23/10/2017

Complexity of Nature & Life

 

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi

 

Life is so complex. We think of all beings as animals or plants and this means a lot when you are vegetarian and determined not to hurt.

What characterises a being as one or another.

An animal must feed on other living things because it cannot obtain energy directly from sunlight. Animals have an embryo stage in their life cycle. The cell walls in animals are mostly soft and animals depend on skeletons or shells for strengthening and protecting.

Plant cells get their strength from cellulose. These contain little green packages called chloroplasts. Chloroplasts use the energy of sunlight to produce the substances needed to make plant tissues, in a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis consumes carbon dioxide and produces oxygen.

Simply said :

Animals eat other animals or plants to get energy for their survival. They can move.

Plants get energy for their survival from the sun. They cannot move.

But there are beings that defy all the rules. Some are both plant and animal. Some animals look like plants. Others vary between being animals that turn into plants or vice versa !

The Venus flytrap, despite being a plant, feeds on insects—and its parts move faster than its animal prey. Many groups of animals do not move and stay attached to a surface for life, such as sponges, corals, mussels and barnacles.

Corals are not plants. They are animals. The amazingly coloured sea anemone is not a flower. It is a close relative of corals and jellyfish. It spends its life attached to rocks on the sea bottom. or on coral reefs, waiting for fish to pass close enough to get ensnared in its venom-filled tentacles.

There are over 1000 species of anemones. Their bodies are composed of an adhesive pedal disc, or foot, a cylindrical body, and an array of tentacles surrounding a central mouth. The tentacles fire a harpoon-like filament into their victim, injecting it with a paralyzing neurotoxin. The helpless prey is then guided into the mouth by the tentacles.

They look so much like plants that even Aristotle, the ancient Greek who produced one of the world’s first systems for categorizing life, was puzzled by them and categorised them as zoophytes (“both animal and plant”.) However, they are animals because they can move (very slowly) and feed on other unsuspecting organisms that get trapped in their tentacles. Interestingly, components of their nervous system are the same as humans’, although their anatomy is very different.

Likewise, sea sponges are hard shelled beings with countless tiny openings or holes visible on them. 5000 species of sponges grow in all different shapes, sizes, colours, and textures. These tiny pores let water flow freely in and out of the sponge, bringing in all the nutrients it needs, while simultaneously releasing waste. For a long time it was debated whether sea sponges should be classified as plants or animals. Eventually zoologists have classified them as simple multi-cellular, bottom-dwelling animals. 

There are also bizarre animals commonly called "sea lilies". These are animals that look like plants and were thought to be fixed to the sea bottom by a stalk. Now it has been discovered that they use their feathery arms to crawl, dragging their stalks behind them.

Algae are usually aquatic organisms that appear as a kind of growth, or slime, on top of bodies of water in a range of colours. Even though they look like plants, they don’t move and can photosynthesize, they are not plants as they have animal characteristics as well. Seaweeds are macro algae. They are divided into green, red or brown families. Kelp, which forms massive underwater forests reaching heights of 80 mts, is a key ingredient in many Asian meals. Kelp is brown algae. A green algae, called Nori seaweed, is used in Japanese cuisine to wrap sushi and rice. Red Dulse is a snack in Ireland and Iceland that some claim tastes like bacon when fried. But in spite of their plant-like appearances and animal-like tastes, nori and dulse are red algae. Neither plant nor animal. Chondrus crispus, commonly known as carrageenan moss, is a red alga used in salad dressings and sauces, diet foods, meat and fish products, dairy items and baked goods, as is agar. Porphyra is a red alga used in soups, sushi or rice balls. In Belize, seaweed is mixed with milk, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon to make a beverage called "dulce". Seaweed is an ingredient in toothpaste, cosmetics and paints.

Mushrooms are often treated like vegetables, but fungi (which includes yeast and mould) are actually closer to animals than plants. Like plants, they do not move, but they also don’t perform photosynthesis. Instead, their source of molecules and energy are other organisms. Instead of “hunting” them like animals, they either grow on top of them (soil, trees, human feet) or on top of decaying dead organisms (dead bark, dead animals, bread). Due to their close evolutionary relationship to animals, eating a portabello mushroom in a bun is much closer to eating a hamburger than a soya substitute. Yeasts are used in bread and beer.

