Adaptation

What determines where particular species live and how many of them there are?

A species is an interbreeding group of organisms that produce fertile offsprings.

A population is defined as the total number of individuals, of the same species, which live in a certain are.

A community is defined as all the organisms, of different population, living in a particular area.

Population numbers can't keep growing out of control and their are certain factors that prevent this from happening - limiting factors. Examples include:

• Food availability
• Water availability
• Number of predator or prey
• Diseases
• Climate change
• Human activites such as pollution or destruction of habitats
• Space availability
• Light and mineral ion availablity (for plants)

Organisms within a community compete with one another for different things.

• Animals compete for space, light, water, and mates.
• Plants compete for space, light, water, and mineral ions.

When organisms compete in an area or habitat, those which are better suited to the environment are more successful and more likely to survive than the less adapted organisms - "survival of the fittest".

Adaptations are special features or behaiours which make an organism well suited to its environment. Adaptation increase an organisms chance of survival in a particular environment.

Adaptations for plants in dry areas (eg Desert)

Plants living in dry places have adaptations to reduce water loss into the air by evaporation. The evaporation of water from plants in known…