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Adapt and surviveTo adapt is to change and suite the present conditions. If you don't, you will soon be outdated and become extinct! As the environment keeps changing, plants and animals need to keep changing to fit. What organisms need/compete for?What animals need:
What plants need:
Both animals and plants need to adapt to compete successfuly for these requirements. There is growing interest in organisms that can survive in extreme environments, for example: very low temperatures of Antarctica, very hot deserts environments and very acidic or alkaline environments. These organisms are called extremophiles.
Animal adaptationsAnimals have physical and behaviour adaptations to get these requirements that we outlined above. These include:
Plant adaptationsThese include:
Environmental change and survivalOrganisms need to be able to change to fit in with the changing environment. Failure to do so may result in extinction. So organisms may have to change:
Pollution indicatorsLiving organisms (both plants and animals) are sensitive to even minor changes in their surroundings such as pH, types of gases in the air etc. The major changes involve: Chemicals in water
These organisms may be used as indicators of pollution as they respond to these pollutants. They include:
Measuring environmental changeSome scientists spend their lives measuring changes in these pollutants so as to inform decision making and environmental policies. The things that they can measure include:
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Why do you think scientists are interested in extremophiles?
For each of these adaptations, name an organism and identify its environment.
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