When studying biology at school, of course we will encounter material about reproduction. Where every living creature on earth will reproduce. Starting from humans, plants to animals.
The reproduction carried out by these living creatures aims to continue their survival. Where the existence of reproduction that produces offspring will ensure the existence of their species is maintained for a long period of time.
So, in this article we will discuss animal breeding. In general, animals reproduce asexually or vegetatively and sexually or generatively. Animal reproduction is one of the basic characteristics that every animal will have as a living creature.
The purpose of breeding carried out by animals is to avoid extinction. Well, below there are several types of animal breeding that you can read in full.
Generative Breeding
Generative reproduction or what we can call sexual reproduction will occur when male sex cells or spermatozoa meet female sex cells or egg cells. This type of generative reproduction can generally be divided into three types.
Starting from oviparous, viviparous and ovoviviparous breeding. The purpose of generative reproduction is to form new individuals. The explanation regarding the type of generative reproduction is as follows.
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Oviparous (lay eggs)
Oviparous is a type of generative reproduction in animals by laying eggs. Where the reproduction will be carried out by birds and reptiles. After the fertilization process occurs, the resulting embryo will experience growth and development in the egg shell.
The embryo will later receive nutritional intake and food reserves from the egg that has been released by the mother’s body. Because of this, oviparous animal embryos will carry out the development process inside the egg and outside the mother’s body.
Oviparous animals have several characteristics such as the absence of mammary glands, no earlobes, clutching eggs, and not breastfeeding their young. Meanwhile, examples of animals that reproduce oviparously or lay eggs include ducks, chickens and geese.
Oviparous Animal Group
Previously we have described several examples of animals that experience oviparous reproduction. Animals that experience oviparous reproduction will be divided into several groups. Where each group of oviparous animals has a different meaning with different examples.
Therefore, we also need to group oviparous animals. The following are groups of oviparous animals.
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Poultry Group
After the mother undergoes the process of laying eggs, the mother will carry out the process of incubating the eggs that come out. Where when an egg has been incubating for a certain period of time, the egg will hatch into a child. This condition will be experienced by poultry groups such as chickens, ducks, geese and birds.
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Fish Group
The mother fish will release eggs and usually the number produced looks quite large. The eggs that come out have of course been fertilized and will be preparing to hatch into baby fish. For example, groups of fish that undergo this process include catfish, goldfish and tilapia.
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Reptile group
Reptiles can live under certain conditions. What this means is that some animals belonging to the reptile group live in water areas and some live in land areas. Then, the way to breed animals from the reptile group is to start with the mating process between the female parent and the male parent.
Next, the female parent will experience the process of laying eggs. Where after a few days the egg will hatch and become a baby reptile. Examples of groups of reptiles that experience this condition are snakes, lizards, lizards, geckos, chameleons, monitor lizards, crocodiles and turtles.
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Amphibian Group
Frogs or toads are examples of amphibious animals. Where the animal has gone through a metamorphosis process in its life cycle. Amphibians themselves will reproduce by external fertilization. Where the female frog will release eggs in the water and the male frog will release sperm in the water as a form of fertilization of the egg cells.
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Viviparous (giving birth)
Viviparous is a type of reproduction that will be carried out by giving birth. In this case, of course the animal will experience a gestation period. Where pregnancy can occur after fertilization, the embryo will grow and develop in the female’s uterus.
Next, there will be a growth process until finally a new individual of the same type will be born. You also need to know that when the embryo is in the womb, the embryo will get nutrition from the food consumed by the female mother through the placenta.
Compared to oviparous animals, fetuses in viviparous animals tend to be slower. Then the characteristics of viviparous animals are the presence of mammary glands, the presence of earlobes, the animal’s body will be covered with fur or hair, in general it will be a mammal or mammal.
Meanwhile, examples of viviparous animals are cats, dogs, lions, rabbits, cows, goats, whales, dolphins and so on.
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Ovoviviparous (laying eggs and giving birth)
In generative reproduction there is something called the ovoviviparous type. Simply put, ovoviviparous is a combination of two breeding events, namely oviparous or laying eggs and viviparous or giving birth.
Animals that reproduce ovoviviparously will begin with fertilization causing the resulting embryo to grow and develop in the egg. This condition does look similar to oviparous reproduction.
However, especially in ovoviviparous reproduction, the egg will not ultimately be released from the mother’s body but will remain in the mother’s body until it matures. After mentas, the candidate will be born to the female parent.
The number of animals that have ovoviviparous reproduction is not as large as other types of reproduction such as oviparous or viviparous. Although ovoviviparous animals do not have special characteristics. However, the difference between ovoviviparous animals and other types of animals is from the fertilization process to giving birth.
Physically, the characteristics of ovoviviparous animals are more similar to oviparous animals. Examples of ovoviviparous animals include stingrays, lizards, sharks, chameleons, seahorses, platypus and so on.
Studying material about the animal breeding process will certainly make it easier to understand the basic concepts. There is a lot of material that we can learn about the concept of animal development, animal anatomy and reproductive physiology.
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Vegetative Development
Next there is a method of vegetative or asexual reproduction. Where this breeding will occur without the need for a mating process or without the process of fertilization of female sex cells by male sex cells. Most vegetative reproduction will occur in lower animals or invertebrates.
In this vegetative reproduction process, it will be carried out by dividing, budding and fragmentation. In the process, vegetative reproduction will be carried out naturally and artificially. So, to understand better, here is an explanation of the types that exist in vegetative reproduction.
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Splitting Yourself
The first type is self-dividing reproduction. Where this type of reproduction will be carried out by animals with one cell such as amoeba and paramecium. Both are often referred to as eukaryotic organisms.
