Big Idea 17 Interdependence Part II

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards:

SC.5.L.17.1 – Compare and contrast adaptations by animals and plants that enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycle variations, animal behaviors and physical characteristics.

SC.5.L.15.1 – Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while others die or move to new locations.

Terms

English Spanish Haitian Creole1. adaptation adaptación adaptasyon

behavioral adaptation adaptación de comportamiento

konpòtman adaptasyon

2. camouflage camuflaje kamouflay3. characteristic característica karakteristik4. community comunidad kominote5. competition competición konpetisyon/konkou6. ecosystem ecosistema ekosistèm7. emigration emigración emigrasyon8. endangered en peligro de extinción an danje9. environment ambiente anviwonman

10. Everglades Everglades Everglades11. extinct extinto ki fin disparèt12. habitat habitat abita13. hibernation hibernación ibènasyon (dòmi tout live)14. immigration inmigración imigrasyon15. migration migración migrasyon/deplasman16. mimicry imitación mimic/imitasyon17. population población popilasyon18. predator depredador/predador predatè (ki manje lòt bèt)19. prey presa victim20. survival supervivencia siviv

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Does This Matter to Me?

Have you ever heard a mosquito flying around you but not been able to see it? Maybe you found it for a moment and swatted at it, but it avoided you and you lost it again. Mosquitoes have the ability to fly quickly and dart around so that it is hard for us to catch them. This is an adaptation that allows them to stay alive and not be eaten by predator birds. It is annoying to us, but life-saving to the mosquito!

Have you noticed that some lizards blend right in with the leaves and rocks that they live in and around? What about insects? Have you ever seen a walking stick? A walking stick is an insect that looks just like what it sounds like – a stick! These are examples of adaptations that make animals more likely to survive in their environment. Have you ever thought about what kinds of adaptations human beings have?

Talk about these questions in your group: What are different types of environments? What kinds of adaptations are there? How do animals survive in different environments?

What is an Ecosystem?(SC.5.L.17.1)

An ecosystem includes all of the living and nonliving things in a specific environment. As geographers study the many ecosystems around the world, many similarities or patterns become evident from one ecosystem to another. Within an ecosystem, each organism has a specific place it calls home. This is the organism’s habitat. For polar bears, habitats include areas around the North Pole, Greenland, and tundra. Habitats also provide the materials that organisms need to survive. These materials include food, water, shelter, oxygen, and other items that organisms need to live, grow, and reproduce. One of the largest habitats in Florida is the Everglades, which is a wetland that used to occupy almost all of South Florida. As you can see from the table on the next page, environments can be very different.

What kinds of animals live in a grassland environment?

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Which environments would be located in Florida? Why?

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Environments around the WorldEnvironments Graphic Temperature Precipitation Plants Animals

Desert hot or cold scarce to low

cactus, yucca, agave, shrubs

lizards, snakes, rodents, spiders (often

nocturnal)

Tundra cold lowlichens, grasses, mosses

polar bears, wolves, foxes,

caribou

Grassland varied low to moderate

grasses (few or no

trees)

antelope, buffalo, zebras, coyote,

elephants, giraffes

Rain forest typically warm high

palms, ferns, big

leaf evergreens

colorful birds, many

insects, monkeys,

snakes, bats

Wetland hot or cold high

grasses, mangrove, wild rice,

cranberries

alligators, deer, variety

of birds, snakes

Ocean hot or cold varied

seaweed, kelp, sea

grass, algae

whales, dolphins,

crabs, fish, lobsters, sharks,

manatees

Environments are constantly changing. These changes can be caused by: wind water plants and animals, including humans.

Changes to an environment can be both positive and negative. Humans change the environment in many ways, like by planting or removing trees or by building homes. Environments also change during the seasons. Some environments become very cold in winter, while others like the ones found in Florida have mild winters.

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Organisms react to changes in their environment by developing adaptations. Polar bears live in the tundra. This is a very cold environment with a lot of ice, snow, and minimal plant life. Polar bears have developed adaptations that allow them to survive in these polar regions. For example, a polar bear’s thick layer of fat helps it stay warm in freezing temperatures. Can you think of any other physical characteristics or behaviors that enable polar bears to survive in their habitat?

If living organisms do not adapt to an environment, they cannot survive. If all members of a particular kind of plant or animal die, the plant or animal becomes extinct.

