BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Variation

Science
Variation
Organisms are adapted to survive in different conditions. Over many generations, these adaptations have come about through variation. Variation involves small changes between organisms which may allow that organism to compete better for survival. Variation can have environmental or genetic causes.

Adaptation
Darwin's theory of evolution explains how species of living things have changed over geological time. The theory is supported by evidence from fossils and by the rapid changes that can be seen to occur in microorganisms such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Many species have become extinct in the past, and the extinction of species continues to happen.

Cold climates
Every organism has certain features or characteristics that allow it to live successfully in its habitat. These features are called adaptations, and we say that the organism is adapted to its habitat habitat : A place where plants, animals and microorganisms live.. Organisms living in different habitats need different adaptations.

The polar bear

Polar bears are well adapted for survival in the Arctic. They have:

a white appearance, as camouflage from prey on the snow and ice thick layers of fat and fur, for insulation against the cold a small surface area to volume ratio, to minimise heat loss a greasy coat, which sheds water after swimming.
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BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Variation

The polar bear is adapted to life in a cold climate

Watch more polar bear videos on BBC Nature , and discover how well polar bears and their cubs are adapted to the extreme environment they live in.

The snowshoe hare

The snowshoe hare has white fur in the winter and reddishbrown fur in the summer. This means that it is camouflaged from its predators predators: Animals that hunt, kill and eat other animals for food. for most of the year.

Arctic plants
The Arctic is cold and windy with very little rainfall. Plants in the Arctic often grow very close to the ground and have small leaves. This helps to conserve water and to avoid damage by the wind.

Extreme environments
Some organisms are adapted to extreme environments: for example, deep sea hydrothermal vents. The Pompeii worm is adapted to the high temperatures and pressures of the hydrothermal vents by:

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BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Variation

using a thick layer of bacteria to protect it from heat hiding inside a papery tube to protect it from predators.
In an exam you will need to be able to describe the variation and explain how it helps the organism to survive.

A pompeii worm

Variation
Some of the features of the different organisms in a species show continuous variation, and some features show discontinuous variation.

Continuous variation
Human height is an example of continuous variation. Height ranges from that of the shortest person in the world to that of the tallest person. Any height is possible between these values. So it is continuous variation. For any species a characteristic that changes gradually over a range of values shows continuous variation. Examples of such characteristics are:

height weight foot length.

If you record the heights of a group of people and draw a graph of your results, it usually looks something like this:

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BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Variation

Height variation graph

The more people you measure, and the smaller the categories you use, the closer the results will be to the curved line. This shape of graph is typical of a feature with continuous variation. Weight and foot length would give graphs similar in shape to this.

Discontinuous variation
Human blood group is an example of discontinuous variation. There are only four types of blood group. There are no other possibilities and there are no values in between. So this is discontinuous variation. A characteristic of any species with only a limited number of possible values shows discontinuous variation. Here are some examples of discontinuous variation:

gender (male or female) blood group (A, B, AB or O) eye colour.

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BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Variation

Blood groups variation graph

Investigating variation
Variation within a species can be investigated. For example, if you were asked to find out if there was a link between the length of a pea pod and the number of seeds inside the pod you could:

measure the length of a range of pea pods count the peas inside.
The experiment is made valid by controlling the variables . The independent variable is length of the pea pod. The dependant variable is the number of peas. The control variables include:

variety of pea plant time of year that the peas are selected.
The experiment is made reliable by further testing and achieveing a repeat of your results.

Causes of variation
Some variation within a species is inherited, and some variation
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BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Variation

is due to the environment.

Inherited causes of variation

Variation in a characteristic that is a result of genetic inheritance from the parents is called inherited variation. Children usually look a little like their father, and a little like their mother, but they will not be identical to either of their parents. This is because they get half of their inherited features from each parent. Each egg cell and each sperm cell contains half of the genetic information needed for an individual. When these join at fertilisation a new cell is formed with all the genetic information needed for an individual. Here are some examples of inherited variation in humans:

eye colour hair colour skin colour lobed or lobeless ears.

Gender is inherited variation too, because whether you are male or female is a result of the genes you inherited from your parents.

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BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Variation

Whether you have lobed or lobeless ears is due to genetic causes

Environmental causes of variation

Characteristics of animal and plant species can be affected by factors such as climate, diet, accidents, culture and lifestyle. For example, if you eat too much you will become heavier, and if you eat too little you will become lighter. A plant in the shade of a big tree will will grow taller as it tries to reach more light.

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BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Variation

Variation caused by the surroundings is called environmental variation . Here are some other examples of features that show environmental variation:

language and religion flower colour in hydrangeas - these plants produce blue flowers in acidic soil and pink flowers in alkaline soil. Both types together
Some features vary because of a mixture of inherited causes and environmental causes. For example, identical twins inherit exactly the same features from their parents. But if you take a pair of twins, and twin 'A' is given more to eat than twin 'B', twin 'A' is likely to end up heavier. Now try a Test Bite. Back to Revision Bite

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