Living things in their

environment
 Key words
• Ecology is the study of living things in their
environment.
• A habitat is the home of a plant or animal, the
place where it lives.
• All plants and animals living in a habitat form a
community of living things.
• The environment of a living thing is everything
around it that could affect its survival.
• The environment is made up of abiotic and biotic
factors.
• Biotic factors are the living part of the
environment eg predators, amount of food
• Abiotic factors are the non living components eg
temperature, water, air, light, wind etc
• An ecosystem is made up of the community of
living things and the abiotic factors.
• Energy that drives ecosystems comes from the sun.
 Food chains
• This is a diagram that shows the flow of energy
in an ecosystem
• It always starts with a producer (green plants).
• Arrows always point to the consumer
(organisms that feed) because they show the
direction of energy flow.
• Consumers are classified as primary, secondary,
tertiary and quaternary consumers.
• Herbivores (eat plants) and omnivores (eat
plants and meat) are primary consumers.
• Carnivores (eat meat only) can be
secondary, tertiary or quaternary
consumers.
• A top carnivore is the highest level consumer
in a food chain.
• The sun and decomposers are not included
in a food chain.
• a food web is made up of more than one
food chain.
• Arrows in a food chain represent the direction
of energy flow.
• They point to the consumer
 Biodiversity
• Biodiversity is the variety and number of
species in an ecosystem.
• When there are many different species in an
ecosystem then biodiversity is high.
• Such ecosystems are said to be stable as
compared to low diversity ecosystems.
 Investigating habitats
• Data is collected and it can be used to monitor
the ecosystem.
• The data also provides information about the
ecosystem. ie whether populations have
increased of dropped and why.
• Photographs can be taken to identify main
vegetation type in a habitat.
• Detailed studies of plants are done using a
quadrant or a line transect
A quadrant
• a quadrant is a square frame placed over an area
of ground and plants inside the frame are
recorded.
• The quadrant is thrown over the shoulder so that
the test is random
• a line transect is done by stretching a piece of
rope or string along the place to be examined.
• The plants along the transect are recorded at
intervals.
• A transect line can be used to study changes in
vegetation and abiotic factors eg soil patterns.
Line transect
 Collecting small animals
• Small animals live in different places eg
pond, soil, trees etc
• A tullgren funnel is used to collect small
animals from a soil sample or leaf litter.
• The light produces heat which drives the
animals to the bottom and they fall
though to the funnel and into water.
Tullgren funnel
 Pitfall trap
• Traps small animals that move over the surface of
the ground. These fall into the container inserted
underground.
 Sweep net
• Used to collect small animals from leaves and
flower stems of herbaceous plants.
 Sheet and beater
• A sheet of paper is placed below branches
which are shaken or beaten using a stick.
• This causes the small animals to fall onto the
sheet.
 A pooter
• The smallest animals can be collected using a
pooter.
• A pooter involves sucking air through a tube
which also pulls the small animal into the trap
 Collecting pond animals
• A drag net is used to collect animals from the bottom
of the pond.
• It is dragged along the mud and scoops up animals on
the surface of the mud.
• The pond dipping net is used to sweep through
vegetation around the edge of the pond to collect
animals on leaves and stems.
• A plankton net collects animals in open water.
• Other net types include the dragnet, pond dipping net
and plankton net.
Net types; Dragnet
Pond dipping net
Plankton net
 Adaptations
• To adapt is to adjust to a new situation
• Plants and animals are adapted to their
habitats.
• Adaptations are features that they have that
help them survive eg gills in fish.
Adaptations to changing environments
• Plants and animals have adaptations to daily
changes eg daylight and night.
 Adaptations to daily changes
• Some plants open their flowers during the day so
that insects can visit them and pollinate them
(carry pollen from one flower to the next)
• They close at night to protect delicate structures
in the flower from dew and cold
• The night scented stock is a plant whose flowers
open at night to allow moths to pollinate it.
• plants can make movements by moving water in
them, a lot of water causes cells to swell and
water loss causes them to sag. This sagging and
swelling of cells allows plant parts to move slowly.
 Animal adaptations to daily changes
• Animals can rest or be active at certain time periods.
• Most birds sleep at night and search for food during
the day.
• They have an excellent vision essential for flying and
searching for food.
• A tawny owl has large eyes sensitive to low light
intensity these allow it to see well and fly safely at
night.
• Edges of wings are shaped in a way that it can move
noiselessly, this prevents it from being identified by its
prey as it approaches.
