC in the abbreviate form]  .                                                                                                                                                Red blood cells [RBC]  These blood cells are called erythrocytes  are very small ,circular , bicon cave and dislike , about 8 u  in diameter and 2u in thicknesss .Their bicon cave  area provides more surface area  , favouring  more diffusion  in and out .These4  are pliable elastic cells  that bend , flex and twist  while passing through tiny vehicles  the cappilaries  In mammals ,including man except camel and limma , the mature red blood cells  lacks nucleus ,i.e., it is not nucleated .The red blood cells contain  haemoglobin  which gets more spaces for its accomodation  in them  due to absence  of the nucleus .The individual red blood cells are pale yellow but when aggregated ,these appear reddish.The  outer surface of the RBC has plasma  membrane compose of  lecithin   nad cholesterol  .This membrane enclose a homogenos  matrix called stroma .containing loosely  arranged network of fibrous   and globular proteins  which form the cyto skeleton .This is attached to the inner surface of the plasma membrane  and  gives disc-like shape to the RBC .However  , other  other cell organelles  are absent due to  absence of the nucleus .The stroma contain haemoglobin  which gives pale red colour  to the cell .Each erythrocyte  has 200 to 300 molecules of the  haemoglobin accounting fo the one- third of  its volume .                                                           

RABBIT;CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

The circulatory system is the transport system of the body,it  transports various substances  from tissues to tissues .Besides ,it maintains the chemical composition  and physical environment  of the body fluids ,essential  for the metabolic reactions on which the life wheels on smoothly .Moreover , in certain animals such as birds and mammals ,it also it also maintains a body temperature  to a constant level.                                                                                The  circulatory system of vertebrates , including mammal fall under two categories ,[1]  blood vascular system  and [2]  lymphatic system .These  are distinguishable  on the basis of  the circulatory or transporting medium; it  is blood in the blood vascular system  and lymph  in the lymphatic system .However , the remarkable  fact about the circulatory system  of mammals is that it is of closed type i.e.,  the circulatory  medium  flows in vessels; even the lymph  does not flow in  open spaces within the body.                                            1.BLOOD VASCULAR SYSTEM       ;The blood vascular system  of the rabbit or any other mammal ,like that of other vertebrates , consists of the rabbit of higher muscular  and highly contractile heart ,blood vessels,pervading every  part of the body and blood vessels due to the pumping  action of the heart .                                                                                                                                                                                          HEART                                                                                                        The heart of the rabbit and other mammals, including man ,lies in the mediastinal space between the lungs ,inclined slightly to the left,.It is somewhat pear -shaped with broad -base ,lying toward the trachea ,and a narrow apex ,lying toward the diaph ragm .The heart  is covered by the pericardium  which is composed of two thin membranes  between which is present  a lymph like  fluid called pericardial fluid .This fluid ensures  free movement of the heart and absorbs shocks  which oterwise may hurt the heart .                                        External  Structure ; The heart is  extenally distinguishable  into a broad  anterior  part called  atrial  or auricular part  and a poterior  narrow part called ventricular part   .These two parts are demarcated  by a transverse  shallow groove like  coronary sulcus  which is placed far forward ,making the auricular part smaller than the ventricular part .The  auricular part consists of the right  and left auricles .Like wise , the ventri cular  is also  divided  into the right and left  auricles .Likewise , the  ventricular part  is also divided into the   left and right ventricles  by a logitudinal  sulcus  which starts from the base of the  ventricular part , almost  medially and extends  backward obliquely toward the right not reaching the apex and therefore the  left ventricle is large than the right ventricle .                                                                                                                                                         The sinus venosus and trunkus arteriosus  are not found in the heart of the rabbit or any other mammal .The sinus venosus is merged into the right  auricle and is represanted only  by the sinu - auricular  node[sanode] . Likewise , the trunkus arteriosus  is completely merged  in the left ventricle .The right auricle recieves   venous or deoxygeneted  blood from all parts of the body , except lungs by two superior vena cavae [anteroir vaena cavae or precavals ] and  an inferior vena cava [= posterior vena cavae or postcaval ], whereas the left auricles recieves ithe oxygeneted blood  from lung by two pulmanary veins The aorotid arches arise from the ventricles ; the pulmonary aorta  arises from the right ventricle and the caratico- systemic  aorta from the left ventricle .The pulmonary aorta  and caratico -systemic aorta are joined  by a liga ment  called  ligamentum arteriosus . The blood supply of the heart is  maintain by acoronary  artery and a coronery vein .        

