DIGESTION
So what is digestion exactly? It is the process that living, consuming organisms use to break down food mechanically and chemically through enzyme actions in the body to create nutrients to keep the body functioning, which is obviously key for survival. Consumers digest food because it’s too complex and large when it first enters the body for it to enter their cells. To get around this, food diffuses into cells once it is broken down. Humans use their complex, developed teeth to chew food, often using amylase, an enzyme for breaking down starch. We use mechanical and chemical digestion to break down and dissolve food so the proteins and other nutrients can be used throughout our bodies. We then create a bolus, which goes down the esophagus and into the stomach.
We use our digestive system to gain glucose for our bodies, giving us energy. Once our food is broken down, the starches can dissolve into our cells, and then into the mitochondria, to make something called ATP. This is the chemical substance that living things use to store energy. It is made through cellular respiration; the process where chemical energy stored in glucose is used to make ATP. Once the nutrients from your food reach your small intestine, they are absorbed and enter your bloodstream. Starch always breaks down to glucose, which is stored in the liver to provide you with energy, which is where it ends up. Glucose is moved by facilitated diffusion, which is the process of transporting substances across a membrane from a higher concentrated area to a lower concentrated area by a carrier molecule.
And what about dragonflies?
In order to obtain food, the common green darner nymph shoots out their bottom jaw to grab their prey. They then pull back their jaw and chew the prey that they grabbed with the hooks in their labium, this bottom section of their jaw. This is an example of mechanical digestion. Once they are adults, they can catch their prey with their legs or wings. When the Green Darner is chewing their food, they remove the nutrients from the prey, and break down the nutrients for energy in the body. They have a complete digestive system. This includes a mouth, glands, esophagus, crop (for storage), anus, and other important parts to a digestive system. For food, green darners normally eat insects that include wasps, butterflies, mosquitos, and even other dragonflies. [1] They are even known to attack hummingbirds on occasion or even be cannibalistic. The younger nymphs will also eat worms, small fish, or tadpoles. They are known to be carnivorous, but also classify as insectivores. A green darner’s large labium is very helpful in catching prey, and normally are flat with pointed palps in nymphs that help to spear prey. [2] Also, their coloration serves as a camouflage for both hiding from predators and prey.
We use our digestive system to gain glucose for our bodies, giving us energy. Once our food is broken down, the starches can dissolve into our cells, and then into the mitochondria, to make something called ATP. This is the chemical substance that living things use to store energy. It is made through cellular respiration; the process where chemical energy stored in glucose is used to make ATP. Once the nutrients from your food reach your small intestine, they are absorbed and enter your bloodstream. Starch always breaks down to glucose, which is stored in the liver to provide you with energy, which is where it ends up. Glucose is moved by facilitated diffusion, which is the process of transporting substances across a membrane from a higher concentrated area to a lower concentrated area by a carrier molecule.
And what about dragonflies?
In order to obtain food, the common green darner nymph shoots out their bottom jaw to grab their prey. They then pull back their jaw and chew the prey that they grabbed with the hooks in their labium, this bottom section of their jaw. This is an example of mechanical digestion. Once they are adults, they can catch their prey with their legs or wings. When the Green Darner is chewing their food, they remove the nutrients from the prey, and break down the nutrients for energy in the body. They have a complete digestive system. This includes a mouth, glands, esophagus, crop (for storage), anus, and other important parts to a digestive system. For food, green darners normally eat insects that include wasps, butterflies, mosquitos, and even other dragonflies. [1] They are even known to attack hummingbirds on occasion or even be cannibalistic. The younger nymphs will also eat worms, small fish, or tadpoles. They are known to be carnivorous, but also classify as insectivores. A green darner’s large labium is very helpful in catching prey, and normally are flat with pointed palps in nymphs that help to spear prey. [2] Also, their coloration serves as a camouflage for both hiding from predators and prey.