Difference Between Movement And Locomotion: Types, Facts

Movement and locomotion are vital biological processes in living organisms, enabling them to interact with their environment. Movement refers to the displacement of body parts, while locomotion involves the entire body moving from one place to another. These processes are supported by specialized structures such as muscles, bones, and joints in animals. In this article, the definition of movement and locomotion, movement, locomotion, and key differences between movement and locomotion are discussed. Movement and Locomotion is a topic of the chapter Locomotion And Movement in Biology.

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This Story also Contains

1. Definition of Movement and Locomotion
2. Movement
3. Locomotion
4. Key Differences Between Movement and Locomotion

Definition of Movement and Locomotion

Movement refers to a change in position or location in space by an organism or its parts and embodies many diverse biological processes. However, locomotion entails only the capability of an organism to move from one place to the other by itself. Being able to tell the difference between the two terms is quite important in the field of biological science since it explains further, different mechanisms or ways organisms put in place to implement their survival or adaptation to different conditions.

Movement

Movement means any change in the position or posture of an organism or its parts about its environment.

Types of Movements

• Voluntary: Those which are controlled by conscious effort, including walking or making gestures.

• Involuntary: Not controlled by conscious will; includes movement related to heartbeat, reflex actions, etc.

• Cellular: It doesn't require that parts move with the environment. Includes movements of cytoplasmic streaming within cells.

Mechanism of Movements

• Cellular Level: It includes the streaming of cytoplasm itself within the cells, cytoplasmic streaming.

• Organismal Level: It contains muscular contraction, and ciliary movement, such as in respiratory epithelium.

Movement Examples

• Examples in humans: waving the arms, blinking, and breathing.

• Example in animals: The Amoeboid movement, found in the amoeba, plants' tropism or growth towards light.

• Types: Bipedalism, that is, moving on two legs; quadrupedalism, or moving on four legs; flying; swimming; etc.

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• MCQ practice on the Difference between Movement and Locomotion
• Locomotion and Movement
• Locomotion in Human Beings
• Skeletal Muscles

Locomotion

• Locomotion, in particular, is the movement of an organism from one place to another.

• Types: Bipedalism, on two legs only; quadrupedalism, on four legs; flying, swimming, etc.

Mechanism of Locomotion

• Musculoskeletal Systems: It deals with the coordination of bones, muscles, and joints to move.

• Adaptations: Organisms develop special adaptations such as wings in birds, fins in fish, and legs in mammals to move about.

Examples of Locomotion

• Human examples: Walking, running, swimming.

• Animal examples: Flying by birds, crawling by insects, swimming by fish.

Key Differences Between Movement and Locomotion

It is one of the important difference and comparison articles in biology. The differences are listed below-

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