ABSORPTION OF DIGESTED FOOD

While within the alimentary canal  the food ,strictly speaking , is still outside the body .In  order to be use to organism ,it most be absorbed in the blood stream .The  entry of the digested food  from the lumen of the gut ,specially intestine , into the blood stream is called absorption .                                                            Very little  absorption  takes place either in the buccal cavity or in the stomach but these can be scarcely classified as food .By  far the greater  part of the absorption  takes place in the ileum .The  food is  in a very soluble and easily diffusible  form and hence  it can be easiy absorbed throug  its wall into the blood  and lymph  cappilaries . The  absorptive area of the  small intestine  is enormously increased by the development  of villi in this region .In man ther are 5,000,000  minute waving villi , providing a very large inner surface area [5 times the body surface ]  for absorption .Each  villus is wellsupplied  with the capillary blood vessels and lacteals  are concerned with the absorption of fat .The  oval peyer's  patches or lymphoid nodules  manufacture certain white  corpuscles  known as lymphocytes  which also helps in the absorption of fat .The vermiform appendix which has the structure of peyer's patches is also absrptive in a high degree. The digested carbohydrates  chiefly as glucose  and protein  must pass through where it  break up into cappilaries .Thus all the carbohydrates chiefly as glucose and proteins as amino acids are observed into the villus  cappilaries and lead  to the  factor of the hepatic portal vein .The hepatic portal vein  passes into the liver  where it break up into  capillaries .Thus all the  carbohydrates  and proteins must  pass through the liver before entering to the general circulation .In this respect the liver provides  a very important regulatory  mechanism .Any exccess of blood sugar  is always changed into glucose  and stored in liver  cells .On the other hand , if there is shortage of sugar in the blood , the glycogen stored in the liver  is turned once again  into glucose by and enzyme  known as glycogenase and released into the blood .In this way the liver   not only acts as a regulator  but also as a store house of carbohydrates .                                                                                                                           The amino acids are brought by the hepatic vein  to the liver and are allowed to go into the general circulation. Thecells of the body  absorb amino acids  are dealt with in the liver ;  by a complex actions the amino acids are split up. The carbon , hydrogen and oxygen  unite to form glycogen  or fat and the nitrogen forms ammonia .Ammonia is highly poisonous and is not released  into the blood  in any quantity in mammals .It combines  with carbon dioxide under the influence  of certain enzymes to form  urea .The breaking down of amino acids is known as deamination.                                                                                                                             The  digested fat , as fatty acids  and glycerol , passes  directly into the lacteals  where  it is at once changed  into minute droplet of fat  so that this vessels contain a milky white emulsion .The removal from the intestinal  contents of the digested carbohydrates ,proteins and fats leaves afluid residue containing  undigested and indigestable food , remais of bacteria  and largely of undigested cellulose  .This residue passes into the caecum  and colon where  further process of absorption takes place  but it is chiefly of water .A largely proportion of water is  absorbed during the passage  of this fluid residue  through the colon  so that by the time it reaches  the rectum the residue  becomes semi-solid and form the  faeces , which is thrown out at intervals.                      

INGESTION AND DIGESTION

[The account of the digestion presented  under this section is applicable  to maost mamals including man ]  .As his already been stated , the rabbit gnaws its food.By means of chisel-shaped  incisors , small portion of the vegetables  matter  are cut up and after being caught by  the mobile  lips are taken into the buccal cavity .Here  the food is throughly  mixed with saliva and subjecte to the action  of the grinding cheek-teeth .During later process  which is called mastication ,  the food is turned round and round  in the buccal cavity  by movements of the tongue  and chhek -muscles until  the whole forms a pulpy mass..Through mastication  is of very great importance  in herbivores animals like rabbit  which live entirely on vegetable matter containing a great deal of starch.It should  be noted  that in such animals  the molar and pre-molar have  special transverse ridges for grinding the food . Further the surfaces  of the  tongue is hard  and helps by rubbing the food  against the palatine ridges on the roof of the mouth cavity. .                             When mastication is completed , the pulpy mass is swallowed .This  is affected by the bonus being pushed  into pharynx  by the raising  of the tongue, prevented from entering the  posterior nares by the soft palate  and isa finally forced into the beginning  of the oesophagus by the contraction of the pharyngeal wall.During the  contraction of the pharynx and  entry of the bolus  into the oeso phagus  the  food is prevented from  entering  into the larynx through the glottis  by a flap- like  epiglottis .The  oeso phagus conveys the food  to the stomach through the  activity of the layer s  of the muscles in its walls.This activity causes peristalsis .                                                                            The first stages  in the conversaion of food into the protoplasm  of the animal  is its partial  breaking down into simpler compounds . In all cases the digestion consists  of a process of hydro lysis,during which the molecular size  of the subsances  is progressively reduced until the true  sollution is possible .These  changes are brought about by the  familiar biocatalysts known as enzymes or ferments.                                                            Inmouth , the food comes in contact with the colourless wateryfluid or saliva , secreted in the mouth cavity by the front pairs of salivary glands , which keeps the mouth continuosly moist  under normal conditions.When the food is in mouth ,its smell  and tastes considerably  increase the rates of its secretion .Since food stays for a very short time in a mouth , it is not in the mouth but in the stomach  where thwe main bulk of the salivary digestion  takes place  Besides ptyalin ,saliva contains 99% water ,mucin albumin ,globumin ,etc.The function of saliva are as follows ; 1 It changes  insoluble starch  and glycogen into soluble maltose .   2; It helps in swallowing and moistening and lubricating the food.3 It dissolves soluble substance  and thus make them fit for tasting .4It has  a cleaning effect on the mouth and the teeth .                                             In the mouth ,3-5 percent of the carbohydrates  are digested in the  suceeding part of the  alimentry canal  . The digestion doesnot takes place in the oeso phagus  because the oeso phagus  secretly only mucin ; it doesnot  produce any digestive  enzyme .The mucin is simply added to the bolus  so that  it easily passes from the oesophagus  to the stomach .However . the action  of the ptyalin , which has already  started in the mouth , continues .                                                                                                                                               Digestive in the stomach . The food  is subjected  to the action  of the gastric juice , secreted by the tubular gastric glands .As soon as   the food  reaches the stomach ,its  wall is mechanically simulated  to produce the gastrin harmone  , which , in turn  stimulates gastric glands to pour  gastric juice  into the lume of the stomach  The gastric juice is composed of water  , mucin ,hci an three digestive enzymes  such as pepsin ,rennin [in young ones of rabbit and calves of cattles]  and gastric lipase  The mucin protects the tissue  from the action of enzymes .It is amphoteric [a substance  that can  act as both acid and base according  to conditions]  in nature  and can thus nutralises both acids and alkalies  besides providing  a mechanical  buffer between hard  food substance and the living tissues                                                                                

