Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Yr9 Biology - Interdependence & Adaptation
(GCSE AQA B1.4)
- Environmental change
- Changes in the environment affect the distribution of living organisms
- Environmental changes can be measured using non-living indicators such as oxygen levels, temperature and rainfall
- Animals and plants are subjected to environmental changes. Such
changes may be caused by living or non-living factors such as change
in a competitor, or in the average temperature or rainfall
- Living organisms can be used as indicators of pollution:
- Lichens can be used as air pollution indicators, particularly of the concentration of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere
- lichens found in areas with low levels of sulphur dioxide in the air
- invertebrate animals can be used as water pollution indicators and are used as indicators of the concentration of
dissolved oxygen in water
- Adaptations
- To survive and reproduce, organisms require a supply of materials from their
surroundings and from the other living organisms there
- Plants often compete with each other for light and space, and for water and nutrients from the soil
- Animals often compete with each other for food, mates and territory
- Organisms, incl. microorganisms have features (adaptations) that enable them to survive in the conditions in which the normally live
- Some organisms live in environments that are very extreme. Extremophiles may be tolerant to high levels of salt, high temperatures or high pressures
- Animals and plants may be adapted to cope with specific features of their environment, eg thorns, poisons
and warning colours to deter predators
- Animals and plants may be adapted for survival in the
conditions where they normally live, eg deserts, the Arctic
- Animals may be adapted for survival in dry and arctic environments by means of:
- changes to surface area
- thickness of insulating coat
- amount of body fat
- camouflage
- Plants may be adapted to survive in dry environments by means of:
- changes to surface area, particularly of the leaves
- water-storage tissues
- extensive root systems
- ADAPTATION - a feature or characteristic that allows a living thing to live
successfully in its habitat
- Competition - the rivalry between members of
- the same species (INTRASPECIFIC), [lion --> lion / humans --> humans], for a resource in limited supply that they both need
- competition in different species (INTERSPECIFIC), [lions --> hyeena, cheetahs, tigers], for a resource in limited
supply that they both need
- Reduction of other types of competition
- mating rituals
- courtship displays
- features that allow warning fights for dominance
- Link Between ADAPTATION & COMPETITION
- If an organism is well adapted to the environment it lives in, it will compete well for limited resources and therefore is more likely to survive and reproduce