Apart from that, these organisms also have a nuclear membrane. The size of animals such as amoeba and paramecium is relatively small and can only be seen using tools such as a microscope. The parent method for animals such as amoeba and paramecium is to divide their body into two equal sizes.
Examples of animals that reproduce by dividing themselves are as follows.
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Amoeba
As previously explained, amoeba is a type of animal that reproduces by dividing itself. Where the amoeba itself is a protist that moves with the help of pseudopodia or pseudo-legs which refers more to the genus which includes species that move with this mechanical process.
Amoeba itself lives on land and in water or even in various other habitats. The method of reproduction that will be carried out by breeding is by dividing within a very fast period of time.
It is also important to know that some geographic or atmospheric changes allow the destruction of most living organisms. However, amoeba, which is a unicellular organism, is able to survive because it has the ability to reproduce very quickly.
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Protozoa
Protozoa are so small that they can only be seen with the help of tools such as a microscope. However, several conditions cause protozoa and algae to be difficult to distinguish even when seen with the help of a microscope.
Examples of protozoa include the green algae Euglenophyta. Where the green algae Euglenophyta has conditions such as the presence of flagellated cells, single cells that can contain chlorophyll, the condition of losing chlorophyll and having the ability to photosynthesize.
Protozoa can be distinguished from fungi which can move actively without the cell walls of algae because they do not contain chlorophyll and can be distinguished from slime molds because they do not form fruiting bodies.
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Paramecium
Paramecium itself is a protist that looks similar to an animal that has two nuclei in one cell. These two cells are a large nucleus which is often referred to as the macronucleus which can be used to monitor growth, metabolism and regeneration activities.
Then, the cell nucleus is often referred to as the micronucleus which is used to control reproductive activities. Paramecium gets its food by vibrating its cilia. Apart from that, paramecium also has feeding vacuoles which can function as digesters and distribute food. Then the pulsating vacuole has the function of removing existing food waste.
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Sprouting
Budding is a way for animals to reproduce when new organisms grow. Small shoots will appear on the mother animal’s body and when they are old enough, these shoots will separate from the parent body to form a new individual.
The easiest examples of animals that reproduce by budding are hydras, porifera and coelenterates. The formation of buds in hydra will begin with a bulge appearing on the middle part of the body wall.
Where the protrusion will later undergo a process of lengthening to form a mouth and hands. Hydra with buds in immature condition will get food from the adult parent. And when it reaches adulthood, the hydra will begin to catch its food independently. Next, the hydra will separate itself from the adult parent’s body.
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Hydra
Previously, we briefly discussed the budding reproduction of hydras. Now in this point we will explain in more detail about the hydra itself.
Hydra is an animal that is characterized by the absence of a backbone and will live in freshwater habitats. Hydra is also a predatory animal that lives in fresh water with tropical temperatures and is not polluted.
Just like amoeba, hydra is also a microscopic animal. Where hydra can only be seen with the help of tools such as a microscope. Hydra itself has a small body size with a length of about 10 millimeters and its shape resembles a tube.
In order to protect itself from threats, the hydra will contract its body until it forms or resembles a small lump. The hydra’s breeding process will start from the appearance of a lump on the body of an adult hydra.
Where later the bulge will continue to grow until it gets bigger and when it is large enough, the hydra will be able to get food independently. Hydra shoots will also separate from their parents until they grow and develop into new individuals of the same type.
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Porifera
Porifera or what can be called sponges are multicellular animals like hydras. Where porifera is a species of aquatic animal that is able to live in the sea at a depth of 8000 meters and will never move.
Porifera has a characteristic multi-porous body. Meanwhile, the reproduction of porifera itself will be done by forming a bud in the colony. The loose pieces will later be easy to grow and develop into new porifera.
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Coelenterate
Next there are coelenterates. Where the reproduction process of coelenterates is almost similar to that carried out by porifera, namely asexually by forming shoots or buds which will attach to the parent animal. Later the bud will grow bigger until it changes into the form of a new individual of the same type.
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Fragmentation
Then there is also fragmentation breeding which will be carried out by certain animals. Fragmentation itself is a way of breeding animals which is done by cutting or severing parts of their bodies. Examples of animals that experience fragmented reproduction are planaria and several types of worms.
Selective worms are a type of animal that will reproduce by fragmentation. The presence of flatworms is easier to find under rocks in rivers. Flatworms are characterized by a fairly small body size.
When one part of the body is cut, the body part will experience growth so that it becomes a new individual of the same type.
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Parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis is the growth and development of eggs that can occur without the fertilization process from the male parent’s sex cells. For example, when the female bee’s sex cells are not fertilized by the male’s sex cells, they can still produce eggs and when they hatch they can produce new male bees. However, when fertilization occurs with male sex cells, the resulting bee will be a female bee.
How to reproduce sexually in animals
Animals are able to carry out the process of reproduction in a generative way or by fertilization first using animal breeding tools. In this case, male sex cells will be called sperm cells and female sex cells will be called egg cells.
In this generative reproduction process, the fertilization process will be divided into two, namely internal and external. Both have different meanings and methods. So, for more details, see the explanation below.
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External Fertilization
Animals that fertilize outside are animals that live in water, such as fish and frogs. This can happen because the animal does not have the tools used to insert male sex cells into female sex cells.
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Internal Fertilization
In general, mammals will carry out the reproductive process by means of internal fertilization. Fertilization will take place inside the female parent’s body. Male animals must have sex cells in order to insert sperm into female animals. For example, animals that carry out internal fertilization are reptiles, birds and other types of mammals.
From the review above, of course we know that each animal will have different developments. Of course, there are several phases of animal development that must be passed through until they become true individuals of their kind.
So, that’s a review of animal breeding which you can read in full above. Hopefully all the discussion above is useful for you, Mudalovers.
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