B4.1 - adaptation to environment

Question 1

What is a habitat?

Answer 1

A habitat is the place in which a community, species, population or organism lives, including both geographical and physical locations as well as the type of ecosystem.

Question 2

Biome

Answer 2

A group of ecosystems with similar communities.
- They can be clustered or in different geographic regions.

Question 3

Community

Answer 3

All the individuals of all the species within a habitat.

Question 4

Estuary

Answer 4

Wide part of a river, where it joins the sea.

Question 5

Geographical location

Answer 5

A point, line or area on the Earth’s surface, described by it’s site (physical characteristics such as topography (landforms), climate and vegetation) and situation (description of a places features by relating it to what’s nearby)

Question 6

What are examples of physical locations?

Answer 6

The tangible place represented by the co-ordinates or the address

Question 7

What are abiotic conditions on sand dunes?

Answer 7

Dry and windy

Question 8

What are abiotic factors?

Answer 8

Non-living factors

Question 9

What are biotic factors?

Answer 9

Living factors

Question 10

How is marram grass adapted to sand dunes?

Answer 10

• Deep roots to reach damp soil at the bottom of the sand dune.
• High salt tolerance
• Wide temperature range
• Horizontal roots (rhizomes) to stabilize the sand.
• Thick waxy cuticle on upper epidermis to prevent water loss.
• Hairs on leaves to reduce air flow near leaf and trap water vapour.
• Stomata in pits to trap water vapour.
• Rolled leaves

Question 11

How is marram grass adapted to prevent water loss?

Answer 11

• Thick waxy cuticle on upper epidermis to prevent water loss.
• Hairs on leaves to reduce air flow near leaf and trap water vapour.
• Stomata in pits to trap water vapour.
• Rolled leaves

Question 12

How do the rolled leaves in marram grass prevent water loss?

Answer 12

It protects the lower epidermis from the wind, trapping water vapour.
This increases humidity, reducing the diffusion gradient and reducing transpiration rate.

Question 13

What are abiotic conditions that Red mangroves are adapted to survive?

Answer 13

Red mangroves are adapted to survive with their roots in salty water that contains low concentrations of oxygen.

Question 14

How are Red mangroves adapted to mangrove swamps?

Answer 14

Adapted roots:
- Prop roots filter salt out of the water when taking water in.
- Stilt roots have pores that take in oxygen at low tides.

Adapted leaves:
- Salt-secreting glands form salt crystals on the leaf surface.
- Salt is compartmentalised in older leaves that turn yellow and then fall.

Adapted seeds:
- Seeds germinate while still on parent tree, growing a long root.
- This means that when the seed falls, they float until the root digs into the soil, ensuring they grow in shallow water.

Question 15

What is a mnemonic for remembering adaptations of the Red mangrove?

Answer 15

SCOFS
S - secrete salt from leaves.
C - compartmentalise salt into leaves which drop.
O - oxygen taken in by roots.
F - filtering of salt out of water absorbed by roots.
S - Seeds germinate and grow into a root before dropping.

Question 16

What abiotic factors affect the species distribution of plants only?

Answer 16

• Light intensity
• Light duration
• Soil pH
• Soil mineral ion concentration

Question 17

What abiotic factors affect the species distribution of animals only?

Answer 17

• Oxygen concentration in aquatic ecosystems
• Breeding sites / territory
• Food resources

Question 18

What abiotic factors affect the species distribution of both plants and animals?

Answer 18

• Water availability
• Salinity of water in an estuary affecting water uptake
• Temperature
• Wind intensity

Question 19

What is a zone of stress?

Answer 19

Zones where species can survive the abiotic condition, but in lower numbers and often with lower biomass than within the optimal range.

Question 20

How do adaptations of species impact the range of tolerance?

Answer 20

The adaptations of a species give it a range of tolerances, meaning the species will be present in different numbers at each value in a given abiotic variable.

Question 21

What is transect data used for?

Answer 21

Transect data is used to correlate the distribution of plant or animal species within an abiotic variable.
- Can be collected from natural or semi-natural habitats.

Question 22

What are semi-natural habitats?

Answer 22

Habitats that have been influenced by humans, but are dominated by the wild rather than cultivated species.

Question 23

What could sensors be used for?

Answer 23

Used to measure abiotic variables such as temperature, light intensity and soil pH.

Question 24

How can we carry out an investigation to correlate the distribution of a species with abiotic variables?

Answer 24

1. Identify a region in which the abiotic factor varies.
2. Lay out a transect in a straight line across the region of variation.
3. Position quadrats at fixed distances along the transect and count the number of species at each position.
4. Sensors are used to measure the abiotic factor at each position.
5. A graph is plotted showing the correlation with the number of species in the quadrat and the value of the abiotic variable.

