Adaptations/Environmental change Flashcards
How are dessert animals adapted for their environment?
Large surface area to allow heat out
Efficient with water
Thin layers of body fat
Sandy coloured for camouflage
How are Arctic animals adapted to their environment?
Small surface area to reduce heat loss
Thick layer of blubber for insulation and food store
Thick hairy coats
Camouflage White
What is plants compete for?
Light
Space
Water
Nutrients from the soil
What do animals compete for?
Space
Food
Water
Mates
How are dessert plants adapted?
Small surface area compared to volume to reduce water loss
Small surface area compared to their size which reduces water loss
Water storage tissues
Extensive or deep roots to absorb maximum water
What adaptations can plants and animals have to protect them against a predator?
Armour like Thorns spikes or shells (tortoise)
Some produce poison (bee)
Some have warning colours to scare off predators(wasp)
What is an extremophile?
Often microorganisme that are adapted by having the ability to survive in extreme conditions such as
Hot volcanic vents
Very salt lakes
At high pressure on a sea bed
What living factors can cause environmental change?
Change in the occurence of infectious disease
A change in the number of predators
A change in the number of prey or availability of food
À change in the types of competitors
Which non living factors can cause environmental change?
A change in the average temperature
A change in the average rainfall
A change in the level of air or water pollution
What three affects can environmental change have on population?
Population size
increases (if more food available ect)
Population size decreases ( disease spreads etc)
Population distribution changes(If temps change animals will move)
What is an indicator species?
An organism that is sensitive to change so can be studied to see the affects of human activities
How can air pollution be monitored?
By studying lichen which are very sensitive to the concentration of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere (gives us good idea about level of pollution from car exhaust etc)
The number and type of lichen at a location will indicate how clean the air is
How can we tell if raw sewage has been released into a river?
The bacterial population in the water will increase and use up oxygen
Some invertebrate animals such as mayfly larvae are sensitive to dissolved oxygen concentration in the water
If there’s lots of them the water is clean
How do scientists use data satellites to measure environmental change?
Measure the temperature of the sea surface and the amount of snow and ice cover
What does automatic weather stations/measuring rainfall / dissolved oxygen meters do?
Tell us atmospheric temperature at various locations
Use rain gauges to find out how much average rainfall changes year on
Year
Measure concentration of dissolved oxygen to monitor water pollution change
