How are some animals adapted to be successful predators?
Binocular vision to judge distance and size.
Hunting strategy.
Breeding strategy.
How are some animals adapted to avoid being caught as prey?
Eyes on side of head for wide field of view.
Living in groups (herds or shoals) to reduce the chance of being caught.
Cryptic and warning colouration.
Mimicry
Breeding strategy (synchronous breeding)
How do adaptations involving anatomical methods to cold environments help organisms survive?
- have a thick coat or a layer of blubber to insulate the body and trap heat in.
- have a large size and compact body shape to give a small surface area to volume ratio. This reduces heat loss as less body heat can be lost through the surface of the skin.
- counter current heat exchange systems.
How do adaptations involving behavioural adaptations to cold environments help organisms survive?
- many species migrate to warmer climates during the winter months to avoid having to cope with the cold conditions.
- other species hibernate during the winter months. This saves energy s the animal doesn’t have to find food or keep itself warm as if it was active.
- some species like penguins huddle together to keep warm.
How do behavioural methods in hot environments reduce heat gain?
- animals that live in very hot climates often spend the day in the shade or underground to minimise the amount of heat their bodies gain from their surroundings.
- animals can also reduce their heat gain by being active at night, when it’s much cooler.
- animals can increase heat loss by bathing in water. As the water evaporates it transfers heat fro the skin to the surroundings, cooling the animal down.
How do anatomical methods in hot environments increase heat loss?
- animals adapted to live in hot environments are often small. This gives them a large surface area to volume ratio, which allows them to lose more body heat to their surroundings.
- having large ears, can also increase an animal’s surface area to volume ratio and help them to lose heat. Large thin ears allow more blood to flow near the surface of the skin so more heat from the blood can be radiated to the surroundings.
- animals like camels store fat in just one part of the body, stopping the rest of the body from being too well insulated and allows heat to be lost more easily
What are adaptations to dry environments for cping with lack of water?
Some desert plants:
- have a rounded shape, giving them a small surface area to volume ration to minimise water loss from the surface.
- have a thick waxy layer (cuticle) and spines instead of leaves to further reduce water loss.
- store water in their stems to allow them to survive in times of extreme drought.
- have shallow, but very extensive, roots to ensure water is absorbed quickly over a large area.
Some desert animals:
- have specialised kidneys that allow them to produce very concentrated urine, with a very low water content.
- have no sweat glands, preventing them from losing water through sweating.
- spend lots of time in underground burrows, where the air contains more moisture than on the surface.
How do counter-current heat exchange systems work?
Animals like penguins have to stand on cold ice all day. Blood vessels going to and from the feet carry blood that flows in opposite directions. The vessels pass close to each other, allowing heat to transfer between them. Warm blood flowing in arteries to the feet heats cold blood returning to the heart in the veins. This means that the feet stay cold, but it stops cold blood from cooling down the rest of the body.
