BIOLOGY EOCT REVIEW Plant & Animal Adaptations

Adaptations in Plants Adaptation: any structure or behavior that increases an organism’s chance of survival or reproduction Stimulus: anything in an organism’s internal or external environment that causes the organism to react.  Includes light, temperature, movement, pressure, chemicals, gravity, and sound Tropism: a plant’s growth in a certain direction in response to a stimulus.  Toward stimulus: positive  Away from stimulus: negative

Plant Tropisms

Plant Hormones Hormone: a chemical messenger that is produced in one part of an organism and affects activities in another part of the organism

Structural Adaptations in Plants These adaptations of plants can be seen in their leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and seeds. They help plants survive adverse environmental conditions.  Examples:  Deciduous trees have broad, flat leaves that are well suited for capturing sunlight  Dormancy in winter to conserve water  Conifers have flexible branches that prevent them from breaking under the weight of snow  Pollen carried by the wind

Functional Adaptations of Plants Functional adaptations are related to the way an organism’s body works Chemical defenses are also a functional adaptations to protect from predators  Example: Poison ivy, poison oak

Physical Adaptations of Animals Camouflage: coloring or patterns that enable an organisms to blend in with its surroundings Cryptic coloration Countershading Disruptive Coloration

Physical Adaptations of Animals Mimicry: an organisms’ resemblance to an object in its surrounding or to another organism Wasp (stings) vs Hoverfly (harmless) Walking Stick

Behavior in Animals Innate behavior: a behavior that an animal does not need to learn through experience Reflex: an involuntary response to a stimulus (ex: pulling your hand away when you touch something hot) Instinct: a more complicated innate behavior (ex: bird building a nest, courtship rituals); animals have control over these behaviors Territorial behavior is an innate behavior!

Behavior Migration: the instinctive seasonal movement of a species Hibernation: spending the winter in an inactive or dormant state Estivation: a reduction in an animal’s rate of metabolism in response to extreme heat

Learned Behavior Learned behaviors develop during an animal’s lifetime as a result of experience  Help animals survive by responding to a changing environment  Many require practice Habituation: animal learns to ignore a repeated stimulus that does not harm the animal Imprinting: the response of some animals to a stimulus that they are exposed to shortly after birth