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GCSE Biology (B1) > Adaptation for Survival > Flashcards

Adaptation for Survival Flashcards

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1
Q

What do organisms require to survive and reproduce?

A

They require materials from their surroundings and from other organisms living there

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2
Q

What do plants require to survive and reproduce?

A
  • Light
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Water
  • Oxygen
  • Nutrients, such as mineral ions from the soil
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3
Q

What do animals require to survive and reproduce?

A
  • Food from other organisms (either plants or other animals)
  • Water
  • Oxygen
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4
Q

What do different microorganisms need to survive and reproduce?

A
  • Some are like plants and require what they do
  • Others are like animals and require the same as them
  • Some don’t need oxygen or light to survive
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5
Q

What are adaptations?

A

Special features that make an organism particularly well suited to the enviornment that it lives in

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6
Q

How have herbivores and carnivores adapted to their respective diets?

A

Their teeth and mouthparts have adapted/changed shape to fit with the type of material they eat

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7
Q

Give an example of how plants have adapted.

A

To obtain light and other materials efficiently in order to make food by photosynthesis

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8
Q

What are extremophiles?

A

Organisms that have adapted to live in environments that are very extreme (e.g. very hot/cold) and where enzymes wouldn’t work because they would denature

An example is the tardigrade (water bear)

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9
Q

Where do most organisms live and why?

A

In temperatures below 40° so their enzymes can work (not denature)

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10
Q

What would happen if animals were not adapted to the areas they live in?

A

They’d die

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11
Q

What adaptations do animals that live in cold climates (such as the Arctic) have?

A
  • Thick fur and fat (blubber) under the skin to keep them warm
  • Some (Arctic fox + hare) are white in the winter and brown in the summer so they are camouflaged all year round
  • Bigger animals have smaller surface areas compared to their volumes. This means they can conserve more energy as less heat is lost
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12
Q

What adaptations do animals that live in warm, dry climates (such as the desert) have?

A
  • Hunt or feed at night so they can remain cool during the day
  • To conserve water (camel’s humps)
  • Large surface area to volume ratio so they can cool down easily
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13
Q

Why do plants need to collect and conserve water?

A

For photosynthesis and also because it is lost through the stomata

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14
Q

What are stomata?

A

Openings in the leaves of plants which allow gasses (and water) to enter + escape (gas exchange). They are controlled by the guard cells

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15
Q

How can plants collect water?

A

Through an extensive root system

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16
Q

How can plants conserve water?

A

If it has very small or waxy leaves. A plant may also have a swollen stem to store the water

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17
Q

What adaptations do plants living in hot, dry environments (such as the desert) have?

A
  • Cacti are well adapted to storing water. They store it in their stem and have a thick, waxy cuticle to stop it escaping
  • The mesquite tree has an extensive root system to collect water
  • Cacti have also developed spikes/spines to stop animals eating them
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18
Q

How have plants adapted to stop themselves being eaten by animals?

A

They have developed…

  • Thorns
  • Poisonous chemicals
  • Warning colours

to put animals off

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19
Q

What do animals compete with each other for?

A
  • Water
  • Food
  • Space
  • Mates
  • Breeding sites
20
Q

What is competition?

A

The process by which living organisms compete with each other for limited resources

(e.g. food, water, space, mates)

21
Q

What is an animal’s territory?

A

An area where an animal lives an feeds. It may mark it out and defend it against other animals

22
Q

What will an animal’s territory be large enough to do?

A
  • Find water
  • Find food
  • Have space for breeding/raising young
23
Q

How do predators compete with their pray?

A

Predators want to eat their pray. This is competition

24
Q

What adaptations may both predators and prey have, and how would this help them be a better competitor?

A

They may be camouflaged so they are less easy to see

25
Q

Who else do prey compete with and how/why?

A

Prey compete amongst each other to escape from predators and find food for themselves

26
Q

How have some animals adapted to avoid being eaten?

