metamorphosis

Examples of metamorphosis in the following topics:

• Animal Reproduction and Development

  • Some animals, such as grasshoppers, undergo incomplete metamorphosis, in which the young resemble the adult.
  • Other animals, such as some insects, undergo complete metamorphosis where individuals enter one or more larval stages that may differ in structure and function from the adult .
  • In complete metamorphosis, the young and the adult may have different diets, limiting competition for food between them.
  • (a) The grasshopper undergoes incomplete metamorphosis.
  • (b) The butterfly undergoes complete metamorphosis.

• Hormone Functions

  • In organisms that undergo metamorphosis, the process is controlled by the endocrine system.
  • The process of amphibian metamorphosis, as seen in the tadpole-to-frog stages shown here, is driven by hormones.

• Modern Amphibians

  • During this time, the gilled larval stage is found only within the egg capsule, with the gills being resorbed, and metamorphosis being completed, before hatching.
  • The life cycle of frogs, as with other amphibians, consists of two distinct stages: 1) the larval stage followed by 2) metamorphosis to an adult stage.
  • At the end of the tadpole stage, frogs undergo metamorphosis into the adult form .
  • These changes during metamorphosis allow the larvae to move onto land in the adult stage.

• Organismal Ecology and Population Ecology

  • The caterpillars pupate (undergo metamorphosis), emerging as butterflies after about four weeks.

• Nitrogenous Waste in Terrestrial Animals: The Urea Cycle

  • Interestingly, tadpoles excrete ammonia, but shift to urea production during metamorphosis.

• Chordates and the Evolution of Vertebrates

  • It then attaches via the head to the surface and undergoes metamorphosis into the adult form, at which point the notochord, nerve cord, and tail disappear.