Interdependence and Adaptation

Adaptation, Advantage, example

Yellow and black stripes: warn other animals not to eat it, for example wasps

Poisonous: stops things from eating it, for example poison dart frogs

Thorns: stops animals attacking or eating it, for example roses

Spikes: stops animals from attacking and scares them away, for example hedgehogs

White fur: blends in with snow so that prey can't see it, for example white tigers

Waterproof feathers: don't get cold when swimming, for example penguins

Streamlined: can swim fast to catch food, for example dolphins

the bigger the surface area, the faster heat will be lost

the bigger the volume the greater the heat generated

cube with 2cm side- SA/V = 3:1

cube with 4cm side- SA/V = 1.5:1

as an organism increases in size its SA/V gets smaller

things that effect SA/V: shape (lon and thin/short and fat) large/small ears

Hot Climate       Cold Climate

Hair/fur: thing fur to keep cool, thick fur to keep warm

Fat/blubber: small layer, stored in one place, thick blubber to keep in heat

External body parts, ears, tails: Large to loose more heat, small to keep in heat

Time active: Night/evening, its cooler, Day, its warmer

Surface area to volume ratio: Large to loose heat, small to keep in heat

hair is a good insulator because it traps air, air is a bad conductor but a good convector. when air is trapped it cannot convect. elephants ears have lots of small blood vessels called capilliaries. blood warms the ears and ears loose heat by convection and radiation

Leaves reduced to spines: less water evaporates

Stomata in grooves in stem: conserves the water

Small SA/V: less water is lost

Fleshy Stem: stores lots of water

Extensive root system (both deep and shallow): to get ground water and rain water

Stomata = holes to less gasses in and water out

Large SA/V: looses heat easily

Stored Fat: can survive for long periods of time without food

Fat Stored in a Hump: so that there isnt a layer of insulation around the organs to keep cool

Cells can tolerat large tempreature changes: because it is very hot in the day and cold at night in the desert

Loses little water in Urine or sweat: so that it can survive long periods of time without water

Large Feet: Distributes the weight and not sink into the sand

Long Eyelashes: protect eyes from sunlight

Nostrils can be closed: Keeps sand out an a sandstorm

small SA/V: keeps in heat

Transparent Fur: looks white and comoflages so prey cannot see it

Small Ears: cant loose heat as easily

Long nose with lots of air passages: warms up air before it goes in the lungs

Big Feet: spreads weight for snow and ice

Cubs born in spring: there is more food and spring is slightely warmer

animals mainly compete for; food, mates, territory

Plants mainly compete for; light, water, nutrients

Population size depends on; how well indviduals compete for resources which are in limited suply, wheter they are eaten or not, whether they are infected by disease

some species are sensetive to evironmental factors (pollutants)

Air Pollution

lichens are organisms that are a combination of a fungus and an algae. the fungus anchors the lichen and absorbs water and minerals. the algae carries out photosynthesis. lichens are very sensetive to atomospheric pollution. espesialy SO2 from burning fossil fuels

Water Pollution

monitoring invertibrate animals in the water can tell us how poluted it is, for example; dragon fly larvae are only found in clean oxygenated water and bloodworms are found in stagnant polluted water.

all living things have adaptations which help them to survive in the conditions where they live. animals which are adapted for cold environments like the arctic are often large with  a small surface area to volume ratio. they have thick insulationg layers of fat and fur. changing coat colour in different seasons allows animals to be camouflaged all year round.

animals which are adapted for hot, dry environments have adaptations which help them keep cool and avoid water loss. these include a large surface area to volume ratio, thin fur, little body fat and behavior patterns which help them avoid the heat of the day.

cacti are plants which live in the desert. they have two main adaptations to help them survive. thei leaves are very small, have spines and they store water in thier stems. animals often compete with eachother for mates and food. thy also compete for water.

animals have adaptations, which make them good competitors for food and water. plants compete with each other for light, for water and for minerals from the soil. they need light and water for photosynthesis. water is also needed to keep the plant stems rigid. plants need minerals to they can make all the chemicals they need in their cells.