Adaptations and Extremophiles

Adapt and survive

To survive and reproduce, organisms need a supply of resources from their surroundings and other organisms around them. Both plants and animals need different materials to survive.

What do plants need? To survive, plants need: light  water  oxygen  carbon dioxide minerals and nutrients. What do animals need? Animals need: food from other organisms  water  oxygen  What do microorganisms need? Microorganisms need a range of different things. some are like plants some are like animals some do not need oxygen nor light to survive.

Adaptations and Extremophiles

Organisms, including microorganisms, have adaptations to help them survive in the conditions in which they normally live. Some organisms can only survive in a certain condition, for example, a camel would not be able to live in the Arctic. This is because the camel is adapted to the desert, which is a hot, sandy climate as opposed to a cold, snowy one.

Extremophiles  Extremophiles are organisms that can tolerate high levels of salt, high pressures, or high temperatures. There are various examples of extremophiles: The angler fish. This fish survives in areas of extreme pressure and darkness, and it is horrific looking. The camel.  Living in deserts that average temperatures of 40℃, the camel has various adaptations to survive. The polar bear. The Arctic averages -40℃ in January. Aquifex bacteria can live in hot springs that can reach up to 99℃ Certain plants can grow in salt marshes, where salt concentrations would be too high for other plants to handle.

Adaptations in extremophiles

Extremophiles in cold climates Animals that need to adapt to cold winter climates often produce a chemical in their cells that acts as an antifreeze. It stops the water in the cell from freezing and destroying the cell. Additionally, the animals usually have a small surface area: volume ratio. this minimises heat loss and conserves body heat. Animals in hot temperatures have the opposite - a large surface area: volume ratio. Water lillies  plants such as water lilies have big air gaps so that they can float easily on the water, and make food by photosynthesis.      

Microorganisms - adaptations

  Adaptations in microorganisms- hot and cold temperatures Microorganisms are found in more places on Earth than any other organism. From ice packs, to hot springs, and geysers. some bacteria known as extremophiles can tolerate temperatures up to 45℃. This is because they have special enzymes that do not denature and so carry on working at high temperatures. other microorganisms have adaptations so that they can survive and reproduce at temperatures up to -15℃.

adaptations in microorganisms -  salt concentrations (halophiles)   most organisms struggle to live in salty environments because of the problems it causes with water balance. There are species of extremophile that can only live in extremely salt-concentrated solutions, such as the dead sea and salt flats. They have adaptations to their cytoplasm so that water does not leave the cell into their salty conditions. However, in ordinary sea waters, the cell would swell up and burst.