Adaptations Of Parasites

Question 0

Parasites are…

Answer 0

Organisms that live in or on another living organism

Question 1

The living organism that that parasites live in or on is called the…

Answer 1

Host

Question 2

Parasites feed on the organism and cause it harm, eventually causing the…

Answer 2

Death of the host

Question 3

Well-adapted to their environment as more parasites live on outside of body/ in the gut than inside the blood and tissues as living in blood and tissues means they have to…

Answer 3

Escape the host’s immune system and it is harder to get eggs to the outside

Question 4

Parasites don’t intend to kill their host as the host is their…

Answer 4

Food source so parasite usually dies when host dies

Question 5

Structural adaptations are:

Answer 5

• Highly developed reproductive organs (produce large numbers of gametes)
• Large (compared to free-living relatives, produce so many eggs)
• Dorso-ventrally flattened (back-to-front)
• Organs of attachment (hooks & suckers)
• Loss of locomotory organs (limbs)
• Reduction in nervous system & sense organs
• (Inside host) reduced gut + absorb nutrients through the whole body surface
• (inside host) usually absorb nutrients through thick cuticle

Question 6

Life cycle adaptations are:

Answer 6

• Reach sexual maturity quickly
• Asexual reproduction
• Produce more than one offspring
• Hermaphroditism - 1=male&female sex organs
• Parthenogenesis - 1= produce offspring without fertilisation taking place

Question 7

A major life cycle adaptation is the use of secondary hosts as they:

Answer 7

• Increases reproductive potential
• Parasite can spread to different environments
• 2nd host means of infecting primary host (primary host eats 2nd host)
• Survive periods when 1 host is temporarily scarce

Question 8

Infective stages = life cycle adaptations that help to increase their chances of infecting a host:

Answer 8

• Behavioural responses (locate favourable environments)
• Responding to chemical stimuli from their host
• Changing the behaviour of the infected intermediate host to increase the chance of being eaten by the final host (mice attracted to cat urine = eaten by cat increased)

Question 9

Survival adaptations are for:

Answer 9

Protection against digestive enzymes
Against immune system
Ability to stay inside host + obtain food

Question 10

Adaptations tovorktec tabs isn’t digestive enzymes are:

Answer 10

Thick outer coverings (cuticles)

Anti-enzymes (substances that inhibit enzymes)

Question 11

Against immune system are:

Answer 11

• Antigenic variation (parasite continually changes its surface antigens: immune system can’t catch up)
• Living inside host cells (antibodies of the immunes system can’t reach them)
• Surface coatings (capsule to protect them from phagocytes)

Question 12

Staying inside host+obtaining food:

Answer 12

Anatomical adaptations e.g. Organs of attachment : hooks to hang onto the gut wall
Live and fleas = piercing mouthparts to suck blood

Question 13

Biochemical adaptations are:

Answer 13

• Need to be adapted to anaerobic respiration (little/no oxygen available inside the body)
• Parasites in host’s gut need to be adapted to resist their host’s digestive enzymes: absorb their hosts soluble food products through their body surface