B4.1 Flashcards
Adaptation to Environment
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors of Habitats
What is a Habitat?
- A place where organisms live. Would include the physical conditions –> climate, the type of ecosystem, where specifically within the ecosystem it resides.
- Can be described for a single organism –> however often used in reference to a population/ group of organisms of one species in that area.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors of Habitats
What are Abiotic Factors?
- Non-living materials, such as air, water and ground conditions (soil and rock).
- Refers to conditions of these materials, such as temperature, water salinity or pH, amount of rainfall or sun exposed.
- Generally speaking, these factors have more impact at their extremes and in more extreme environments.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors of Habitats
What is an Adaptation?
- A feature of an organisms that allows it to be more succesful at surving/ reproducing in its specific environment.
- They are genetic in nature, meaning that something in the organisms’s DNA gives it that feature.
- To be considered an adaptation, it must provide it with some sort of ADVNATAGE not held by those without it.
- whether this variation is advantageous will depend on the environment.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors of Habitats
What is an ecosystem?
- Includes the biotic (living) and abiotic components of an area.
- Includes the organisms that are present and the web of interactions between them.
- Due to abiotic factors also being a component, ecosystems are characterised by their climate/air/soil conditions.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors of Habitats
What is a species?
- A group of the same type of organism –> ‘a group of organisms which are able to successfully reproduce to create fertile offspring’.
- Members of a species living in one specific area/habitat—> population.
- Community –> groups of different populations.
- Ecosystem –> community and the environment.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors of Habitats
What is meant by species distribution?
- An indication of where a particular species lives, usually shown on a map with a key –> gives indication of where it is most abundant.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors of Habitats
What is a limiting factor?
- Any abiotic factor that determines the disctributon of a living organsism.
- Any factor that at extremes prevents a species from living in certain habitats.
—> Any factor that is outside the tolerance range of an organism.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors of Habitats
What is a range of tolerance?
- Marked as the area between the two extremes for an abiotic factor that can still accommodate succesful habitation for that species.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors or Habitats
Types of ADAPTATIONS:
- Structural adaptations
- Inherited changes in the outward appearance of an organism or a structural change to a body part.
- Be visable features that change the appearance of part of the organism.
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors or Habitats
Types of Adaptations: CHEMICAL
- Physiological Adaptations
- Biological changes at a celluar level or functional changes to an internal process.
- The organisms will not necessarily appear differently but will internally operate differently
Adaptations for Abiotic Factors or Habitats
Types of Adaptations: BEHAVIOURAL
- Learned or innate actions of an organism that aid in its survival or attraction of mate.
- Defined as actions, implies that behavioural adaptations are generally only seen in animals.
- Defined as beneficial response to environmental stimjli, some plant growth responses could qualify (through generally classified as a chemical.)
Data-Logging and Coral Reef Abiotic Conditions
What is a TRANSECT?
- A scaled line that is laid along the entire length of an area being measured.
- Used to determine species distribution in an area, particularly an area with variation in an abiotic factor.
Data-Logging and Coral Reef Abiotic Conditions
Types of Transects: LINE INTERCEPT TRANSECT
- A scaled tape is laid along the ground between the two poles and all organisms that touch/ visably present at the line recorded.
- Only the area right at the line is considerd which is a limitation of this method.
- Comparatively easy to conduct.
Data-Logging and Coral Reef Abiotic Conditions
Types of Transects: BELT TRANSECT
- The abundance of species is estimated in the area between two lines seperated by a fixed distance.
- Generally done by placing quadrants between the two lines at regular intervals and counting organisms that fall in the quadrant.
- Provides more accurte information but is also more time consuming.
Data-Logging and Coral Reef Abiotic Conditions
Types of Transects: OBSERVATIONAL TRANSECT
- Less precise form of transecting
- Observer walks along a defined route at a defined pace –> records sightings of target species.
- Less accurate and prone to error but in some cases with uneven terrains it is the only way –> gathers information.
Biomes
What is a Biome?
- A biome is defined as groups of ecosystems that resemble each other, even though they may be widely seperated in the world.
- They resemble one another because they share similar abiotic and biotic factors. —> the similar abiotic factors MEAN that similar biotic organisms are able to thrive there.
