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ADAPTATIONS
An adaptation is trait that helps an organism, such as a plant or animal, survive in its environment. Due to the helpful nature of the mutation, it is passed down from one generation to the next. As more and more organisms inherit the adaptation, the adaptation becomes a typical part of the species.
An adaptation can be structural, meaning it is a physical part of the organism (big ears on a kangaroo). The adaptation can also be behavioral, affecting the way an organism acts (migrating whales). It may also be a physiological adaptation which is an internal feature of the organism (ie chemical process like photosynthesis or a body function like sweating).
LET'S DO THE EDPUZZLE VIDEO TOGETHER AS A CLASS..
https://edpuzzle.com/assignments/6829b30c3d9bf00198826d9a/watch
What adaptations does this little guy have? 🦭
Adaptationofasealpup.movFeature Purpose
White coloration Acts as camouflage in the snow and ice, hiding them from predators like polar bears and arctic foxes.
Thick fur Provides insulation to retain body heat in freezing conditions, especially since they’re born with little body fat.
EXAMPLES OF ADAPTATIONS
An example of a structural adaptation is the way some plants have adapted to life in the desert. Deserts are dry, hot places. Plants like cactus have adapted to this climate by storing water in their thick stems and leaves.
Animal migration is an example of a behavioral adaptation. Grey whales migrate thousands of miles every year as they swim from the cold Arctic Ocean to the warm waters off the coast of Mexico. Grey whale calves are born in the warm water, and then travel in groups called pods to the nutrient-rich waters of the Arctic.
An example of physiological adaptation is the ability for an organism to sweat allowing it to cool down and survive hot environments.
Some adaptations, on the other hand, become useless. These adaptations are vestigial: remaining but functionless. Whales and dolphins have vestigial leg bones, the remains of an adaptation (legs) that their ancestors used to walk.
CAN YOU NAME A VESTIGIAL ADAPTATION?
COMPETITION
Organisms in a similar niche within an ecosystem compete with one another for resources that are in short supply. This occurs when different organisms require the same resources, such as food, space, shelter and mates, to survive and thrive. Competition within and between species occurs in all communities.
Interspecific competition is competition for resources, such as a specific food source, between members of different species. For example, kangaroos and sheep compete for grass as their major food source.
In contrast, intraspecific competition is competition between the members of the same species, such as male cuttlefish competing for a mate. Note that intraspecific competition is usually more intense than interspecific competition because organisms of the same species will have identical needs.
If two species are in competition with each other for the same limited resources, the better suited and more effective species will be able to use the resource more than the other species. This may result in the less efficient competitor leaving the ecosystem to find an environment with less competition ☹️
Let's test competition for ourselves...
FRUIT LOOP ECOSYSTEMS.mp4CONSIDER!
Why did our 'Survivors' win?
How did competition serve them?
HOW does competition come about?
WHY does competition happen?
PREDATOR-PREY
A predator–prey relationship occurs when one organism, known as the predator, kills and eats another organism, known as the prey. It is unusual for predators to depend upon one species of prey, so if one prey species reduces in supply, the predator can prey upon other species. For example, foxes prey on rabbits, but are also capable of hunting and eating newborn lambs and other small mammals.
The relationship between predator and prey is usually balanced, but occasionally there is a change in balance due to a change in conditions. For example, favourable conditions may lead to an increase in the prey population, which in turn can lead to an increase in the number of predators. If a period of adverse conditions occurs to reduce the prey population, predators will turn to another prey species and there may be an increase in intraspecific competition among the predators.
JUMP TO 11.2 in your Cambridge Go text book and scroll down to find your PREDATOR- PREY WIDGET. Have a play to see how the increase or decrease in one affects the other.
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