Question 25

What are the conditions required for coral reef formation?

Answer 25

• Shallow water depth = required to provide photosynthetic zooxanthallae with sunlight because this can only penetrate water to relatively shallow depths.
• Neutral pH = provides sufficient calcium carbonate compounds to make coral polyps, avoiding bleaching.
• Correct salinity = maintains equilibrium between coral cells and the surrounding.
  –> Freshwater run-off, such as from rivers, can form areas of ocean where salinity is too low for coral formation.
• Clarity = water free from sediment or pollution is required to support light penetration.
• Temperature between 20 and 28 = maintains a functioning relationship between polyps and zooxanthallae and to avoid bleaching.

Question 26

How are abiotic factors determinants of terrestial biome distribution?

Answer 26

For any given temperature and rainfall pattern, one natural ecosystem type is likely to develop.

Question 27

Why do ecosystems within a biome have similar communities?

Answer 27

Ecosystems within a biome share similar abiotic conditions, which causes similar communities to develop.
Populations within ecosystems of the same biome therefore experience similar selection pressures, leading to convergent evolution through natural selection

Question 28

What is coral?

Answer 28

Coral forms due to the symbiotic relationship between coral polyps and photosynthetic algae called zooxanthallae.

Question 29

What is the distribution of coral reefs?

Answer 29

Coral reefs are found in less than 1% of the ocean’s surface area, indicating that a specific combination of abiotic factors are required for their formation.

Question 30

What is the difference between biomes and ecosystems?

Answer 30

Unlike an ecosystem, all organisms are not interacting with each other in a biome.

Question 31

What are the climate conditions and communities present in a tropical forest?

Answer 31

Climate conditions:
- Warm (20 - 25)
- High annual rainfall
- Nutrient-poor soil (as plants are not deciduous)

Communities:
- Very high biodiversity of animals and plants

Question 32

What are the climate conditions and communities present in a temperate forest?

Answer 32

Climate conditions:
- 4 seasons and no extreme temperature
- 750 - 1500 mm of rain per year
- Leaf drop and decay enrich soil nutrients

Communities:
- Deciduous broad-leaved trees dominate
- Rich variety of animal species

Question 33

What are the climate conditions and communities present in a taiga?

Answer 33

Climate conditions:
- Range of -42 to 20 degrees with very cold winters
- 300 - 900 mm of rain per year

Communities:
- Dominated by conifer trees
- Animals are adapted to a very cold climate

Question 34

What are the climate conditions and communities present in a grassland?

Answer 34

Climate conditions:
- Temperature varies with latitude (-25 - 30)
- Semis -arid (500 - 900 mm of rain per year) with possible seasons

Communities:
- Grass species dominate vegetation
- No trees due to a lack of water
- Animal species are dominated by grazers and a few of their predators

Question 35

What are the climate conditions and communities present in a tundra?

Answer 35

Climate conditions:
- Cold (-40 - 18)
- Low precipitation (150 - 250 mm per year)
- Long dark periods in the winter

Communities:
- No trees due to a lack of water and short growing season
- Soil is mostly frozen
- Animals migrate or hibernate

Question 36

What are the climate conditions and communities present in a hot desert?

Answer 36

Climate conditions:
- Hot temperatures during the day
- Very low annual rainfall (<300mm)

Communities:
- Sparse vegetation
- Plants often have spines for leaves
- Animals often burrow and are only active during cooler nights.

Question 37

Why do similar communities occur in the same type of biome even if 2 areas are geographically separated?

Answer 37

Convergent evolution
- This leads to organisms having similar analogous structures, which are similar in function, but have different genetic origins.

Question 38

How is the cactus adapted to life in hot deserts?

Answer 38

• Thick waxy cuticle = reduces water loss by evaporation
• Leaves covered in bristles = a defense against grazing
• A long taproot = to retrieve deep water
• Large shallow root system = to absorb the occasional rain water efficiently
• Stores water in the stems = to maintain water supply for the dry periods

Question 39

How is the fennel fox adapted to life in hot deserts?

Answer 39

• Large ears that are highly vascularised = helps to dissipate heat
• Large ears = assist predation by locating small animals moving underground
• Long hoop of Henle in the kidney and rarely urinates = aids water conservation

Question 40

How is the kapok tree adapted to life in tropical rainforests?

Answer 40

• Grows quickly and very tall = to successfully compete for sunlight in the upper canopy
• Buttress roots that extend above ground = to support rapid growth and a tall tree, within the shallow soil

Question 41

How is the poison dart frog adapted to life in tropical rainforests?

Answer 41

• Highly toxic chemicals in the skin (from eating toxic insects) = to kill potential predators
• Warning colouration = to reduce predation
• Use bromeliad plants as the location of small pools of water within the canopy = into which the eggs are laid