A

Caterpillars have adapted in the following ways to avoid being eaten:

  • Warning colours
  • Poisonous

Other animals have developed other adaptations, such as:

  • Speed
  • Horns
  • Tough skin/not nutritious for other animals to eat
27
Q

What do plants compete for?

A
  • Water
  • Nutrients
  • Light
  • Space to grow
28
Q

Why do some plants in woodlands flower before there are leaves on the trees?

A

So they can get enough light, water, and nutrients (aren’t blocked by the leaves)

Snowdrops do this

29
Q

Complete the sentence:

Well adapted plants and animals are…

A

… good competitors

30
Q

Give a way in which plants can compete for water.

A

They can grow deep roots to reach underground water better than those with shallow roots

31
Q

Why do some plants spread their seeds over a wide area?

A

So they do not have to compete with themselves/their offspring.

Generally, they make sure there is less comeptition for themseleves!

32
Q

Give examples of ways in which plants can spread their seeds.

A
  • Use animals (animals eat fruits/plants, then seeds are depositied in poo. Poo acts as fertiliser)
  • Use the wind (e.g. sycamore)
  • Mini-explosions (e.g. broom)
33
Q

How else might plants compete?

A
  • Grow quickly to gain as much light/root space as possible
  • Grow at a time when other plants are dormant (e.g. snowdrops)
34
Q

What is an ovipositor?

A

A pointed tube found in many female insects that is used to lay eggs

35
Q

How have fig wasps adapted?

A
  • The females have special shaped heads for getting into fig flowers
  • They also have ovipositors allowing them to place eggs deep inside the flower
  • Some males spend their lives inside the flowers waiting for a female
36
Q

What is the advantage to the fig tree of attracting the right kind of wasp?

A

The wasps pollinate the tree with the right sort of pollen

37
Q

How have star-nosed moles adapted?

A
  • They live underground and are almost blind
  • They are very sensitive to touch and smell
  • They have ‘feelers’ on their nose which they use to navigate tunnels
38
Q

How have Venus Fly Traps adapted?

A
  • They trap and eat insects
  • They have a sweet, sticky nectar to attract insects
  • They are bright red inside to attract insects
  • Some have digestion fluids which insects fall straight into
  • Some have sides which are very slippery so insects can’t escape
  • Some close their ‘mouths’ on insects so they can’t escape
39
Q

What do changes in the environment affect?

A

The distribution of living organisms

40
Q

What non-living environmental changes might affect living organisms?

A
  • Temperature
  • Rainfall
  • Light Levels
  • Oxygen Levels
41
Q

What living environmental changes might affect living organisms?

A
  • Arrival of a new predator
  • Arrival of a new disease
  • Induction of new plants which may provide new food or habitats
42
Q

What is an indicator species?

A

Lichens or insects that are particularly sensitive to pollution so can be used to indicate changes in the environmental pollution levels

43
Q

Describe how lichens can be used as an indicator species

A
  • Lichens indicate the level of air pollution, particularly sulfur dioxide
  • The more species of lichen growing, the cleaner the air
44
Q

Describe how freshwater invertebrates can be used as an indicator species

A
  • They indicate the level of water pollution, particularly the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water
  • The wider the range of these invertebrates, the cleaner the water in streams, rivers, or ponds
  • Some will only live in polluted water
45
Q

What can be used to monitor non-living changes in the environment?

A
  • Rain gauges
  • Thermometers
  • pH sensors
  • Oxygen sensors
  • Data loggers
46
Q

Why might some birds fly further North and what might this lead to?

A

To find new nesting sites if the climate gets warmer.

This may then lead to other birds having new competitors

47
Q

What might have caused the large fall in the bee population?

A
  • The use of chemical sprays by farmers
  • A viral disease
  • Changes in flowering patterns in plants due to climate change

GCSE Biology (B1) (7 decks)

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