Euglema is another commonly seen being, in pools of water that is neither plant nor animal. It is pear shaped, single celled and has a whip like tail which propels it through water establishing it as an animal. Yet, it has chloroplasts like a plant has. It makes its own food like a plant, but it eats other things like an animal and has an eyespot which is sensitive to light. It was discovered in 1660 A.D. but it still defies any known category.

In 2012 scientists came upon another of nature’s miracles: a strange green creature, neither plant nor animal, called Mesodinium, that lives at the bottom of the sea. It looks like a ball of wool gone wild. Using its hundreds of small hairs, it moves rapidly through water, finding plants to eat – after which it changes into a plant.

The strange, single-cell green creature, found in Danish waters, finds tiny plants that contain chlorophyll. And when Mesodinium chamaeleon eats the plant, it becomes a plant.

By keeping the chlorophyll granules active in its stomach, Mesodinium chamaeleon uses the granules’ ability to convert sunlight into energy for it. This photosynthesis makes Mesodinium chamaeleon a plant. After a while, Mesodinium chamaeleon digests the plant which actually makes it an animal. Then it goes hunting, like an animal, for a new plant to eat.

There is no combination that God/Nature has not thought of first!

Am I going to be eating mushrooms again? Perhaps not.

 

 

 

 

Pl. add: To join the animal welfare movement contact gandhim@nic.in, www.peopleforanimalsindia.org

 

comments powered by Disqus

previous articles...

Who Cares About the Animals...

Complexity of Nature & Life

Superstitions & Animal Sacrifices

What happens to the bones of animals once they are killed for their meat or skin?

Varakh (silver foil) Is Non-Veg

Pellet Guns are Not Toys

Are you lactose intolerant

How many disgusting things do you eat in your food that you are not aware of?

Eradication of mosquitoes cannot be done without destroying the world

Plastic Microbeads Now In Food Chain

Hazards of toxic food for Animals

How to make Pesticides at Home

Natural Mosquito Repellents

Plight of aquarium fish

Eat Vegetarian diet to live longer

Some Useful Innovations for Rural People

Plant foods do not contain any cholesterol

The Truth About Protein

Mock Meats : The Moral Alternatives

Is China going to eat up the whole world?

Ways to become thinner or fatter

Animal Studies Paint Misleading Picture

Are you alone?

What do you eat when you eat fish

How ANIMALS manage their time—A STUDY

Next time you look into your beloved’s soul, look for the parasites at the gateway...

Medicinal Use of Cow Urine

Influence of Animals on human beings

Cruel Ways of Eating Animals & Birds by Humans II

Cruel Ways of Eating Animals & Birds by Humans I

Are you a Good Samaritan?

How to Check Adulteration in Milk

Stable Environment for healthy fish needed

Fish Lovers- Beware

Role of Bacteria in shaping behavior of genes

A Suitable Cow

Some Tips On Nursing Puppies

Ban Battery cage for chicken

Varieties of Chicken we eat

Slaughter houses and increased crime rates

Breeds of dog in India

Cruelty to animals on the occasion of festivals

Real foods spoil very quickly, fast foods not

 The Myth of Swine & Avian Flu in India

Fish eating causes health hazard

Animal sacrifice in Pauri Garhwal area of Uttarakhand  

Difference between Veg and Non-veg

Virgin Mary among Lizards

Nature-the most inspiring model for our Ecosystems

Role of denial in eating of Meat

The Technology of Synthetic Milk

Honeybee-the insect for human food chain

 Why do dogs bark

Characteristics of varieties of caterpillars

Emotional Complexity of Animals

Meat eating causes diseases

Rat in Hindu mythology

Which animal you are

Man’s alter ego-an Animal

Career in management of welfare of Animals

Profession of  Pet grooming

What you Eat When you Eat Processed Meat

How to train a dog to make it useful

The Purpose of Minor Beings in Our Ecosystem

Cruelty to Bears in Pakistan

How  Onion Drives Away Viruses

How to save an animal from burn injury

Production of Honey is cruelty to Bee

Meat eating causes Global warming

Hazards of fish factories

Growth of a bird till it flies

Creatures of the world live and help live

Killing a snake brings bad luck

Effects of the startle Reflex on Animals

Awaken Your Soul by Loving Animals

Feeling of grief in Animals

Talking Plants

Altruism in Animals

Music Soothes Animals

How Animals recognize their Kins

Animals teach their offspring like human moms

Cruelty to Animals in Slaughter houses

What is the secret to a perfect life and happiness?

