Adaptation to environment

Question 1

What is a habitat?

Answer 1

Place in which a community, species, population or organism lives

Question 2

Name two examples of organisms that have adapted to harsh abiotic environment

Answer 2

Sand dune grass species
Magrove tree species

Question 3

What are abiotic factors and how when do they act as a limiting factor

Answer 3

The non-living components of an ecosystem
If that factor is outside the tolerance zone of an organism

Question 4

Rannge of tolerance of a limiting factor

Question 5

Conditions required for coral reef formation

Answer 5

Coral reefs are used here as an example of a marine ecosystem. Factors should include water depth, pH,
salinity, clarity and temperature.

Question 6

Abiotic factors as the determinants of terrestrial biome distribution

Answer 6

Students should understand that, for any given temperature and rainfall pattern, one natural ecosystem
type is likely to develop. Illustrate this using a graph showing the distribution of biomes with these two
climatic variables on the horizontal and vertical axes.

Question 7

Biomes as groups of ecosystems with similar communities due to similar abiotic conditions and
convergent evolution

Answer 7

Students should be familiar with the climate conditions that characterize the tropical forest, temperate
forest, taiga, grassland, tundra and hot desert biomes.

Question 8

Adaptations to life in hot deserts and tropical rainforest

Answer 8

Include examples of adaptations in named species of plants and animals.