BALANCED DIET

The  food that we take daily constitutes diet .It must  be balanced with work.Adiet that contains allcomponent of foods in adequate quantities is called  a blalanced diet . According to Bulletin 23 of our government ,an adult doing average work  should eat everyday  different component of food in quantiites  .                                                     The dietary requirements depend upon age ,sex and work..These  can be obtained from  cereal , pulses ,  leaf and other vegetables ,roots and tubers, milk , oil and fat and ,sugar and jaggery.The common food that we take daily have major constituents of food  in varying proportions .Inlight of these , the quantity of the common food s can be adjusted to the type of work  one does .                                                                                                                   The main aim of the balanced diet is tto provide sufficient calories [energy] for work  and materials in adequate quantities to body  for growth and repair .The energy requirements depend upon  the  amount of work done ,sex and age .An  average adult man rquires about 1800 kilo calories per day to keep him alive and an average adult woman needs 1500 kilo calories  per day  for the same purpose .At complete rest , an average adult man requires about 1600 kilo calories per  day, while an average adult woman needs 1450 kilo calories per day .A young labourer, who does lot of physical work , reqires a diet  which can provide him  with about 3600 kilo calories per day  and a young woman doing the  same ,requires  a diet which can provide  her with about  3000 kilo calories .Ayoung man and  a young woman ,who do  ordinary works for 8 hour per day ,require everyday about  3000 and 250 kilo calories  respectively .The light work everyday  demands less calories ; ayoung man needs 2500 kilo  calories and ayong woman requires about  2100 kilo calories .Growing children  need more energy with the  increasing age ;  but the energy requirement  for both sexes is almost similar upto  12 years but male need more energy than female after 12 years .                                                                                                                   If the the daiy intake of food does not provide  sufficient calories , the capacity for the work is reduced and the body  loses weight because  the reserved food areoxidised .The continous  starvation leads to rapid weight -loss.                                                                                                                                                            Malnutrition                                                                                                                                                This is condition in which aperson suffers  due to lack of  one or more components  of food.This is characterized by poor growth and weakness .                                                                                            Deficiency of proteins  ,carbohydrates  and fats  leads to protein energy mal-nutriton [pem] . It is the  most common in indian children ,specially  in the age period of 1-5 yrs and its symptom  is poor body growth and retarded mental growth .Two common forms of the above - mentioned  malnutrition are kwashiorker  and marasmus  .                                                                                                                                                            Deficiency of vitamin  in the diet im pairs  growth and body function s .Lack of vitamin A[retinol ] leads to retarded mental growth ,dryskin , night blindness  and defective  formation of teeth .Likewise,  dificiency of vitamin b1 [thiamine]  and b2 [ribo flavin] also lead to retarded growth  and adversely affect eyes ,skin tongue and other organs .Thiamine[b1] deficiency  result in a disease called  beri-beri .This is cahracterised  by water logging of tissues , much weakness ,headache ,paralysis  and even heart failure . Like the mineral deficiency dieseases, the vitamins deficiency  diseases , the vitamins  de ficiency deficiency can be cured  by recommend  dosage.