Taylor Criscione, Leika Kitamura, Eryn McKnight & Tucker Sarkissian

 They had cells that specialize – a group of cells that does certain things.  (Ex: blood cells carry oxygen, nerve cells send and receive signals, skin cells protect)  Cells of same type organize into a tissue and a structure made up of tissues is an organ, different organs together is an organ system such as nervous, muscular, respiratory, circulatory, digestive system.

 All organisms have characteristics that allow them to survive – any inherited trait that increases chances of survival  Ex: the way an animal gets its energy, processes material, shape & structure  Examples of adaptations: A fennec fox’s large ears keep it cool, arctic fox’s small ears, legs, and nose keep head inside, red fox’s color of fur helps it to blend

 Most multicellular organisms reproduce in sexual reproduction.  Genetic material from the parents leads to diversity and different processes.  In meiosis, each cell has 1 copy of the DNA  The sperm and egg combine in fertilization  Some multicellular organisms reproduce asexually

 Plants are producers because plants capture energy from sunlight and convert it into food through the process of photosynthesis. Plants produce sugars for consumption.  Plant = autotroph (self feeder)  Plants store and release energy. A part of the captured energy is used as fuel for the cellular process but through cellular respiration.  A cell uses oxygen to break down sugars to release the energy they hold

 Plants respond to stimuli which is something that produces a response from an organism. Their ability to respond allows them to survive and grow.

 Plants adapt to environments by using their leaves, stems, and roots.  Plants have reproductive adaptations like flowering plants in cold places and the desert where both seeds sprout very quickly when it rains.  In different temperatures, trees/plants have adapted like the coniferous pine tree that keeps its leaves green even in the winter opposed to a maple tree that looses its leaves in winter.  Some plants have really specific adaptations to specific needs, such as mustard plants, poisonous plants, or venus fly traps.

 Plants respond to stimuli, which is something that produces a response from an organism. Their ability to respond allows them to survive and grow.  Ex: gravity – roots grow down and stems grow up with a sense of up or down touch – tendrils touch a near by object as they grow and wrap around the object light – stem and leaves grow toward light with help of a hormone

 Plants respond to seasonal changes. A shorter period of daylight affects the amount of sunlight they have for photosynthesis so some plants go into dormancy where they stop growing and need less light. (Some don’t even survive, like cornflowers)  Seasonal changes also affect reproduction. Some short-day plants reproduce in autumn and in winter while other long-day plants reproduce in spring and summer.

 Seeds are an important adaption because it is how they reproduce when old plants die off and leave behind seeds that will sprout in the next season  Some plants reproduce with seeds by developing the seed within them by using the wind or other mechanisms to spread them

Animals are considered consumers because they can’t make their own food to survive. The three types of consumers are:  Herbivores  Carnivores  Omnivores Each and every animal obtains energy by breaking down the food in their system to fuel their organs.

A herbivore is an organism that eats nothing but vegetation. An example of a herbivore is a brontosaurus or Little Foot from Land Before Time. Dinosaurs like him ate the vegetation around them to obtain energy.

A carnivore is an organism that eats nothing but meat. An example of a carnivore is a Tyrannosaurus Rex. They used to eat other dinosaurs to obtain energy.

An omnivore is an organism that eats both vegetation and meat. An example of an omnivore is an Oviraptor. They ate plants, insects, and the eggs of other dinosaurs. This made them omnivores.

Animals interact with the environment and other organisms by participating in hunting and pro-creating. They also interact and create patterns by being a part of the food chain. Animals react to seasonal changes by migrating or going into a seasonal process called hibernation.

Organisms occupy areas by adapting to the things around them. They live together with the species near them and either become the prey or predator, or even a mutual bond is formed between the two and they work together. They adapt to their habitat and populations to make it work out for them.

Organism- an individual organism that is the structure of a body. Population- the inhabitants of a particular place (town, city, state, forest, ocean, etc). Community- the inhabitants living in that particular place. Ecosystem- a biological environment where organisms communicate with each other. Biome- a large and naturally occurring community that occupies a major habitat.

 Symbiosis is the relationship between organisms.  Symbiotic relations can harm, benefit, or unaffect either party in the relationship.  Symbiotic relationships include mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, predation, and competition.

 In a mutualism relationship, both organism parties are benefitted.  Each organism does something to help or improve the survival of the other and vice versa.  Ex: Clownfish and anemone

 Only one organism is benefited in a commensalism relationship while the other is indifferent to the whole situation.  The opposite part is unaffected if the benefited organism is present or not.  Ex: Suckerfish on shark

 Parasitism is the symbiotic relationship between organisms where one part is benefited off the other, and harms the opposing party  Ex: Ticks and dogs

 Predation is the symbiotic relationship between predator and prey  Ex – cat and mouse

 In a competitive relationship, 2+ organisms desire the same thing in an area  Ex: ecological habitat  And try to overcome each other to achieve it

Succession is when a habitat undergoes changes throughout time in any of the following:  Species composition  Structure  Architecture of vegetation

 Primary succession is the development of life in an area deemed “life-less”

 Pioneer species are the first established species in a designated area (primary succession) where nothing is growing or has been affected by a fire, flood, etc.

 A community forms in a habitat that has already once been lived in, or has been damaged by fire, flood, etc  Secondary succession happens much quicker than primary succession because: - there is an already existing seed bank in the ground - the root systems have been undisturbed - the fertility and structure of the soil has already been modified by previous organisms