How is Ghee being adulterated ?

Difference between a man & an animal

Homosexuality Is Not Against Nature In Animal Kingdom

Programmes for improving Animal Welfare

Promiscuity in mating behaviour of Birds

Uses for slaughtered Animals accelerate killing of Animals

Slingshots & Catapults Destroy Wild Life

Human Intelligibility of Animals

Animal grooming of offspring is worth emulating

Illegal Trade of Killing Cattle

Eating Cattle Meat Causes E Coli Infection

Some tips on making  Puppies’ life comfortable

Some tips on keeping kittens clean

Snake skin trade dangerous for eco system

Dog shows are not for dog lovers but for moneymakers and charlatans

Political agenda for Animal welfare needed

How foolish it is to kill Sea creatures for Ornaments

Infectious diseases from Animals to Humans

How pitiable is Rabbit farming?

Remedies for Animal ailments

Infected Pig Meat Risks Your Life

Animals spread dangerous Ebola virus to humans

Animals Have More Sense

Municipal Policy on hazards of pet shops

Mutualism  makes Species of the nature flourish

Adoption Fair for Puppies

How Animals behave in packs

Why People prefer dogs and cats to human beings

Positive effects of spaying and neutering on pets

Mammals & Birds cry like human beings

Biomemetics Provides solution to human problems

Chinese food products- the greatest killer

Pets make better partners than humans

How harmful is the Packaged Meat

Stop Slaughter of Cows for Bone Trade

How cruel it is to dump pet animals ? view comments...

Don’t hurt animals on festive occasions

Let the earth beings survive

Glues are made of animal remains

Meat increases risk of cancer

Birds provide springboard to song composers

Is it not an act of Cannibalism?

How many animals do you have to eat before you become man ?

To eat or not to eat Meat

Insulin from Animals 

Is It Healthy Decision to Promote Rat Eating in Bihar

Use of Animal bones in Porcelain

Infection of Tick disease in Dogs and its cure

Vegetarian diet is the best diet for human beings

Non-Veg  Diet causes  Dementia

Excuses for being non-vegetarians

Body odour of Non-vegetarians

Feeling Good

MEAT threatens Planet’s Survival

Am I smarter than you ? Yes, if you are a meat eater.

Need to  orient educational system to deal with animals

How to Avoid Cruelty to Gold Fish?

How To Make Everyday An Animal day

Are Eggs Vegetarian?

Are You One of these People ?

Use of Animal Fats in Cosmetics Industries

Killing of endangered Species for Perfume Industries

Missionary Campaign to Control Cruelty to Animals- needed

Drink Milk, Get Sick

Parents Create Monsters

The Business of Murder:Factory Farming and the Meat Industry in India

Effect of landscaping of birds on environment

Dangers of killing deep Sea-Sharks for  Cosmetic Products

Use of dog in diagnosis of diseases

Sacred Nature of Neelkanth

Cruelty to Polo Ponies comments...

Self-Regulation of Population by Animals

Dangers of Animal meat eating

Arsenic poison in chicken feed

Cruelty to Animals by Govt. Vets

Worship of God with Blood and Suffering of Animals and Birds

Consequences of Chloramphenicol in Shrimp Industry

Hazards of Trade in Peacocks’ Feather

Supreme Court Ban on cruelty to Animals

Are you a Bad Pet Owner?

The Goat That Laughed and Wept

Animal Owners’ personality traits resemble their Pets’

Human Propensities of Goat

Animal sacrifice at the altar of religion

Animal as foster parent

Animal feed from rendering plant

Trade in WildLife

Human Intelligence of Birds

Human Propensities of Cow



comments powered by Disqus



traffic analytics