Places Where Plants Or Animals Live

Habitats Places where plants or animals live

Adaptation : Features owned by an animal or a plant to make it suit its natural habitat.

Environmental conditions : The conditions (light, temperature, soil type, etc.) that allow animals or plants to live in a certain habitat

Examples of habitats: E.g. 1: Our bodies Habitat for many micro-organisms, some of which are useful to us like the normal flora found in the intestine which helps us to digest our food, while others are harmful like the bacteria that give us infection like tooth decay with cavities and skin infections with abscesses.

E.g. 2: Woodland:  Less light because of the shade the trees are giving.  Small range of temperature.  Sheltered from the wind.  Damp (wet) soil.  More humid air.  Animals live in trees, other plants, leaf litter and burrow in the soil. Example Song Thrush: can fly, good sight (Coloured and for long distance) and speckled feathers for camouflage.

E.g. 3: Grassland:  Plenty of light.  Large range of temperature.  Exposed to the wind.  Dry soil.  Less humid air.  Small animals shelter among plants while others burrow in the soil.

E.g. 4: Ponds The pond is like a small lake whose main characteristics are:  Fresh (not salty) water.  A small temperature range.  Less light as we go deeper.  Less oxygen as we go deeper.  Varied food resources.  Example of animals living in a pond: Great Crested Newt  Young Newt adaptation: No lungs, has gills, no legs… Because it spends most of its time in water.  Adult Newt adaptation: Legs for swimming and walking mottled skin for camouflage, damp skin to let oxygen in, and lungs for breathing and muscular tail for swimming.

1  Example of plant that lives in a pond: water lily and duckweed. Water Lily adaptation: Long stalk for anchorage, leaves on the surface of water to get sun light.

Burrowing  Examples: Mole, earthworm.  Adaptations for burrowing: Cylindrical or streamlined shape body, strong legs and clawed feet for digging, and good senses of smell, hearing and vibration.

Changing environmental conditions: Daily changes:  Living organisms have special features or adaptations that help them to survive natural daily changes. For example, nocturnal animals are active at night, so they have better eye sight and better sense of smell.  Examples: Animals: Owls and bats Plants: Livingstone daisies and banana  Adaptations: Owls hear well and can see in dark light.  Bats that feed on nectar have large eyes and can see well, while bats that feed on insects depend on their hearing to catch them (Send out sounds and listen for echoes using their sensitive ears)  Plants adaptation: Both Livingstone daisies and banana are open at night.

Seasonal change:  Environmental conditions change with the seasons. Plants and animals must be adapted to these changes to be able to survive. We call these difficult environmental conditions: climatic stresses.  Climatic stresses may refer to very high or very low temperatures or shortage of water or food, etc.  Animals; Animals adapt to climatic stresses in 3 ways: 1. Migration: Example birds: they migrate to warmer areas until the end of the cold season 2. Hibernation: Example Hedgehogs and Squirrels: they spend the cold season in deep sleep using the food stores in their bodies, with their hearts and bodies slowed down and their temperature dropped. 3. Over-wintering: Example insects and butterflies: they spend the cold season as eggs or pupae.  Some animals stay active all the year round, where they get ready for the winter season during autumn by storing extra fat and growing a thicker coat of fur or feathers for insulation e.g. rabbits, while other animals change their colour for better camouflage.  Plants; Plants adapt to climatic stresses in 3 ways: 1. Stronger trees survive all year long that’s why we call them Evergreen Trees, example of which: Pine trees- They have tough leaves and waxy surface, so they don’t lose water. 2. Going into sleep: We call them Dormant or Deciduous (seasonal) trees where they lose their leaves during the cold winter season and don’t make new food, instead they use their stored food to survive and to grow new leaves when spring arrives. 3. Only a part of the plant survives (seed or roots) while the rest of the plant dies until the arrival of spring, examples of which are: iris, lily, and dahlia (only roots survive).

2 How to record the change in environmental conditions? Change in temperature can be recorded using thermometer or data logger. Disadvantage of thermometer: I have to be there and record the temperatures myself. Disadvantage of data logger: Expensive.

Feeding Relationships: Producers Consumers

Primary consumers Secondary consumers Herbivores Carnivores Eat producers Eat animal flesh Predators: Carnivores that hunt and kill living animals. Prey: Organisms that are hunted and killed by predators. They have to be adapted to escape or to hide from their predators.

Food Chains Food chains always have to start with a Producer (Green Plant)...Why? Because they can make their own food Example of a food chain: Grass Vole Owl The arrow shows the direction of energy transfer Green Plant Prey Predator Green Plant Herbivore Carnivore Producer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer

Food Webs: What happens if a member of the food web dies? 1. Its preys will increase in number. 2. The increased number of preys will compete for more food, which if not present, they will eventually die. 3. Its competitor will increase in number.

3 Adaptations to habitats 1. In the box below; a. Make a large copy of one of the tadpoles from the picture in the class book.

Gills for taking in ______

Mottled skin for ______Muscular tail for ______

b. Complete the labels c. Draw lines between the parts of the tadpole and their labels.

