Tag Archives: survival

12: Reproductive Adaptations

Learning Intention: Students will understand the benefits and energy costs of a range of reproductive adaptations. They will compare ‘r’ and ‘K’ strategies and learn how they assist survival of the species.

Success Criteria: Students will be able to describe various reproductive strategies in plants and animals and explain how they assist survival of the species.

Chapter 9: Habitats, environment and survival

leaning_tree

Author’s photo taken at the Leaning Trees of Greenough, Western Australia

Learning Intention: Students will understand the biotic and abiotic factors that affect the distribution and abundance of organisms on earth.

Success Criteria: Students will successfully complete the Chapter 9 review questions and be able to list biotic and abiotic factors that affect the survival of organisms on earth.

Buffeted by the prevailing southerly winds, these eucalypts have survived despite challenging conditions. The survival of organisms, and therefore their distribuition and abundance, depends on both biotic (living – predators, competitors, pathogens, parasites) and abiotic (physical – temperature, wind speed, pH, atmospheric gases, turbidity, salinity, solar radiation) factors. This chapter of work is about habitats and the factors that affect the survival of organisms in their environments. Learn some definitions for this chapter at Chapter 9: Habitat and Survival Flashcards.  You will also learn about niches and resource use graphs. Match some Australian species to their habitats at DECC.

Living organisms survive in their environments due to structual, functional and behavioural adaptations. Evolution is the process by which living organisms have changed over thousands of years to become more suited to their environments. Google ‘evolution’ and you will find an enormous selection of contradictory articles confirming or condemning “The Theory of Evolution”, first proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859.

To summarise Darwin’s Theory of Evolution;

1. Variation: There is variation in every population.
2. Competition: Organisms compete for limited resources.
3. Offspring: Organisms produce more offspring than can survive.
4. Genetics: Organisms pass genetic traits on to their offspring.
5. Natural Selection: Those organisms with the most beneficial traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Habitats, Environment and Survival

Otway forest

Image Source

This chapter of work is about habitats and the factors that affect the survival of organisms in their environments. You will learn about biotic (living) factors – predators, competitors, pathogens, parasites – and abiotic (non-living) factors – temperature, wind speed, pH, atmospheric gases, turbidity, salinity, solar radiation etc. You will also learn about niches and resource use graphs. Match some Australian species to their habitats at DECC.

Living organisms survive in their environments due to structual, functional and behavioural adaptations. Evolution is the process by which living organisms have changed over thousands of years to become more suited to their environments. Google ‘evolution’ and you will find an enormous selection of contradictory articles confirming or condemning “The Theory of Evolution”, first proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859.

To summarise Darwin’s Theory of Evolution;
1. Variation: There is variation in every population.
2. Competition: Organisms compete for limited resources.
3. Offspring: Organisms produce more offspring than can survive.
4. Genetics: Organisms pass genetic traits on to their offspring.
5. Natural Selection: Those organisms with the most beneficial traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Survival behaviours

Yabby at Sydney Aquarium

Image Source

The yabbies in our school aquarium make suitable subjects for a study of animal behaviour. Can you classify yabby behaviour according the following:

  • feeding
  • maintenance
  • territorial
  • agressive
  • defensive
  • co-operative
  • reproductive
  • parenting

Which are learned behaviours and which are innate? How are each of these behaviours important to the survival of the yabby as a species? How do you think the behaviour of the yabby is modified by being confined to an aquarium? Can you observe yabbies communicating with each other?

 Department of Primary Industries Aquaculture fact sheet:  “Biology of Yabbies (Cherax destructor)”

Animal behaviour experiment with yabbies: “Agonistic behaviour in Crayfish”