Adaptations(SC.5.L.15.1, SC.5.L.17.1)

An adaptation is a change that helps an organism to survive in its environment. Adaptations occur over many generations. Organisms that are adapted to their environment are better able to survive and reproduce. Organisms that are not adapted to their environment are less likely to survive and reproduce.

Some plant and animal adaptations are behavioral and others are physical. Most behavioral and physical adaptations are passed down from the parent to the offspring; this means that they are inherited. Some characteristics and behaviors are learned by interacting with the environment. Did you inherit the ability to ride a bike?

Behavioral adaptations are changes in the behavior of a type of plant or animal. Adaptations of physical characteristics are changes in a feature or trait on the

body of an organism.

Behavioral Adaptations of Animals

Behavioral adaptations help an animal survive. An animal's behavior sometimes helps to protect it from the environment or other animals. For example, meerkats are very social within their own groups. However, when an intruder enters, they try to drive the intruder out of their territory. Meerkats perform a type of “war dance” that consists of each meerkat jumping higher and higher in the air, crying out loudly and scratching the ground. This inherited behavior intimidates the intruder and allows meerkats to mark their territory.

Other inherited behavioral adaptations include hibernation and migration. These behavioral adaptations are affected by seasonal changes.

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During the winter in cold climates, there is often not a lot of food to eat. Sometimes, an animal goes into a sleeping state that can last for months at a time; this is called hibernation. An animal’s body functions slow down during hibernation and the animal uses very little energy. Bears are an example of animals that hibernate during the winter. Before they begin their hibernation, bears eat a lot of food. This food is stored in their bodies as fat. This stored fat provides the energy the bear needs to live during hibernation. Some other animals hibernate, including insects, reptiles, and fish. Do you think many animals in Florida hibernate? Explain why or why not.

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Some animals travel long distances during different seasons, which is called migration. Before it gets cold, many animals in northern regions travel south to find food. Some animals travel long distances to mate and give birth to their babies. When winter is over, the animals return to the northern regions. Birds, butterflies, caribou, whales, lobsters, and fish are some of the animals that migrate. During the winter, are there more or fewer animals in and around Florida? Explain why.

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Give an example of an inherited and a learned behavior. Explain what makes them different.

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Adaptations of Physical Characteristics in Animals

Adaptations to an animal’s physical characteristics do not develop in a single organism’s lifetime, but over many generations. The shapes of noses, color of the fur, and thickness or thinness of the animals’ ears are all examples of physical adaptations , which help different animals survive.

Giraffes with longer necks can eat leaves and fruits from taller trees. Few other animals can reach these trees, so the giraffes have enough food to survive.

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Different birds have different beaks that can pick up or capture the type of food that is available in their environment.

How do the physical adaptations of beaks help birds survive?

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Another example of a physical adaptation is when animals have a color or shape, which allows them to blend in with their environment. Some animals stand very still, and others can change colors to blend in with their background. This camouflage makes it harder for predators (animals that eat the animal) to see the animal. This makes it more likely that the animal will survive. This small bird, to the left, found in Iceland, is camouflaged to match its surroundings and therefore is less likely to be found by its prey.

Mimicry is similar to camouflage. Instead of matching the surroundings they live in, small or harmless animals sometimes look like dangerous animals. Like camouflage, mimicry makes it less likely that the animal will be eaten. The animal has a better chance of surviving if it looks like a dangerous animal that predators will stay away from. For example, in the animal world, bright colors mean poison. There are a few animals that are not poisonous but have bright colors to keep predators away, because the predators usually don’t eat animals with bright colors. Look at the

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picture to the right. What do you see? It looks like a snake, but it is a caterpillar. Why might mimicking a snake be a beneficial adaptation for the caterpillar?

Plant Adaptations

Did you know that plants can also respond to their environments? Like animals, plants also develop many adaptations. Some of these adaptations are different sizes and shapes of plant parts, such as leaves, stems, roots, and flowers. If a lot of water is available, plants grow very tall. If little water is available, plants do not grow tall. Some plants have large leaves to take in the maximum amount of sunlight. Other plants have leaves that allow water to drain down toward their roots. In winter, some plants shed their leaves, so the plant will not lose water while the ground is frozen. Plants native to Florida do not have to do this, since the ground does not freeze.