• Has sharp talons that kill prey quickly and allow it to
carry it to be eaten at a safe perch.
• Bats move at night , they use an echolocation
mechanism to identify their prey.
• They use echoes from objects to work out distance,
size and shape of the object.
• Some animals eg squirrels, deer and field mice are
active during the day but hide away from predators in
the grass
• Slugs and woodlice come out at night because the
dew makes the land moist. During the day these
organisms would dry up and die. As morning comes
they hide away somewhere in a damp place.
 Plant adaptations to seasonal changes
• Biotic factors change with seasons
• The grass plant can survive winter, its short roots
allow it to use moisture on the upper regions of the
soil.
• Daffodils leaves die during winter and it forms a bulb
in the soil which later develops into a new plant.
• Bark insulates plants during winter
• Deciduous trees shed their leaves during winter to
reduce water loss.
• Evergreen trees eg Holly have needle like leaves which
reduce water loss.
 Animal adaptations to seasonal changes
• The Roe deer has short hair in summer to keep it cool and long
hair in winter to insulate a layer of air next to its skin, this reduces
heat loss from the body.
• The stoat has a white coat in winter which losses less heat than its
summer black coat. It preys on rabbits and the white coat gives it
camouflage during winter in the snow.
• The lung fish of Africa and South America lives in rivers. During the
dry season it burrows through the riverbed and sleeps through the
hot dry season, (aestivation) breathing air until the rains come.
• Insects eg butterflies avoid harsh winters by spending their lives in
the inactive stages eg eggs and pupa.
• Insects eating organisms like bats have nothing to eat during
winter and so they store up fat in summer then sleep through
winter, (hibernation)
The life cycle of a butterfly
 Adaptations to certain habitats
1. Deserts
• Have a short rainy season followed by a long dry season.
• Plants in deserts have a short life cycle so seed germinate as
soon as it rains.
• Cacti can store water inside their bodies
• They have a thick waxy covering which prevent water loss
through the surfaces.
• They have thorns to prevent herbivores from eating them or
taking a drink from them.
• Some have long roots that get water from the low water
table.
• Shallow roots collect rain water from the light showers.
 The camel
• Can survive many days without water.
• Feet have thick pads which insulate it from the desert heat.
• Feet are webbed to spread weight and avoid sinking in the sand.
• Has long legs which hold the body above the hot air close to the
ground.
• The nostrils can close to prevent entry of sand.
• Eyes have long lashes to keep sand from reaching the eye during
a sand storm.
• Have a third eyelid which move sideways wiping away sand. It is
so thin that a camel can see through it and is kept closed during
a sand storm.
• has strong teeth that can eat the tough desert plants
• Has fat on hump for use as an energy store when there is no
food.
 Mountains
• Have conditions similar to polar regions
• Plants spend winter as seeds
• Some plants have hairy leaves which prevent
water loss and trap air to provide insulation.
• The plants are short to prevent damage by
strong winds.
 Aquatic habitats
• These are watery habitats eg ponds, rivers, seas etc
Freshwater plants
• Stems of water plants have cavities which carry air to cells
• Leaves are thin to allow minerals and water to pass through
easily.
Freshwater animals
• The diving beetle has spiracles which allow it to breathe on
surface of water.
Marine algae
• Contain drops of oil to help them float, have long spines to
slow down sinking speed.
• The algae are green and make food by photosynthesis thus
must live in sunlit waters
• Sea weeds have root like structures called
holdfasts, they grip the rocks and stop sea weeds
from being swept away.
Marine animals
• Live in salt water
• Sea spider has long legs to help it walk in mud
• Animals in the sea deeps generate light because
sunlight cannot get there. They are called
bioluminescence. The light is used to search for
food and to recognise each other.
• Animals close to the seashore can be swept away
by tides so they have sucker like structures that
hold on tightly to surfaces eg the rock pool
 Feeding adaptations
Herbivores- feed on plants
• They have strong back teeth for grinding food.
• Many have camouflaged body colours to
prevent easy identification by predators.
• Most have eyes on side of head which gives
them a wide vision to see predators coming
• Have large ears than can turn in many
directions to detect predators easily
 Carnivores
• Feed on meat
• A frog can flip it tongue very fast to catch
insects
• Have large cone shaped canines to tear flesh
• Large molars to hold bones
• Have forward facing eyes thus they have
overlapping vision. This allows them to judge
distance accurately.