Direct development
- Related Topics:
- animal
- biological development
If an animal after birth or emergence from an egg differs from the adult in comparatively minor details (apart from not having functional sex organs), the development is said to be direct. There is no larval stage and no metamorphosis. Direct development does not mean, however, that no changes occur between birth and adulthood. One very obvious change is the growth of the animal.
The rate of growth—not absolute increase—is highest in the early stages of postembryonic life; subsequently, growth continues to slow, ceasing completely at the attainment of adulthood. The rate of growth is dependent on many factors, both external (feeding, temperature) and internal. Of the internal factors, the most important are hormones, especially the growth hormone produced by the hypophysis. If the growth hormone is produced in insufficient quantities, the result is dwarfism; if it is produced in excessive quantities, the result is gigantism.
In the case of direct development, the most important change is the attainment of sexual maturity, which is achieved in several steps and involves the action of several hormones. The gonad rudiments and rudiments of the supporting parts of the reproductive system remain inactive long after birth. At the approach of adulthood, however, two sets of hormones come into action: hypophyseal hormones stimulate the gonads to activity, and gonadal hormones (produced by the gonads) cause the supporting sex organs and other sex characters to become fully developed. To become functional, the gonads must be acted upon by secretions from the hypophysis. In immature females the follicle-stimulating hormone, which alone causes the egg follicles and the oocytes to grow, and the luteinizing hormone stimulate the follicle cells to produce the female sex hormone, estrogen, which effects the development of the uterus, the milk glands, and other characteristics of the female sex. In the male, the same hypophyseal hormones are produced, with the result that the testes start to produce sperm and to secrete the male sex hormone, androgen. It appears that the luteinizing hormone is the more active in the male sex, being able to cause both spermatogenesis and androgen secretion. Androgen, in turn, brings about the development of the penis, the descent of the testicles before birth, the appearance of typical male hair growth, and other secondary sex characteristics.
Maturity and death
Sexual maturity and the ensuing reproductive activity mark the pinnacle of development and morphogenesis and, for many animals, herald the end of life. The biological goal of the entire process is achieved with the launching of the next generation, and the life cycle that runs from the formation of gametes by one generation to the formation of gametes by the next generation is completed. In many animals the females die after laying their eggs; the males may have died earlier, after pairing. Indeed, some males (spiders, praying mantises) are eaten by the females immediately after copulation.
The developmental period can only truly be said to end with the termination of an organism, for much activity continues to unfold new developmental sequences, not all of them progressive and favourable, to be sure. Senescence, or a decline in abilities, signals advancing age in mammals but is not a general occurrence in the animal kingdom. Far more animals continue to function at near-peak capacity well into old age. And even among those species—salmons, eels, many moths—whose members die after a single reproductive act, death is relatively swift and not accompanied by a prolonged period of deterioration.
In most animals the reproductive potential is not exhausted in a single act of gamete production, but the sexually mature individuals remain alive and reproduce repeatedly. In these cases life may extend long beyond the first attainment of reproductive ability and be accompanied by further growth of the individuals, as occurs in most fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, and also in mollusks and certain other invertebrates. In the case of prolonged life spans, however, reproductive activity may cease with advancing age, and a senile involution take place, as is observed mainly in mammals and, particularly, in man. The changes taking place may be described as regressive development. In most animals, however, the end of life is not preceded by any overt traces of senility. As a general rule, then, the attainment of reproductive ability may be said to be the final phase of progressive development among animals.
A gradual loss of alertness and vigour is typical of the aging pattern of primates and is especially important to man.
Boris Ivan Balinsky