KA4- Metabolism in Conformers & Regulators Flashcards
What does the term abiotic factors mean?
Non-living factors in an organism’s external environment
Examples of abiotic factors (4)
Salinity
Temperature
Moisture
pH
What affects an organism’s ability to maintain MR?
When abiotic factors fluctuate
What is a conformer’s internal environment directly dependant upon?
The abiotic factors in their external environment
What type of cost do conformers have?
Low metabolic costs
Why do conformers have low metabolic costs?
As they don’t need to maintain their internal temperature
State two cons of a conformer
Restricted to a narrow range of niches
Can’t easily adapt to environmental changes
What do conformed have various of?
Behavioural responses to their environment
What do these behavioural response allow them to do?
Tolerate variation in their external environment and maintain an optimum metabolic rate
How do regulators control their internal environment?
Their metabolism
What do regulators maintain ?
Homeostasis
Is the state of a regulator’s internal environment dependant on their external environment?
No
How do Atlantic salmon maintain the salt concentration of its blood at a steady level?
Osmoregulation
State one advantage of regulators
Can exploit a wider range of niches
State one disadvantage of regulators
High metabolic costs to maintain a constant internal environment