The leaves of a prickly pear cactus plant are called spines, which help reduce water evaporation. Why is this important? Cactus plants grow in environments that do not receive much rainfall, so they need to protect and store as much water as possible. The spines also create a sharp barrier that prevents animals from eating the plant to get the sugar and water stored inside.

A pine tree develops cones, instead of fruit, to protect its seeds. A pine tree’s leaves are called needles. The small shape of the needles helps prevent water loss in dry conditions, much like a cactus’ spines. Many pine trees live in cold climates, but we have pine trees in Florida, too. To the right is an image of the Florida Slash Pine, with a close up of the needles and cone.

Most plants and trees grow toward the light. Some plants and vines even have structures that reach out and wrap tightly around a support. Other plants have thorns to help protect them from being eaten. Some plants can even trap and digest insects.

Some plants, like sunflowers, have flowers that turn to follow the Sun. Other kinds of flowers, like the ones on cactus plants, open during the day and close at night.

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In Inquiry 12 below, you will grow bean seeds to learn about plant behavior. You will investigate whether the direction you plant the bean seeds (up, down, right, left) affects the direction the roots grow.

Inquiry 12: What Can We Learn about Plant Behavior?

Inquiry Framework1. Questioning State the problem

Do the roots of bean plants grow in the direction the seeds are planted?

Make a prediction

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2. Planning Read the materials and procedures Do I have all of the necessary materials?

Yes No

Have I read the procedures?Yes No

Summarize the procedures in your own words.

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3. Implementing Gather the materials 1 clear plastic cup2 white coffee filters1 paper towel4 bean seedspermanent marker or masking tape and pencilwater

Follow the procedures1. Use one filter to line the cup, with open

side up.2. Place the second filter inside the first filter

(see the picture to the right). Push both of them gently into the bottom of the cup.

3. Shape the paper towel into a wad and place it in the center of the cup.

4. Label the cup with your group’s name and the four letters that correspond to the four positions where each of the four beans will be placed.

5. Pour a small amount of water in the cup – just enough to make the filters and paper towel moist.

6. Place the four seeds into the cup as follows:A – eye upB – eye downC – eye facing the rightD – eye facing the left

7.

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Place the cup in a warm, sunny area.8. Check the cup daily, keeping the towel and filters moist.

Remember that the cup will need a little extra water on a Friday as it has to stay damp over the weekend.

9. Observe the bean seeds every other day and record your observations in the Bean Seeds Growth Journal. You might need to look between the filters in order to see whether or not your beans are growing roots. Document if the roots are growing and in which direction they are growing. In addition, include color and any changes to the size of the roots.

Bean Seeds Growth JournalDay 1 Date Day 3 DateSeed A Seed B Seed A Seed B

Seed C Seed D Seed C Seed D

Day 5 Date Day 7 DateSeed A Seed B Seed A Seed B

Seed C Seed D Seed C Seed D

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4. Concluding Draw a conclusionWhat did you find out?

Compare what you thought would happen with what actually happened. Did the results support your prediction?

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5. Reporting Share your resultsWhat do you want to tell others about the activity?Talk with your group members about what you did and what you observed.

Produce a reportRecord what you did so others can learn. Write the answers to the following questions:

1. Did the roots of the bean plants grow in the direction the seeds were planted? Describe your observations.

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2. What force influenced the plant roots to grow in the direction that they did?

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6. Inquiry Extension

3. Why didn’t stems grow in the same direction as roots?

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Reflect on your results If I did this activity again, how would I improve it? What would be a good follow-up experiment based on what

I learned?

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7. Application Make connections How does this activity relate to what happens in the real

world? How could I apply the results in new situations?

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In this activity, you learned that when the roots grow out of a seed, they respond to the force of gravity and grow toward the earth. Plants also respond to sunlight by turning toward a window, where the most sunlight comes in. These are all examples of behavioral adaptations in plants.

The plants that are best adapted to their environment will survive. These plants will reproduce and pass on their adaptations to their offspring. Adaptations do not happen quickly. They take a very long time, sometimes thousands of years.

Populations(SC.5.L15.1, SC.5.L.17.1)

Carpenter Ants Population Whitetail Deer Population

The pictures above are examples of populations. A population is a group of members from a single species that live in the same area, or habitat, at the same time. Population can refer to a group of humans, animals, or insects. For example, you may have a population of ants living in your yard or tadpoles living in pond water. Many different populations living in the same area form a community. You can have a community of alligators, fish, frogs, and grasses living in the same Florida lake.

