B3.

3 Plant and Animal

AS 91603 5 credits
Introduction
 13 Biology – Plant & Animal
Lesson Objectives: Introduction – Ecology Revision
LO Recall the following terms: ecology, population, species, habitat, abiotic factor,
biotic factor, ecological niche.
LO Recall Types of Adaptations (with plant and animal examples)
LO Understand the term Adaptive Advantage
LO Recall Gause’s Principle, Fundamental and Realised Niches and the Law of
Tolerance
LO Recall that Gause’s Principle can lead to Niche Differentiation (and can lead to
RIM)
LO Understand that some species niche are specialised and some are generalised
and why this may come about
LO Understand the evolutionary consequences of specialised and some are
generalised niches

DO NOW
Individually work through the following slides.
Make notes referring to the LO
 Ecology Definitions
ECOLOGY is the study of relationships of organisms with the
environment around them, both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic)
aspects. All organisms 'aim' to produce as many offspring as they can
i.e. maximise their contribution to the gene pool and so staying alive is
a pre-requisite!

HABITAT - is the place where an organism lives (its address). Stays

much the same unlike the environment.

POPULATION The number of a particular species in a particular

location at a particular time.

SPECIES Members of the same species are able to reproduce fertile

offspring.
 Habitat
An organism’s habitat is the physical place or environment in which it lives.
Organisms show a preference for a particular habitat type (generalists), but
some are more specific in their requirements than others (specialists).

Lichens are found on rocks, Most frogs, like this leopard frog, live in or near
trees, and bare ground. fresh water, but a few can survive in arid habitats.
 Adaptations
ADAPTATIONS -These are the special features an organism possesses that
enable it to survive e.g. ‘A cat has fur to keep it warm.’

There are 3 types:

1. STRUCTURAL ADAPTATIONS: Define

An example is: a fantail’s wings helps survival by …

2. PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS (also called functional) Define

An example is the production of an unpalatable chemical in a

butterfly helps survival by ...

3. BEHAVIOURAL ADAPTATIONS: Define

An example is young Penguins clustering together in

Antarctica helps survival by ...
Venus Fly Trap Adaptations
Native Bird Adaptations
Venus Fly Clip
 Environment
An organism's environment consists of abiotic and biotic
factors. They can also be classified as RESOURCES and
CONDITIONS. Organisms compete for resources but are
affected by conditions but light is a resource for plants
and a condition for animals. Competition is neither!

ABIOTIC factors are physical factors and operate

independently of the number of organisms present. They
are caused by non-living things.

BIOTIC factors are those caused by living things. Can be

density dependent.
 Physical Conditions
The physical conditions influence the habitat in which an
organism lives. These include:
substrate

humidity

sunlight

temperature

salinity

pH (acidity)

exposure

altitude

depth

Each abiotic (or physical) factor may be well suited to the

organism or it may present it with problems to overcome.
 Abiotic factors
1. Light (photo-): the intensity, colour, direction or duration
2. Gravity (geo-): organisms need to know ‘up’ and ‘down’,
orientation
3. Temperature (thermo-): the average and the range
4. Water (hydro-): the humidity, soil moisture, speed of
current, salinity, turbidity (cloudiness), depth, average
rainfall
5. Current (rheo-): many aquatic animals align themselves
with the direction of the current
6. Chemicals (chemo-): inorganic nutrients, carbon dioxide,
oxygen, salitness, pH, poisons, pheromones
 Abiotic Factors continued…
7. Touch (thigmo-): a response to a solid object
8. Sound: the pitch, loudness and range
9. Pressure: important in the ocean, high in the
air, and in the formation of weather patterns
10. Wind: velocity, direction
11. Substrate: eg. Rock, sand, mud, soil
12. Fire: this can affect seed germination,
recycling of minerals etc.
 Biotic Factors
1. Food supply
2. Disease
3. Predation
4. Competition
5. Parasites
In the following situations, give the abiotic factor that
the organisms is responding to.

1. A moth flies towards a light bulb.

2. Roots of a willow tree grow towards a stream.
3. Amoeba on a microscope slide move away from
a piece of cotton soaked in vinegar.
4. The tendrils of a passion-fruit vine wind around
some wire netting.
5. Cockroaches scatter when the light goes on.
List the biotic factors in blue and the abiotic factors
in red that would affect a spider monkey in a troop
of a little blue penguin.
 Ecological Niche
An ecological niche refers to an organism’s way of
life (role) and the adaptations it possesses to
survive in the environment.

The ecological niche of an organism is determined

by 2 main factors:
a) The opportunities provided by the habitat.
b) The adaptations that enable an organism
to take advantage of the habitat.
Ecological Niche
 Co-existence and Gause’s Principle
If two different species lived in the same habitat and
occupied the same ecological niche, they would compete
for the same resources such as food, space and shelter.
Sooner or later there would not be enough resources to
meet the needs of all of the members of both species.
One or other of the species would die out, move away or
alter its requirements i.e. change its niche.

The competitive exclusion principle, sometimes referred to as Gause's Law of

competitive exclusion or just Gause's Principle, states that two species that compete for
the exact same resources cannot stably coexist.
 Fundamental and Realised Niche
Fundamental niche is the entire set of
conditions under which an animal (population,
species) can survive and reproduce itself.

Realised niche is the set of conditions actually

used by given animal (pop, species), after
interactions with other species (predation and
especially competition) have been taken into
account
 Law of Tolerance
The law of tolerance states that “For each abiotic factor, an
organism has a range of tolerances within which it can survive.”
Tolerance range

Optimum range
Number of organisms

Unavailabl Margina Preferre Marginal Unavailable

e niche l niche d niche niche niche

Examples of
abiotic factors
that influence
size of the
realized niche:
 Niche Differentiation
When two species are in direct competition one
species may alter their niche by seeking
alternative micro habitats or seeking alternative
food sources.