Adaptation Flashcards
Where do fleas live and what do they do?
Live in the hair or fur of mammals and suck blood from their host.
Adaptations can be:
- Structural: features of an organism’s body structure e.g. Shape and colour
- Behavioural: ways that organisms behave e.g. Migrating to warmer climates in winter
- Functional: related to processes such as reproduction and metabolism
Describe sporozoites
The second form of the malaria parasite.
- when the mosquito bites another animal, it transfers the sporozoites into the animal’s bloodstream
- the sporozoites pass through the blood to the liver, wheee they enter the liver cells
- inside the cells, the sporozoites rapidly divide asexually to produces merozoites
How are tapeworms adapted to their environment?
- Suckers and hooks to help them hold on to the wall of the host’s intestine
- a body with flattened segments and no gut. The body has a large surface area so it can absorb its food from the host’s gut. The flattened segments produce a lot of eggs so the tapeworm can have a lot of babies.
- a thick outer cuticle to stop them getting digested by the enzymes in the host’s gut
Where do tapeworms live?
In the intestines of mammals and some other animals
What are extremophiles?
Organisms that live in environments that are very extreme.
E.g. Containing high levels of salt, high temp or high pressures
What is the order of the four different forms of the malaria parasite?
- Gametocytes
- Sporozoites
- Merozoites
4 Schizonts
Describe schizonts
The fourth form of a malaria parasite.
- the schizonts divides to produce many merozoite (each merozoites only has one nucleus)
- the red blood cell bursts, releasing merozoites into the blood. Toxins are released too, triggering the fever attacked associated with malaria.
- theses merozoites go on to invade other red blood cells and the cycle is repeated.
- infected red blood cells all tend to burst at the same time - the cycles of bursting cells results in the cycles of fever attached malaria victims get
What did organisms require to survive and reproduce?
A supply of materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there.
What is malaria caused by in humans?
The single-called malaria parasite
How are fleas adapted to their environment?
- Sharp mouthparts to help them break the host’s skin and suck blood
- A flattened body so they’re not easily brushed off their host
- A hard body so they’re not damaged when the animal scratches them
- long hind legs so they can jump between hosts
Describe gametocytes
The first form of the malaria parasite.
- when a mosquito sucks blood from an animal with malaria, it takes up gametocytes
- the gametocytes reproduces sexually inside the mosquito
- in the mosquito’s salivary gland the gametocytes turn into a new form called sporozoites.
What do plants compete with each other for?
- Light and space
- Water and nutrients from the soil
Describe merozoites
The third form of the malaria parasite.
- thousands of merozoites are released from the liver cells into the blood
- they invade red blood cells
Path A:
- the merozoites grows and its nucleus then divides asexually to produce a cell with many nuclei called a schizont.
Path B:
- Some merozoites don’t develops into schizonts. They enter a sexual phase of reproduction which results in gametocytes. Red blood cells contains gametocytes can be sucked up if the animal is bitten by a mosquito. And so the life cycle begins all over again.
What do animals compete with each other for?
- Food
- Mates
- Territory
