Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: John Chapman on 10/07/2009 02:06:20
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Lisa Minnelli once famously said “It’s so quite you could hear a fish fart”. Many fish are algae and plant feeders. So do they fart? And seed eating birds and leaf munching insects must eat a lot of fibre too. Do they fart?
And what about bacteria? They produce the methane in mammals' farts so how is the gas formed. Is the plant matter taken into the cell and the methane expelled as little bubbles?
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And seed eating birds and leaf munching insects must eat a lot of fibre too. Do they fart?
Gases erupting from any point in mammalian intestines can build up before they reach the end, and are going to pass through a bunch of malodorous stuff along the way, picking up additional odors. Birds get rid of any gases as quickly as they do the other material in their guts, and so there really isn't time for huge buildups...But the short answer is an almost definite no, birds do not fart. Farts are, by definition, noticeable eruptions of significant volumes of intestinal gas.
http://lauraerickson.blogspot.com/2007/04/question-of-day-do-birds-fart.html
Mike Murray, a veterinarian at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, has this to say: “It’s not that they can’t. They just don’t need to. Birds have the anatomical and physical ability to pass gas, but if I saw gas in a bird’s gastrointestinal tract on an x-ray, I’d suspect that something abnormal was going on in there.”
http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/2009/06/30/do-birds-fart/
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Many fish are algae and plant feeders. So do they fart?
Well there was this thread http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=1116.0 but all the links appear to be broken.
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And what about bacteria? They produce the methane in mammals' farts so how is the gas formed. Is the plant matter taken into the cell and the methane expelled as little bubbles?
That'll depend on what your definition of 'fart' is! [xx(]
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Thanks Chem4me
Excellent research as always.
To summarize the opinions in your links they seem to be saying
a) Birds - produce gas but quickly expel it before enough accumulates to produce a real fart. More of a general seepage than regular guffs.
b) Fish DO sometimes fart and, according to Chris Smith, may actually use this as a method of communication
Dr. Doolittle may have been able to talk with the animals, but could he fart with them too ? That's what he may have had to do if he wanted to chat with a herring. Researchers at Canada's Bamfield Marine Science Centre have discovered that herring make noises by expelling air out of their anal duct from their gut or swimbladder. They've called it Fast Repetitive Tick (FaRT for short) and conclude that it may have a social function since herring seem to do it more when they are hanging out in big groups. But herring aren't the only animals with meaningful farts. 2 species of snake in North America use flatulence to ward off potential predators!
Does anybody know how bacteria produce the gases that we all expel? Does it form inside or outside of the bacteria cell?
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Termites are the largest producers of methane...
or so I've heard.
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Termites are the largest producers of methane...
or so I've heard.
Strewth! You've got good hearing, what does a termite fart sound like?
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why wouldn't other mannals fart?
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The question was:
Do animals other than mammals fart?
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Sorry i'm such an idiot. not only did i misread the question but i typed mannals instead of mammals
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Thanks Chem4me
Excellent research as always.
To summarize the opinions in your links they seem to be saying
a) Birds - produce gas but quickly expel it before enough accumulates to produce a real fart. More of a general seepage than regular guffs.
b) Fish DO sometimes fart and, according to Chris Smith, may actually use this as a method of communication
Dr. Doolittle may have been able to talk with the animals, but could he fart with them too ? That's what he may have had to do if he wanted to chat with a herring. Researchers at Canada's Bamfield Marine Science Centre have discovered that herring make noises by expelling air out of their anal duct from their gut or swimbladder. They've called it Fast Repetitive Tick (FaRT for short) and conclude that it may have a social function since herring seem to do it more when they are hanging out in big groups. But herring aren't the only animals with meaningful farts. 2 species of snake in North America use flatulence to ward off potential predators!
Does anybody know how bacteria produce the gases that we all expel? Does it form inside or outside of the bacteria cell?
Hey Mr Fish, your voice has changed but your breath is still the same.
Excuuuse me, I could not PAaass this up, Aaaah! The dog walked by the dinner table, farted, walked away and everyone looked at me
All kidding aside That is interesting!
I think that, not all mammals can fart or burp.
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Well i guess bacteria produce gas inside the cell and it is excreted by exocytosis. Like i say, just a guess though.
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Or it might be endocytisis, i can't remember.
how exctly did i get a good grade in h biology?