Can you give some examples of populations, besides humans, that make up the community around your school?

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Population Size

The size of a population can change when organisms move into or out of the population. Moving into a population is called immigration and moving out of a population is called emigration. For example, if an organism in a population cannot meet its needs by staying in a certain area, it will move to a better area. While populations change when organisms move in or out, populations increase mainly through the birth of offspring and decrease mainly through death.

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If the number of new organisms entering a population is greater than the number of organisms leaving the population at a specific time, the population size will increase. If the number of organisms leaving the population is greater than the number of organisms entering the population, the population size will decrease.

Factors Affecting Population Size

A number of factors affect population size. These include environmental factors, competition, and predator/prey relationships.

Environmental factors include limits on food, space, water, light, and soil. For example, if foxes eat rabbits and there are more foxes than rabbits, many of the foxes will starve until there are more rabbits than foxes. If you put too many fish in a small fish tank, what will happen to the fish population? Why?

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Competition is a struggle among organisms to survive in a habitat that has a given amount of resources. If there are a limited number of tree branches suitable for making nests, not every bird in the population can nest in the same tree. Some birds will have to find different trees to make nests. What resource are the birds competing for?

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Predator/prey relationships can also have a major effect on the size of a population. Some organisms kill and eat other organisms for food. The organism that does the killing is called the predator. The organism that is killed is called the prey. If many prey are killed by predators, this can lead to the extinction of the entire population.

In Inquiry 13 below, you will simulate the way in which environmental factors can cause some populations to become so small that they will be considered an endangered species or to be extinct, which means a population no longer exists.

Inquiry 13: Survival

This model will simulate how some animals survive and others die off due to their adaptations. To represent three different prey populations, we will use black, white, and green beans. To represent three different predator populations, we will use students equipped with a plastic knife, fork, or spoon. The predator populations and the prey populations will each begin at equal levels. Predators will be allowed to hunt for whichever prey type they can find. You will observe how predator and prey populations affect each other and how the environment affects who survives and who dies off.

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Inquiry Framework1. Questioning State the problem

How do the predator populations and prey populations affect each other over time?

Make predictions 1. Which prey population (black, white, or green beans) do you

predict will be captured the most? Why?

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2. Which prey population (black, white, or green beans) do you think will be captured the least? Why?

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3. Which predator population (knife, fork, or spoon) do you think will capture the most prey? Why?

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4. Which predator population (knife, fork, or spoon) do you think will capture the least prey? Why?

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2. Planning Read the materials and procedures Do I have all of the necessary materials?

Yes No

Have I read the procedures?Yes No

Summarize the procedures in your own words.

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3. Implementing Gather the materials 1 plastic knife, fork, or spoon per student 1 cup per student 1 bag each of black, white, and green beans suitable "patch" of habitat (any outdoor area)

Follow the procedures1. Each person in each group will receive a different adaptation

(a plastic knife, fork, or spoon). 2. Your teacher will take the class outside to an area (your

habitat) where 200 prey (beans) of each type (600 total beans) are scattered. Each bean represents a prey animal.

3. At your teacher’s signal, predators will be allowed to hunt for 3 minutes. Each prey animal must be scooped up with the adaptation (picking up prey with your hands is not allowed) and then placed into the cup ("scooping" the prey directly into the cup is not allowed).

4. When the 3 minutes are up, count all the prey that each predator in your group captured.

5. Record your group data in Data Table 1.6. Add the counts from all the groups. Record your class data in

Data Table 2.

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Data Table 1 (Your Group Data)

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Predator PopulationsKnife Fork Spoon Total

Prey Populations

Black BeansWhite BeansGreen Beans

Total

4. Concluding

Data Table 2 (Your Class Data)

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Predator PopulationsKnife Fork Spoon Total

Prey Populations

Black BeansWhite BeansGreen Beans

Total

Draw a conclusion

What did you find out? Compare what you thought would happen with what actually happened. Did the results support your predictions?

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5. Reporting Share your resultsWhat do you want to tell others about the activity?Talk with your group members about what you did and what you observed.

Produce a reportWrite the answers to the following questions:

1. How did the predator and prey populations affect each other over time?

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2. How does this activity relate to what naturally occurs with animals?

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3. What are some of the reasons that a population might become extinct?

