B1 4 Adapt and Survive Flashcards
What are adaptations?
Features which enable organisms to survive in the conditions they normally live in.
Why do organisms need materials from their environment?
To survive and reproduce.
What are extremophiles?
Extremophiles have adaptations which enable them to live in extreme conditions of salt, temperature or pressure.
What do plants need from their environment?
Plants need light, carbon dioxide, water, oxygen and nutrients to produce glucose energy in order to survive.
What do animals need from their environment?
Animals need food, water and oxygen.
What do micro organisms need from their environment?
Micro organisms need a range of things. Some are like plants and others like animals.
Plant adaptation examples:
- Epiphytes- adapt to live in high grounds. They collect water and nutrients from the air.
- Rafflesia Arnodii- produces flowers that weigh 11 kg and smell of rotting corpse. The smell increases the chance that flies will carry pollen to another plant.
Animal adaptation examples:
- Carnivores- teeth adapted to tear flesh
* Herbivores- teeth adapted to tear into plant cells
Micro organisms adaptation example:
- Thermophiles- survive at temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C
- They have specially adapted enzymes that do not denature at these temperatures
Animal adaptations in cold climates:
- Large with a small SA:V ratio
- Thick insulating layers of fat and fur
- Small ears to avoid heat loss
Animals in dry climates:
- A large SA:V ratio to maximise heat loss
- Thin fur
- Behaviour patterns to avoid heat
Camouflage
Camouflage helps animals to survive as they can blend into their surroundings but it can also help predators as they are able to converge into the environment too.
Plant adaptations:
- Reducing the SA of the leaves- lose less water by transpiration
- Having water-storage tissues
- Extensive root systems
Cactii adaptations:
- Leaves turn to spines- to avoid heat loss by reducing the SA
- The sharp spines also prevent animals from eating the cactus
- Stem that swells- to hold more water
What do animals compete for?
- Food
- Territory
- Mates
Competition for food:
PREDATORS
HERBIVORES:
•Some herbivores are adapted to eat a wide range of plants
CARNIVORES:
• Some carnivores have long legs to run faster
• Sharp eyes
PREY:
• Some animals contain poisons which makes anything that eats them sick or dead, E.g. Poison arrow frogs
• Mimicry. The coral snake is mimicked by the milk snake
Competition for territory:
• Most animals cannot reproduce if they don’t have good territory. It will be difficult to find a mate
Competition for a mate:
- The males try to impress the females
- Some species (e.g. Lions), the males fight between themselves and the winner gets the female
- Male peacocks have bright plumage to attract the females
Competition in plants:
Plants often compete with each other for:
- light for photosynthesis to make food
- water for photosynthesis and to keep cells rigid and supported
- nutrients (minerals) so that chemicals can be made in cells
- space to grow
Why do plants compete?
Similarly to animals, plants compete to survive.
Competition in Plants- Adaptations:
- Small plants grow and flower early in the year before the big trees
- Different types of roots. Some plants have shallow roots which takes water and nutrients from the surface of the soil whereas other plants have deep and long roots
- Greater leaf SA to maximise the absorption of light
- Some plants like the African acacia make poisons which makes them taste bitter
Spreading the seeds:
- To reproduce successfully, a plant has to avoid competition with its seedlings
- E.g. Winged seeds of the sycamore tree
- Some plants use mini explosions to disperse the seeds
- Some fruits are sticky or have hooks which get attached to a passing animal
What are environmental changes caused by?
Living or non-living factors.
How can environmental factors be measured?
They can be measured by using non-living indicators.
What can be used as pollution indicators?
Living organisms.
