Habitats and Adaptations Year 8 Science

Habitats A Habitat is the place where a plant or animal lives. Every living thing has a place which can be called its habitat. Your habitat might include your home, your school and the places where you shop for things you require. Some of the things a habitat needs to provide to an animal or plant include: A source of food Water Shelter and living space Mating partners Gases such as oxygen

Typical Habitats

Population and Environment A group of living things of the same species living in the same habitat is called a population. The size of any population may change over time depending on the availability of food, water, living space and mating partners. The term environment is used to describe all the conditions that a plant or animal has to cope with in its habitat. Many factors can shape and change an environment, including: The temperature Whether it is wet or dry Whether it is windy Quality of air Quality of water

Australian Environments

Ecology and Ecologists The study of the interaction between living things and their environment is called ecology Ecologists are scientists who study these interactions. The environment where living things exist are often very varied. So how do living things cope with these variations ??

Adaptations To help living things survive in their habitats they often have special characteristics or features. These features which enable living things to live in their habitats are called adaptations. How well a plant or animal survives in a particular habitat depends largely on how well adapted or suited it is to that habitat. For example; Frogs are well adapted to their pond habitat but would not survive well in a desert habitat where camels live.

Categories of Adaptations Adaptations can be defined as Behavioural Adaptations, Structural (or Physical) Adaptations or Physiological Adaptations. Behavioural Adaptations is concerned with what the organism does or behaves. When lizards bask in the sun to control body temperature this is a Behavioural Adaptation. Structural Adaptations describe an organisms shape, colour or size. These adaptations define its structure. Physiological Adaptations relate to the internal metabolism and general functioning of the body. When you have been out in the sun your skin produces a dark pigment giving you a tan. This is a physiological adaptation.

Structural Adaptation

Adaptation Examples

Observations and inferences When we study living things we often make inferences based on our observation of an organisms features. This helps us to understand why the organism lives in its particular habitat. Let us look at an example…

Bream Habitat: Swims in flowing rivers or the ocean Observations Inferences Has streamlined shape and large fins This makes it a very strong swimmer for catching food and getting away from enemies Has large eyes Good eyesight enables it to catch food on the move and see enemies Is a silver colour This colour makes it difficult to see in the flickering light of the water in rivers or oceans

Flounder Habitat: Lies on the sand or mud at the bottom of rivers Observations Inferences