Organism Distribution Noadswood Science, 2011

Organism Distribution  To understand how changes in the environment affect the distribution of organisms Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Environmental Change  Animals and plants are exposed to environmental change – these changes may be caused by living factors, such as a change in a predator, a food source or a competitor  Environmental changes may also be caused by non-living factors, such as a change in temperature or rainfall

Predators & Prey  If the prey population grows, predator numbers will respond to the increased food supply by increasing as well  Growing predator numbers will eventually reduce the food supply to the point where it can no longer sustain the predator population, and the number of predators will go down…

Practical – Choice Chamber  Investigate the behaviour of woodlice using a choice chamber – setup the chamber with 4 different environments: -  Dark and damp  Dark and dry  Light and damp  Light and dry  Leave the woodlice on their own for a while, and then the number of animals in each quarter…  * Remember these are living organisms – treat them appropriately

Practical – Choice Chamber  Describe and explain your findings…  Woodlice prefer dark, damp conditions – this is the type of habitat they live in. Should this change in their environment they will seek a better location