Learning objectives We are learning to: appreciate how some organisms live in very unusual conditions. What I’m looking for: - You recognise what an extremophile

Learning objectivesWe are learning to: appreciate how some organisms live in very unusual conditions.

What I’m looking for:

- You recognise what an extremophile is- You learn about three case studies and can explain how they are adapted to their environment.- You can explain factors that affect the distribution of organisms- You learn about changes taking place in Britain in terms of its birds and bees!!

Keywords:ExtremophilesDistribution Impact

What do you think an extremophile is?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0E77TdYnY

Extremophiles

Extremophiles are organisms that live in very extreme environments and can survive conditions that would kill most other organisms.The extreme conditions can include:

High temperatures High concentrations of salt in water High pressures.Certain bacteria can live in hot springs or around deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where the water can be very hot. Certain plants grow well in salt marshes where the salt concentration is too high for most plants.



- You recognise what an extremophile is- You learn about three case studies and can explain how they are adapted to their environment.- You can explain factors that affect the distribution of organisms- You learn about changes taking place in Britain in terms of its birds and bees!!


1. How do they survive? Figs and fig wasps

There are about 700 different species (varieties) of fig trees.

Inside the fig fruit lives a male fig wasp.... It’s waiting......

For one of these babies (the female) so that he can fertile her

He has lots of adaptations like losing his wings and he has small eyes so he can wiggle around to find the love of his life.

The star-nosed mole lives in wet low places

2. How do they survive? Star-nosed mole

Do you know how long it takes us to react to a crisis?

650 milliseconds!

Do you know how long it takes this mole to react?

230 milliseconds!! That’s even faster!!

How do you think it’s nose is adapted to catching its prey?That’s right, it uses this sense organ to detect smell

and touch...did you know it is nearly blind?

With one fast move, gulp, gulp, it’s gone...

Why do you think it has to be so fast?

Because it is nearly blind!

3. How do they survive? The Venus fly trap

Venus fly traps live in bogs. These are wet soils that don’t have a lot of nutrients. Can you explain how it is adapted so it can get nutrients?

The Venus fly trap has a red colour inside and contains sweet smelling nectar. When an insect touches its hair, just like a reflex, it acts quick and traps it... And it eats it up and uses the insects to get its nutrients...yum



- You recognise what an extremophiles is- You learn about three case studies and can explain how they are adapted to their environment.- You can explain factors that affect the distribution of organisms- You learn about changes taking place in Britain in terms of its birds and bees!!


You can explain factors that affect the distribution of

organisms

• Lots of things affect the distribution of organisms. E.g. Temperature- could you have a polar bear in a desert?

• Blood worms can survive in low oxygen water.

• Salmon only survive if there is lots of oxygen.

You can explain factors that affect the distribution of

organisms• When the

environment changes, so can the organisms living there. They may no longer be adapted to live there.

What can you see?They story of the moths and the industrial revolution The white and black bodied peppered moth

Indicator species

• Living organisms that indicate how much pollution there is.

Lichens grow in lots of places...roof’s, trees etc...there are lots of different types

An indicator that there may be lots of pollution is that there will be fewer types of lichens. The pollution could be due to more sulphur dioxide in the air...where does that come from?

Indicator species

• How can you tell if there’s pollution in here using your knowledge of indicator species?

The cleaner the water, the more types of species there is likely to be





Changing Britain

What does the red line tell you about the average temperature of Britain each summer?

it’s getting hot hot hot.......!!!Ok...great for us...we can put the fan on...

But what about the birds and the bees?

The Dartford warblerWe used to have lots. But after cold winters, many didn’t survive

There’s lots in South Europe where it is hot.....

As it gets hotter, they are surviving (the few we have left) and reproducing and making more!!! Woooo!!

In Spain, the numbers are getting lower due to it getting hotter.

What do you think will happen here after a few decades?

Think of a world without any bees..Bees pollinate plants as they collect the nectar to make honey....no bees, no honey...so honey prices go????

Also, without bees as pollinators, we would have no strawberries, apples, raspberries etc Why?????

We don’t know....

• It could be climate• It could be CCD- colony collapse

disorder- a mystery disease where they are just dying.

• What are scientists doing?- They are breeding disease resistant

strains. How may this help?





Documents

Learning objectives We are learning to: appreciate how some organisms live in very unusual conditions. What I’m looking for: - You recognise what an extremophile