Plant Adaptations

Piture Plant

Bromelliad

Cactus

Succulent

Fragrant Flowers

Brightly-colored Flowers

Plant Tropisms – plants growth response to an external stimulus Gravitropism – positive – downward growth – roots, negative – upward growth toward the light source –Stimulus: Phototropism – plant growth in response to light –Stimulus: Thigmotropism – growth toward a point of contact –Stimulus Hydrotropism – growth of roots towards the closest water source –Stimulus:

Plants and Hormones Giberellins –Cause cell elongation, stimulate cell division and affect seed growth – stems will grow –Dwarf plants often do not have Giberellin Auxins –Stimulates the lengthening and elongation of cells Ethylene –Gaseous hormone – promotes ripening of fruits –Farming industry will pick vegetables and fruits before they ripen, so they won’t get bruised and then once they have arrived at their destination, they will spray them with ethylene to help them to ripen

Animal Behaviors

Behaviors can be…. Innate – behavior is genetically based and not linked to past experience OR Learned – results from interaction between innate behaviors and past experiences within a particular environment

Innate Behaviors Fixed Action Pattern – carrying out a specific set of actions, in sequence, in response to a stimulus –Ex – Geese recognize when an egg has rolled out of their next – they will instinctively push the egg back into the nest

Learned Behaviors Habituation – decrease in an animal’s response after repeatedly being exposed to a stimuls that has no positive or negative effects –Ex Baby birds in a nest and how they respond to things flying overhead – at first, very scared, then as time passes, they stimulus no longer effects them Classical Conditioning – occurs when an association is made between 2 different stimuli

Classical Conditioning

Ecological Behaviors Imprinting – permanent learning that occurs only within a specific period of time in an animals life –Ex When baby ducks hatch, the first organism they see/ come in contact with is their mother – even when that is not the case Migratory – animals move with the seasons to increase rate of survival –Ex birds fly south in the winter to wait out the cold Territorial – attempts to adopt and control a physical area against members of the same species – also against different species –Larger mammals – cats and dogs – marking territory with urine – typically males

Ecological Behaviors Hibernation - is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate –Bears, chipmunks, squirrels Estivation - known as "summer sleep", is a state of animal dormancy somewhat similar to hibernation. It takes place during times of heat and dryness. –Salamanders burrow in the mud of rivers to stay cool and moist