Living things in their

environment
 Importance of ecology
• Improving Our Environment

• Public Health

• Endangered Species Protection

• Forestry Solutions

• Agricultural Solutions
Ecology
• Habitat
The home /place where a plant or animal lives.
Eg: Terrestrial habitat (forest, desert, grassland etc.)
Fresh water habitat (pond, lake , river etc.)
Marine habitat (deep ocean, rock pool, reefs etc.)

• Community
All plants and animals living in a habitat.
Population: A group of individuals of the same
species occupying a particular geographic area. 
Environment
Everything around the living thing that could affect its survival is called
environment.
• Non living part of the environment
• Abiotic factors
• Temperature
• wind speed
• the amount of light
• the amount of water
Biotic factors
• Factors due to living things in the environment
• Amount of food
• Number of predators
• Ecosystem
Community of living things and the abiotic factors
Food chain
What do you eat in Breakfast?
What do you eat in
Breakfast?
 My breakfast
• Grass Cow Milk

• Grains (Plants) Hen Eggs

Write down the source for your breakfast

Food chain in an
Ecosystem
 Food chain in an
Ecosystem
Grass- Producer
Deer- Herbivore
Lion- Carnivore
Food chain in an
Ecosystem
 Investigating habitat

• Information/data

• Monitor

• compare
Plant life
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlC-qPpQEgA
Tullgren funnel
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knYUwnRQa_A
Pit fall
• Two cups, one inside the other, are placed in each hole so that that
any rain water will fill the bottom cup and float the top cup upwards
to prevent loss of the trap contents. 
Sweep net
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5dVt3n1_EE
Sheet and beater
pooter
Collecting pond animals
• Drag net

• Pond dipping net

• Plankton net
Adaptations
 adaptations to daily changes
crocus and tulip open during day and close during the
night

Protects the delicate structures inside the petals from low temperatures.
Prevents the dew from washing away the pollen.
 adaptations to daily changes
night scented stock – flowers open during night and
close during day

Allows moths to pollinate the flowers

 adaptations to daily changes
Wood sorrel

Closing of the leaflets helps them to lose less water when the plant is not
making food.
When there is lot of water the cells swell up . When some of the water is
removed the cells sag. The swelling and sagging of the cells allows plant parts
to move slowly.
adaptations to daily changes
Tawny Owl

•Large Eyes - can see in

the dim light
•Feathers of the wings
help fly noiselessly
•Sharp talons on its toes-
daggers – kill and carry
away the prey.
 adaptations to daily changes
bats
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-zrBaIt-38
adaptations to daily changes
Moths – nocturnal
 adaptations to daily changes
humidity

During night – temperature is less – water vapour to condense to form

dew – this increases the humidity of the air
adaptations to daily changes
Squirrels, deer, voles & mice
 Adaptations to the seasonal
changes -
daffodils

In winter the leaves above the ground die and the plant form a bulb in the soil.
 adaptations to daily changes
Deciduous trees
• Looses leaves in winter and grow new ones when conditions improve.
adaptations to daily changes
tree bark
 adaptations to daily changes
Holly tree and conifers (evergreen)

Have leaves which loose little water in winter.

 adaptations to daily changes
Duckweed – produces individuals that sink to the
pond floor
 adaptations to daily changes
Some water plants – die back and survive in the mud
as thick stems called rhizomes
 Roe deer
summer – short hair to keep it cool.
autumn and winter – longer hair that traps an insulating layer of air.
This reduces the loss of heat from its body.
 Animal adaptations to seasonal changes
stoat
white coat – loses less heat than its darker summer coat and also gives
it camouflage
Ptarmigan – feather grow over its toes and make its
feet into showshoes which callow it to walk across the
snow without sinking
 Aestivation, hibernation and
migration

swallow

Lung fish –aestivation bat

– rest through a hot
dry season
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/west-african-
lungfish
/
Insects – in winter – inactive stages -
the egg and the pupa
Desert adaptations camel and
cactus

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WViUUMClAUQ
Mountain adaptations – plants
• Hairy leaves – prevent form losing water, and trap air to provide
insulation.

• Grow close to ground – not damaged by the frequent strong winds at

high altitudes.

• Short life cycles – like in few weeks the life cycle is completed and
seeds are produced
Mountaintops – animals

• Birds – some birds like eagle and raven avoid mountain regions in
winter

• Mountain goat and red deer – visit in summer but move to mountain
foot in winter.

• Ptarmigan – remains on the mountaintop all round the year and

adapts to the winter weather
Mountain goat moss
campion
Aquatic - fresh water plants
Fresh water plants
• Stems have cavities and are flexible
• Use gases to up hold the plant so root is just to anchor or to stabilise
(duck weed)
• Absorption through shoot surface or through leaves in submerged
plants.
• Leaves are thin – for absorption and to face the water current.
• Feathery leaves – large surface area
Diving beetle
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbfvbqoZBbE
Marine algae and see weeds
Small microscopic algae
See weeds- large algae
• 22 ) Large amount of heat would damage the cells of the organism
and probably kill it.
• 23 ans :a) 1.large hands , adapted for digging
2. claws like cat to climb trees
3. strong front teeth to scrap the bark
4. strong back teeth to grind up the bark (bark feeding)

b) 1. brown in colour to match with the colour of the bark to camouflage

2. claws to climb and escape quickly from predator and fight back
• 24 1. good eye sight to spot the camouflaged mammal.
2. strong beak to kill the animal instantly
3. feet and claws to walk up and sown the tree to catch
the mammal
4. adapt to move slowly and noiselessly to as to not to
alert the animal.
25. No. The starling is acting as a predator when it eats the work but it
is acting as a prey when it is eaten by the sparrowhawk.

26. Herbivores have eyes on the sides of their head. This gives them
very wide field of vision, enabling them to see a carnivore
approaching.
carnivore have eyes that face forwards. This allows them to judge
distances accurately.