Competition and adaptations in ecosystems | Biology | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

What is it called when an animal's colour or pattern helps it blend into its surroundings?

habitat

camouflage ✓

mimicry

environment
Some animals travel from one habitat to another at different times of year. Other animals spend the cold winter months in hibernation. These are both examples of ______ adaptations.

'behavioural' ✓
Which of the following could increase biodiversity?

creating wildflower meadows on waste ground ✓

cutting down hedgerows around fields of crops

cutting down large areas of forest

building roads and houses in an area

creating and protecting wild areas in parks and gardens ✓
Which of these factors are biotic?

decomposers ✓

pollution

diseases ✓

nutrients in the soil

Water availability
Match the ecological term with its definition.

community

⇔

all of the populations that live and interact in a habitat ✓

habitat

⇔

the place where an organism lives ✓

ecosystem

⇔

the interacting living and non-living parts of the environment ✓

interdependence

⇔

how organisms rely on each other for their survival ✓
The gorse plant has small leaves and sharp spines. How do these features help the gorse plant to survive in their dry sandy habitats?

The small leaves help the plant to absorb lots of light.

The spines helps to protect the plant from being eaten. ✓

The small leaves help to reduce water loss. ✓

The spines help the plant to absorb water.

Exit quiz

What do we call organisms that you can only see with a microscope?

'microorganisms' ✓
What is an extremophile?

An organism that lives in harsh environments. ✓

An organism that has a large number of adaptations.

A harsh environment.

An organism that has a unique diet.
Match the examples of adaptations with the type of adaptation that they represent.

behavioural adaptation

⇔

animals hunting at night time to avoid being eaten by predators ✓

structural adaptation

⇔

leaves of a cactus being modified into spines ✓

physiological adapation

⇔

producing venom to paralyse and/or kill prey ✓
What is the name given to the process of organisms seeking the same limited resource (e.g. food) within a habitat?

'competition' ✓
In which of the following places might you be more likely to find an extremophile?

very deep in the ocean ✓

in a pond

frozen in Arctic ice ✓

in a compost heap
Look at the picture of the fennec fox. It has a structural adaptation of having big ears. The fennec fox lives in the desert. How might this adaptation help the fennec fox to survive in its habitat?

To hear predators, as the large ears allow the fennec fox to hear better. ✓

To help shade the eyes of the fennec fox from the sun.

To help the fennec fox trap more heat from the environment.

To help the fennec fox lose more heat and stop it from overheating. ✓

To allow it to be nocturnal and avoid the sun's heat during the day.

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Organisms compete for resources such as food, water, space, shelter, light, mates, pollinators and seed dispersers.
The populations of species within a community are interdependent (they rely upon and affect one another).
Organisms have adaptations that help them survive and compete in their environment.
Adaptations can be physiological, structural or behavioural.
Extremophiles are adapted to live in extreme environments, e.g. high salt concentration or very high or low temperature.

Common misconception

That organisms are able to quickly adapt to the place where they live.

Referring to inheritance, explain that changes to organisms take time to evolve - responses to any environmental change is not instant. In some organisms, where reproduction is slow, responses can be too slow to avoid extinction.

Keywords

Competition - Competition is when organisms in a community or population are seeking the same limited resource (e.g. food, mates).
Adaptation - An adaptation is a feature that organisms have to help them live in a particular place.
Physiological - Physiological adaptations are body processes that help an organism to survive and reproduce.
Microorganism - A microorganism is an organism that can only be seen using a microscope.
Extremophile - Extremophiles are organisms that are able to successfully survive and reproduce in extreme environments (e.g. very hot/very cold).