Diversity of Life Forms:

Survival Tactics in Extreme Environments

 Survival of Life on Earth
• Living creatures thrive only under
favorable environmental parameters
– Atmospheric pressure
– Temperature
– Light
– Water
Extreme Physical and Chemical
Parameters on Earth
• Lowest surface temperature: -91oC
(Antarctica, 1997)
• Highest surface temperature:
56.7oC (Death Valley, 1917)
• Earth Centre: ~5500oC
• Surface pressure: 1 atm (1.013 X
105 Pa)
• Highest pressure: 11000 m, ~1100
atm (Mariana Trench, Pacific
Ocean)
• Saltiest place: salinity >40%
(Antarctica)
 Adapting the Hostile Environment

• Deserts
• Hot Springs
• The Poles
• Deep Sea
 The Desert Environment
• 1/3 of Earth’s land area
• Parameters:
– Temperature range – -2oC - 49oC
– Annual precipitation – <15 cm/ year
– Humidity – under 20%
– Sunlight – intense
– Food – scarce
– Diurnal and seasonal differences
 Desert Plant Adaptations
• Collect water - long tap roots
(20-30’) or extensive horizontal
root systems to water sources
• Store water in body – succulents
Night-blooming
• Reduce water loss Cactus
cereus

– spines, thick waxy skin

– no leaves
– open leaf pores only at night
– flower at night
• Protection – spines & mimicry

“Living stone” (Lithops)

 Successful Animal Life Forms in Desert
• Nocturnal
• Drought tolerant
• Water conserving – salt glands
and concentrated urine Kangaroo rat
• Reduce in size
• Long legs ……

Black-tailed Jackrabbit Lizards

Camel
 Kangaroo Rat
• Arid regions of the western and southwestern U.S.
• Adaptations
– Hiding – nocturnal
– Burrowing
– Neither sweat nor pant
– Concentrated urine
– Collect water from a diet of seeds – metabolic
conversion of fats into water
– Reclaim water vapor contained in the humid air by
special membranes in their nasal passages
 Thorny Devil
• Australian deserts
• Slow moving and mimic dead leaves,
body covered with large, conical spines
• Prey on ants and termites- 600-3000 in
a meal
• When frightened, it tucks its head
between its front legs or “puff” to look
bigger
• Able to change colors (camouflage偽裝)
• Thousands of tiny grooves on the skin -
collect moisture and allow the dew to
pass to mouth
• Very concentrated urine
 Desert Pupfish
• Arizona, California of US and Mexico
• In Salt Creeks and Hot Springs
– Among the most heat tolerant of all
fishes : 57oC
– Burrowing in the muddy bottom in
winter months
– Survive in water 2 to 3 times saltier
than sea water
– Fast growing - full maturity within 2
to 3 months
– Life span 9 month to > 1 yr
– feed on brown and green algae
Hot Springs
• Boiling temperature
• Rich in sulfur, minerals and
other toxic compounds
• Heat resistant bacteria
called thermophiles嗜熱菌
found at Yellowstone
National Park of US in
1960s (spans 3 states)
– Enzymes used in molecular
biology and in washing
agents
 • DNA polymerase adds
nucleotides that
correctly base pair with an
existing DNA strand acting as
a template in DNA replication

Polymerase chain reaction

• Thermophile has
thermostable DNA
polymerase which is
used to amplify DNA
fragment in a short
period of time
 The Poles
• North Pole (Arctic Ocean)
• South Pole (Antarctica)
• Physical parameters
– Cold
– The Sun can remain below
(or above) the horizon for
several months
– Covered with thick
snow & ice
– Food scarce
 Why is Antarctica
colder than the Arctic?

http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu/poles/weather.html
 Icefish
• Live in waters of the Antarctic
• Adaptations
– Prevent body fluid from freezing
with anti-freeze protein
– have extremely efficient
enzyme systems which are
working at low temperature
– Have a large heart and
“transparent” blood (without
hemoglobin), absorb oxygen
directly through skin from the
water
 Polar bear
Common Strategies for
Survival in the Poles
• Having thick water-proof
covering for better insulation
Seal
• Small surface area to volume
ratio to reduce heat loss (large
round bodies)
Killer whale
• Thick fatty layer for insulation
and energy reserve
• Huddling
• Hibernation冬眠
Emperor Penguin
 Survival of Life on Earth
• Living creatures thrive only under
favorable environmental parameters
– Atmospheric pressure
– Temperature
– Light
– Water
 The Deep Sea Environment
Deep ocean
Surface 200 m
2000 m

Temperature 20 oC 4oC – 5oC -1 oC - 5 oC

Giant tube worms

Pressure 1 Atm 20 Atm 200 Atm

Light Y N N

Basic energy photosynthetic photosynthetic chemosynthetic

input chemosynthetic

Water
Fast to Slow Slow Slow to motionless Nautilus
Movement
 The Deep Sea Environment - Creatures
Rat-tail fish
• Soft body
• Thin bones
• Low metabolic rate
• Large mouth and stomach Anglerfish
• Bioluminescence (by
bacteria)
• Build-in mates
Fangtooth Jelly fish
Starfish
Squid
 References
• Plant Adaptations:
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/plants/adapt.htm
• Animal and plant adaptations and behaviours :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/adaptations
• Desert adapataion:
http://wc.pima.edu/~bfiero/tucsonecology/adaptations/adaptatio
ns_home.htm
• Hot Spring adaptations:
http://bioinfo.bact.wisc.edu/themicrobialworld/LAHT/b27.html
• The Poles adaptations:
http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/wildlife-in-winter-
adaptations-for-survival/112#Survival at the Poles ;
http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/resources/adapt.html
• Deep Sea adapatations: http://marinebio.org/oceans/deep/