Topic 8.1 - Adaptation - Revision Notes in IGCSE Biology

To survive and reproduce, organisms require a supply of materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there
- Plants often compete with one another for light and space, and for water and nutrients from the soil
- Animals often compete with each other for food, mates and territory
Organisms, including microorganisms, have features (adaptations) that enable them to survive in the conditions in which they normally live
Some organisms live in envionments which are very extreme, containig high levels of salt, high temperatures or high pressures. These organisms are called extremophiles
Adaptations can include:
- Behavioural adaptations
  - eg Migration
- Functional Adaptations, related to processes such as reproduction and metabolism
Parasites are adapted to live on or insde their hosts:
- Fleas live amongst the hair of mammals.
  - They have sharp mouthparts to enable them to **** blood
  - The body is flattened so that the flea is not easily dislodged
  - It has a hard body that is not damaged when the mammal scratches
  - It has long hind legs to enable the…

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