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A Vote for Ecology

Part B: Animal Adaptations to the

Environment
1. Review what you have learned about
each of the organisms in Part A. By
reading across the table, you should
be able to compare and contrast the
characteristics of the five animals you
have studied.

a) For each animal, select two

functions it performs as part of its
way of life. Describe how its
structure enables it to perform
these functions.

BIODIVERSITY
Organization in the Biosphere
Bio Words
biosphere: the area on
Earth where living
organisms can be found
biotic: the living
components of an
ecosystem
abiotic: the nonliving
components of an
ecosystem

The biosphere is the area on Earth where living organisms can be

found. Most are found in a narrow band where the atmosphere meets
the surface of the land and water. Life forms are referred to as the
biotic, or living, component of the biosphere.The abiotic, or
nonliving, component is made up of items like rocks, soil, minerals, and
factors like temperature and weather.

ORGANIZATION IN THE BIOSPHERE

population

organism

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Activity 1 Diversity in Living Things

Just as you did in this activity, ecologists begin their studies with the
organism.Their investigations are designed to explore how the
individual interacts with its biotic and abiotic environment. However,
an organism does not live on its own. It tends to form a group with
others of the same species. (A species is a group of organisms that
can reproduce successfully only with others of the same type.) These
groups of species are called populations.When more than one
population occupies an area, a community of organisms is created.
The abiotic component as well as the community form a functional
unit known as an ecosystem.
The Importance of Biodiversity and the Human Threat
In this activity you looked at some very different species of organisms.
Scientists have discovered and named close to two million species.That
would mean looking at a lot of different organisms.Yet, it may be less
than 20 percent of the species that exist! There are thousands of
organisms in the world that scientists know very little about. More
than 750,000 species of insects have been identified.Yet, it is thought
that at least twice that many exist. Biological diversity, or biodiversity,
is the sum of all the different types of organisms living on Earth.

Bio Words
organism: an individual
living thing
species: a group of
organisms that can
interbreed under natural
conditions and produce
fertile offspring
population: a group of
organisms of the same
species occupying a given
area
community: all the
populations of organisms
occupying a given area
ecosystem: a community
and the physical
environment that it
occupies
biodiversity: the sum of all
the different types of
organisms living on Earth

ecosystem

community

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