Unit 1: Chapter 4 - Adaptation For Survival Flashcards
Adapt and Survive
All living organisms need to adapt to survive and reproduce successfully. However the type of organism may require different needs to survive.
For e.g. Plants need CO2, whereas humans Need O2.
Adaptations are special features that allow an organism to survive in their particular habitat.
PLANT ADAPTATIONS
- Epiphytes are found in rain forests and have adaptations to allow them to live above the ground by attaching to other plants. The also collect water and nutrients in their specially adapted leaves.
Whereas some plants are very smelly, for example the RAFFLESIA ARNOLDII are 1m across and smell like rotting corpses. Strong smells attract flies which carry pollen from one plant to another.
ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS
HERBIVORES have flat teeth to grind up plant cells. Whereas, CARNIVORES have teeth adapted for tearing flesh or crushing bones. They also have adaptations to find mates too.
ADAPTING TO THE ENVIRONMENTS
Organisms that live in difficult conditions are called EXTREMOPHILES.
For e.g. Lilies have large air spaces in their leaves to allow themselves to float to the top of the water and make food by photosynthesis.
Some micro-organisms can live in geysers and hot springs and are called THERMOPHILES as their ENZYMES DO NOT DENATURE. Other micro-organisms can reproduce at very low temps (15C).
Adaptation in Animals
SURVIVING THE COLD (OR HEAT)
To survive in the Arctic, an animal needs to conserve as much as energy as possible and much of it is lost through the body. Surface Area: Volume plays a big role of how the energy is transferred.
Generally the rule is: A larger surface area: Volume means there is more energy transfer. This applies to small creatures such as Jerboas.
A small surface area: volume therefore means there is less energy transfer. For example, polar bears.
Also adaptations such as hands, feet, ears also play are large factor in energy transfer. Large surface area of ears means there is a higher energy transfer rate, for example a polar bear’s ears.
Small surface area means there is less energy transfer, such as an elephant’s ears.
Elephants are an exception to rules stated above because it lives in the desert but has a small surface area: volume. This means there is small energy transfer here and so it would lose more water, but there are many other adaptations to counteract this. One example would be of its trunk and has the ability to wet itself. The large ears are also an example as stated before.
CAMOUFLAGE
Camouflage can be important to both predators and prey. Predators do not want to been seen and scare the prey away, however prey also want to stay hidden to avoid being eaten.
Adaptation in Plants
Plants need LIGHT, WATER, SPACE and NUTRIENTS to survive.
WATER, WATER…NOWHERE?
A plant needs to conserve water: when the stomata opens in the leaves of a plant, water vapor is lost through evaporation.
- Some plants are specially adapted to this by reducing surface area or store plenty of water in their roots.
- Moreover, plants can trap a layer of moist air around the leaf to reduce the amount of water lost through evaporation.
- Some plants have small, fleshy leaves, such as the cactus and allows itself to keep water loss down. Water is stored in fleshy leaves or roots and stem.
COLLECTING WATER
Extensive root systems are key in deserts to collect water. For example a mesquite tree’s roots extend 50m down the soil.
Competition in Animals
The ‘Survival of the Fittest’ are the creatures who are best adapted to survive.
Animals compete for:
- Food
- Territory
- Mates
Competition is common among carnivores, but also herbivores. Competition between members of the same species are more common.
Prey animals also compete against each other to see who isn’t the first one to get caught. Some of these prey have bright colors to indicate danger, e.g. poison frogs.
COMPETITION FOR TERRITORY
Most animals can’t reproduce successfully with a lack of territory, so they will compete for the best spaces.
COMPETITION FOR A MATE
Some species of males battle each other and fight for mates.
Others have attractive features to get their attention - like me.
WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL COMPETITOR?
A successful competitor is one that excels in all three areas: food, territory and mates. On the other hand, many animals are successful by completely avoiding direct competition with others.
Competition in Plants
4 areas of competition: LIGHT (photosynthesis), WATER (photosynthesis), NUTRIENTS and SPACE (to grow)
When seeds disperse, they may land close to each other can compete for the 4 factors above^. This could kill the offspring before it can even grow.
Some ways of coping with competition is by doing the opposite of the other plant. For example, one plant may have shallow roots taking up water there. However another type plant may have much deeper roots and survive alongside them.
Some plants may even be competing against animals as they are the prey. One example is the African acacia, which has thorns to counter a predators attack.
SPREADING THE SEEDS
- Explosive Dispersion- When the pods dry out, it pops, flinging the seeds away.
- Dispersion by carrier excretion (animals)- When berries and fruits are eaten, tough seeds are deposited well away from parent plant through the excretory system.
- Dispersion by Carrier stick- Fruits that are sticky can get caught in fur. They are carried until they fall off.
PLANTS THAT GROW THE FASTEST WILL RECEIVE MOST OF THE AVAILABLE WATER NUTRIENTS.
PLANTS THAT CAN PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND GROW FASTER WILL DEPRIVE ITS COMPETITION OF LIGHT.
How Do You Survive?
FIG WASPS
- Specially-shaped heads to burrow into flowers of fig tree.
- Some males species can’t fly but have small eyes to navigate the fig.
- Flowers of the fig tree are adapted to attract these wasps. Without it, the tree would die.
FASTEST PREDATOR?
- Star-nosed mole has 230 millisecond reaction time to catch prey easily.
- Blind but very sensitive to smell and touch.
- Ultra-sensitive tendrils can try 13 targets every second.
A CARNIVOROUS PLANT
- Special enzymes to digest insect.
- Uses nutrients to help grow from the insect.
- Special ‘traps’ with sweet smelling nectar.
- Color is also very bright.
- Sensitive hairs to detect insect.
Measuring Environmental Change
FACTORS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION OF ORGANISMS.
LIGHT, pH and LOCAL CLIMATE influence where living organisms can be found. Sometimes OXYGEN levels can be a clear factor in certain species.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
When environment changes, it can cause a change in the distribution of living organisms in the area. Non-living factors cause these changes in the environment:
- Average Temperature
- Oxygen concentration
- Amount of sunlight
- Strength of wind
- Average rainfall
Living factors include:
- New type of predator (Moved due to change in his environment from a non-living factor)
- A new disease-causing pathogen and wipe out species of animals.
- Different plants may appear and compete with each other.
MEASURING ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
You can measure environmental change with non-living indicators e.g. rainfall, temp, oxygen levels, pH, pollutant levels etc.
Living organisms can be used as a INDICATOR of environmental change. A example of this would be lichens. These are particularly sensitive to pollutant levels. The more polluted the area, the less lichens there would be.
Alternatively, invertebrate animals can be used as water pollution.
Impact of Change
While they could be potential benefits of global warming, it is clear that the cons will outweigh the pros. Some examples include:
- Distribution of many species (Bird migration)
- Some species could die out.
WHERE ARE ALL THE BEES?
A disease called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) causes bees to die or simply fail to return to the hive. A shortage in workers will cause the hive to quickly die.
If bees die, flowers cannot be pollinated and fruit will not form. This means there would be no apples, raspberries, cucumbers, strawberries and peaches.
Disease-resistant bees are being bred to combat this disease. By increasing publicity, this would increase the attention to bees.
