Need help with answering a biology question

Question

Do individual animals have the same dietary needs every single day of the year? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Hey Emma,

The simple answer is no. An animal's dietary needs depend on the environment around them, their physical condition, metabolism, activity, and a variety of additional factors. It fluctuates, just as our dietary needs do. For example, imagine an athlete. On days they are working out, they require higher amounts of protein in order to maintain and build muscle while staying in peak physical condition. However, what about days they may not be competing, or rest days? Naturally, if there is a lesser demand on an individual's body, they will need less from a dietary standpoint. Another example would be a bear. When hibernating, bears have minimal physical activity, so their bodies don't need as much fuel to function. However, after hibernation, bears become more active, and need to consume more nutrients in order to keep up with their metabolic demand. This can even be true on a more micro scale. Some days may be hotter than others, so you may have to drink more water to compensate for the water lost through sweat, as well as the electrolytes your body loses in the sweat as well. Therefore, dietary needs fluctuate daily based on a variety of factors, though some demands may not be as noticeable as others.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Individual's dietary requirements vary day to day, seasonally, and over their lifetime. On a lifetime scale, growing animals require more food than adults to fuel their growth, pregnant or lactating females require more food than nonreproducing females, and active young adults require more food than less active older individuals. On a seasonal basis, individuals require varying amounts of food based on the weather they are dealing with, with more extreme climates requiring more energy and different proportions of water in order to regulate temperature. On a daily basis, one day an individual may travel a long distance using a lot of energy requiring more food, another day they may expend little energy and require less food, and illness can also influence food intake. There are many other ways that dietary needs change over time, but they are definitely not static!