Download ADAPTATION: RELATIONSHIPS IN NATURE

ADAPTATION:
RELATIONSHIPS IN
NATURE
ADAPTATION
• Symbiosis
• Feeding relationships with an
ecosystem
• How cooperation and competition
exist in nature.
ADAPTATION
• A trait that makes a
living thing better able
to survive in its
surroundings.
• Controlled by genes
in the DNA of the
organism.
• Examples:
– Speed of a cheetah.
– Clear fur and black
skin of a polar bear to
help it blend in and
absorb solar heat.
– Ability of chameleon to
blend into its
background.
– Venom of a
rattlesnake to ward
catch prey.
NATURAL SELECTION
• Process by which a condition in an
organisms environment determines if it will
survive long enough reproduce offspring.
– Something in nature (temperature,
precipitation, disease, etc…) does the
selecting.
– Organisms that are best suited to their
environment are the ones who will most likely
survive and reproduce.
SYMBIOSISRelationship between species living in direct
contact with each other; exchange of benefits
• PARASITISM- One species benefits; other is harmed
– Food/shelter in exchange for decrease in warmth and
reproduction.
• Fleas on a dog
• MUTUALISM- Both species benefit from each other.
• E. Coli bacteria in human intestines provides body with
vitamin B12 while human provides home for bacteria
• COMMENSALISM- One species benefits; the other is
unaffected.
• Sea anemone provides food and shelter; fish provides
nothing.
COMMUNITIES
• A geographic area full of different species
dependent on one another for survival
• Habitat – place where an organism lives
• Niche – an organism’s job within a
community.
• Types of organisms:
– Producer
– Consumer
– Decomposer
Feeding Relationships within an
Ecosystem
• Ecosystem is composed of varieties of
food webs, made up of various food
chains.
• Each chain consists of producers,
consumers and decomposers.
– Producer – green plants (receive energy from sun)
– Consumer
• Primary (animals who eat plants)
• Secondary (animals who eat other animals)
– Decomposer – bacteria (breaks down organic
matter; makes soil fertile)
Energy Flow
COOPERATION & COMPETITION
IN NATURE
• COOPERATION
Populations within an
environment interact with
and assist other
populations for food,
shelter and protection.
• COMPETITION
Different populations try
to occupy the same
environment and end up
competing for food,
shelter and protection.
ie: trees in a forest for
sunlight; herbivores
eating different plants or
different plant parts
Parts of the Food Web
• Energy
• Nutrients
• Organisms
Parts of the Food Web
• Autotrophs
– Producers
– Make their Own Food using the Sun’s
Energy
Parts of the Food Web
• Heterotrophs
– Consumers
– Eat plants and other organisms that
can’t make their own food
Herbivores
• Animals that live off of and only consume
Plant Material.
Carnivores
• Only Eat Meat
Omnivores
• Eat both Plants and Animals
Decomposers
• Decomposers breakdown
dead material and return
nutrients to the soil.