Homeostasis Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
when an individual maintains it’s internal functions and conditions such as temperature and water level
What are enzymes?
proteins that aid in important biological functions
Define stress.
changes in the environment that stray from an organism’s optimum conditions, this creates a decrease in their ability to survive, grow, or reproduce
What’s the difference between morphology and physiology?
Morphology - changes in an organisms structure or form such as body size or body fat %
Physiology - changes in an organisms functions such as heart rate or metabolic rate
How do tolerance and avoidance differ?
Tolerance is an organisms ability to maintain homeostasis in unfavorable conditions
Avoidance is an organisms ability to move away from stress and towards its optimum conditions
Adaptation vs acclimatization
Adaptation is a short term change to an organism
Acclimatization is a long term change over a populations generations
Define dormancy/tupor.
an organisms metabolic activity slows when its environment is not at optimum
What does xylem do for a plant?
Moves water up the stem of the plant
What does stomata do for a plant?
when opened it allows CO2 to enter and H2O to leave
What affects water potential?
Gravity, pressure, osmotic potential, and matric potential
Does higher salinity increase or decrease osmotic potential?
higher salinity decreases
Does water move from higher to lower potential or lower to higher potential?
higher to lower, it follows the energy gradient
Does water move to higher or lower pressure?
Lower pressure
What happens when the soil is extremely dry?
embolisms which are bubbles with the xylem
What phylum has the best resistance to water loss?
arthropods due to their exoskeleton made of chitin
What helps reptiles with water loss?
thick skin that has a fatty coating, and scales
What helps mammals and birds with water loss?
thick skin/fur or feathers
What group of animals are the most susceptible to water loss?
amphibians due to their soft skin
Endotherms vs ectotherms
endotherms use metabolic heat
ectotherms must maintain their body temp vis their external environment
What’s a trade-off of being an ectotherm?
they have to rely on their external environment however they don’t spend energy on keeping their body warm
What’s a trade-off of being an endotherm?
they can keep enzymes at an optimum and they can have faster movements however, they must rely on metabolic functions to generate heat
What’s some trade-offs of being a micro-organism?
since they are so small they cannot move if they encounter stressful environments
they can have very high tolerances (such as the water bear)
they usually have simple body plans
