Question

The nutrition of animals is related to
(a) Trophology
(b) Teratology
(c) Dysteleology
(d) Trichology

Answer 1

The nutrition of animals varies as they cannot make their own food and depend on sources including plants, its products, or other organisms. This is studied under a branch of science dealing with a proper diet.

Complete answer:
Trophology is the science of a combination of foods or nutrients to promote good health. The science is mastered by trophologists. According to a patient’s prescription, they decipher a nutritional approach accordingly. The idea of food combining can be traced back to Ayurvedic medicine and later revived in the 1900s as a modern diet. Trophologists take into account the different laws of food combining like avoiding mixing starch-rich foods with acidic foods.
- Teratology is a branch of biological sciences dealing with congenital malfunctions in plants and animals. It deals with a set of all causes, description, classification that leads to the generation of abnormalities in the embryo.
- Trichology is a branch of sciences dealing with scalp and hair, including its development as well as diseases related to it. A trichologist is an expert who deals with the diagnosis and treatment of hair and scalp related ailments.
- Dysteleology is a philosophy invented and popularised by Ernest Haeckel. According to this point of view, not everything in nature has a purpose. Some may be rudimentary or purposeless.
- Animals are heterotrophs and can be divided into consumers and decomposers. Consumers are further classified into herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and detritivores based on their food source.
So, the correct answer is ‘(a) Trophology.’

Note:
- Herbivores feed directly on producers. E.g. Cow. Carnivores feed on other animals. E.g Lion. Omnivores eat both plants and animals. E.g. Human beings. Detritivores eat detritus i.e. decomposing organic material. E.g. Earthworms.
- Both decomposers and detritivores derive nutrition from dead organic matters. The difference is that detritivores actually eat the organic matter but decomposers secrete enzymes for its breakdown and then absorb it.