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4. How might a group of organisms in nature avoid extinction due to competition?

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6. Inquiry Extension Reflect on your results If I did this activity again, how would I improve it? What would be a good follow-up experiment based on what

I learned?

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7. Application Make connections How does this activity relate to what happens in the real

world?

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How could I apply the results in new situations?

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In this activity, you learned that adaptations are important because they increase the chances of an animal surviving in its environment. The animals and plants that are best adapted to their environment will survive. Because they survive, these animals and plants are the most likely to reproduce and pass on their adaptations to their offspring. Remember, adaptations do not happen quickly. They take a very long time, sometimes thousands of years.

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An ecosystem is all the living and nonliving things in a specific environment. There are many different kinds of living organisms that compete to survive in an environment. The organisms that are best adapted to their environment survive. Some living organisms can survive only in one kind of environment. Other living organisms can survive in different kinds of environments. For example, insects can be found in many different environments.

The environments you learned about in this chapter are: Desert Tundra Rain Forest Grassland Ocean

You learned that animals have different physical characteristics and behaviors that help them survive in their environment. Plants also have physical characteristics and behaviors that help them survive. Changes in the physical characteristics of an animal or plant to match its environment are called adaptations. When an organism survives, it can reproduce and pass its adaptations on to its offspring. Adaptations can take a long time, sometimes thousands of years, to appear in a population of organisms.

Adaptations help organisms compete and survive. Many different animals eat similar kinds of food, but some are better at getting the food than others. The animals that are best adapted to their environments have better chances of surviving. There are behavioral adaptations and physical adaptations.

Behavioral adaptations are inherited behaviors that help an animal survive, such as: Hibernation Migration Instinct

Physical adaptations are changes in the structure of an animal over time, such as: Bird beaks of different shapes and sizes Camouflage Mimicry

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Interdependence Part II

Plant adaptations develop in response to the environment, such as: Sizes and shapes of plant parts Plants growing toward light Roots growing toward the earth because of the force of gravity

A population is a group of a single species that lives in the same area, or habitat, at the same time. A population gets bigger when more organisms are born or immigrate. In contrast, a population gets smaller when more organisms die or emigrate. A number of factors affect population size:

Environmental factors Competition Predator/prey relationships.

Ultimately an organism needs to be well adapted to its environment to live a long life. Large populations can become endangered or extinct due to poor adaptations or environmental factors.

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Assessment

1. In some parts of the Florida Everglades, sawgrass can grow thick enough to block the flow of water. Alligators make nests out of the sawgrass and also make travel lanes through the grass. This helps the water flow easily. It also keeps the sawgrass from being completely underwater, which can damage the sawgrass. What relationship is demonstrated by the alligators and sawgrass in the Everglades?

a. Alligators destroy sawgrass.b. Alligators feed on sawgrass.c. Sawgrass helps the alligators travel.d. Sawgrass and alligators depend on each other.

2. Camels can be found in the desert regions of Africa, like the Sahara. Camels in this region have a hump made of fat that they can use when food is not available. How does having a hump help the camel to survive in the desert?

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3. Armadillos and coral snakes both live in Florida. When an armadillo is threatened, it curls up and looks like a ball. A coral snake curls its tail into a tight spiral and holds it up when an enemy is near. Based on the information given, in what way are these two animals similar?

a. They spend a lot of time in the water.b. They have ways to protect themselves.c. They use their bodies to attack their enemies.d. They have hard outer layers of skin for protection.

4. The coral snake is very poisonous. The king snake is not poisonous at all. Both snakes look very similar. Which term best describes when the harmless king snake looks like the dangerous coral snake?

a. Reflexb. Camouflagec. Mimicryd. Structural change

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5. Polar Bears could never live in Florida. They have two layers of fur and a layer of blubber that can be up to four and one-half inches thick. They have small ears and small tails. They also have rough surfaces on their paw pads.

How do these adaptations help the polar bears survive in their habitat?

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6. You see an insect on a tree branch. The insect looks like a leaf, and it is hard to see it. What adaptation is this an example of?

a. Instinctb. Camouflagec. Behavioral adaptationd. Niche

7. The brown fur of the arctic hare turns white in winter. How does this color change most likely help the arctic hare?

a. It helps the animal save water.b. It helps the animal hide from predators.c. It helps keep the animal cool.d. It helps protect the animal from disease.

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