Unit 2 Surviving And Avoiding Adverse Conditions Flashcards
What are three types of adaptations organisms can posses to help survive adverse conditions?
- structural
- physiological
- behavioural
Explain how large ears help the desert fox to survive and to keep cool in desert conditions?
Large ear to body size ratio. Large ears help to dispel body heat by radiation to help keep the fox cool
What type of adaptation would eat size be?
Structural
What do we mean by physiological adaptation?
How the body of an organism and metabolic rate operate
Why do organisms have to have to survival strategies against adverse conditions?
To cope with fluctuations which can be cyclical or unpredictable, organisms have to have means to survive and avoid them
Define dormancy:
Reduction in metabolic rate made by organisms to survive adverse conditions
An animal reduces its metabolic rate during dormant periods- list 3 others things that decrease in an animals body during dormant periods?
- Body temperature
- Breathing rate
- Heart rate
What is predictable dormancy?
When an organism becomes dormant before the onset adverse conditions
•live in predictable environments
•genetically controlled
What is consequential dormancy?
When an organism becomes dormant after the onset of adverse conditions
•live in more unpredictable environments
Why is undergoing a period of dormancy a useful strategy to avoid adverse conditions?
Dormancy helps an animal survive adverse conditions by decreasing metabolic rate therefore energy is conserved
What are 3 examples of dormancy in animals:
- hibernation
- aestivation
- Daily torpor
What conditions does aestivation help an animal to survive?
Temperatures/climates that are too hot or too dry
How does aestivation help an animal to survive Adverse conditions?
Involves borrowing to reduce temperature and reduction of metabolism
What conditions does hibernation help an animal to survive?
Temperatures/climates that are too low and temperature/lack of food
How does hibernation help the animals to survive these conditions?
A decrease is metabolic activity, body temperature, heart rate and breathing rate
Define migration?
Migration is the relatively long distance movement of individuals on a seasonal basis
Describe daily torpor and how it helps an organism manage its metabolic rate?
A period of reduced activity for animals with high Metabolism for when they are not foraging/when foraging would be unsuccessful
What are displacement experiments?
When migrating organisms are removed/displaced to a new location to see which direction they will travel
What is innate behaviour?
Innate behaviour is being performed in the same way by every member of the species I just usually response to external stimulus. It is inherited and un flexible
What is learned behaviour?
Learned behaviours are gained by experience and are flexible learned behaviours can help an animal if something goes wrong on their migration
Are migratory behaviours and innate or learned?
Innate
Learned behaviours play a secondary role in migration
What do you follow funnel cages help us to track and record?
The direction of travel abroad wants to take
What are two methods we can use to keep track of an individual organism that are migrating?
Individual marking
Satellite tracking
What is an advantage of each method to track an organism migrating?
Individual tracking – is low-cost but means you have to recapture the birds
Satellite tracking – high cost but animals don’t need to be recaptured