2. Look of the picture of the pond in the class book. Then complete this table:

Water Plant How its leaves reach light

4 Land habitats: Some adaptations for burrowing are:  Streamlined shape, a bit like a cylinder;  Strong legs;  Clawed feet;  Good sense of smell;  Parts of the body for feeling vibrations;  Poor sense of sight.

1. On the list above: a. Underline the words that describe how an earthworm is adapted for burrowing. b. Draw a ring around the words that describe how a mole is adapted for burrowing.

2. Complete these sentences:  Rabbits shelter in ______, but they come out to feed.  They need to be able to see animals that can ______them.  They need longer legs than moles so they can ______to escape.

3. Look at the picture of the thrush in the class book. Then complete this table.

Adaptation Benefit

Can escape from ______into the Can fly trees

Has good ______Helps it to find the small insects that it eats

Doesn’t miss and fall when it tries to Is good judge of distance ______in a tree

Good ______, so not easy to see Has speckled feathers the leaves on the ground

5 Daily Changes: 1. Complete the table by using the words data-logger and thermometer in the correct place:

Instrument Problems

You can make mistakes when you read it. It is difficult to take readings over a 24 hour period

It can get damaged or stolen if left outside. Its battery can run out

2. Complete these sentences:  Foxes are active at the beginning and end of the ______and during the night.  They also hunt during the day when they have cubs to ______ Bats and owls hunt at ______ Bats send out ______and listen to echoes with sensitive ______ Owls also ______well and can ______in dim light.

3. Match up the features of the flower with the reasons for them It opens at night which attracts bats/ provides food for bats It has a light colour and is pollinated by bats that fly at night It has scented nectar and is easy to see in dim light

6 1. Complete this sentence: It was warmest when it is ______and coldest when it is ______

2. Sally used a data-logger and a sound sensor to record the amount of noise around the school at different times of the day. Use words from this list to label her graph: Birds singing School lunch break Morning break Owl hooting End of school day Cutting the grass

7 Daily Changes: Remember: environmental conditions such as light, temperature and humidity vary over a 24- hour period. We can use data-loggers to record the changes. Animals and plants are adapted to these daily changes. In deserts, it is very hot during the day, but very cold at night. Gerbils are adapted to life in deserts. They shelter for most of the day and night in their burrows. 1. Look at the activity clock below and complete these sentences:  Gerbils come out to feed as it starts to get ______and as it starts to get ______ They shelter in ______when it is too hot or too cold  They need some ______to see their food

2. Draw a similar activity clock for: a. Yourself b. A pet cat, a dog or other animal

3. Try to keep record, for one day, of any animals that you see. Note whether it is getting light, daylight, getting dark or dark when you see them. Make your notes in a table like this. Animal Time of day

8 Finding out where woodlice live A woodlouse hunt The table shows results of a woodlouse hunt. Place Number of woodlice On the path 0 In the grass 1 Under big stones 24 Under dead leaves 18 At the bottom of the hedge 7 Total 50

1. Look at the table. Then complete the following sentence: Woodlice are mainly found ______things such as big ______and dead leaves. Thinking of an explanation that can be tested When planning an investigation, you need to think of some ideas to explain your results or observations. In this example, you need ideas to explain why we usually find woodlice under things. We call ideas hypotheses. Some hypotheses are:  Woodlice like damp places  Woodlice prefer to live in dark places, so they move away from the light  Woodlice like to stay together  Woodlice like to be cool  Woodlice hide from birds that might eat them  Woodlice find food under things  Woodlice hide food under things 2. Write down another hypotheses of your own

9 Looking at results The table below shows the results of six tests. The wood lice were all the same species and size. There were five woodlice in each side of the dish at the start of the experiment. Time (minutes) Number of woodlice (Species A) On the light side On the dark side 0 5 5 1 0 10 2 1 9 3 2 8 4 0 10 5 0 10 6 0 10

Analysing results Look carefully at the results in the table above. Then complete the sentences below  The woodlice moved away from the ______side and stayed in the ______side.  This is/ is not what I predicted. Finding out how good your evidence is So, you have looked at your results and written down your conclusions. Next, you need to decide whether or not you are confident about your results. 1. Perhaps you need to do more tests to be sure of your results. 2. Perhaps there was something wrong with your method and you need to change it. If so, explain what is wrong and what you can do to put it right. 3. Perhaps you think that different species of the same animal can behave in different ways. Recognizing these problems and then saying what to do about them is an important part of science. You will gain, not lose, marks when you do this.

10 1. Write the meanings of the following words:  Migrate: ______ Hibernate: ______ Dormant: ______ Insulation: ______ Over-wintering: ______

2. Complete these sentences: a) Three problems for plants and animals in winter are:  Low ______ Frozen ______ Less ______b) Advantages of not having leaves in winter are that ______damages plants les, and plants lose less ______. c) The leaves of evergreens have a ______, ______outer layer to protect them from low temperatures and water loss. d) Swallows migrate to Africa because it is ______and there are ______to eat. e) Hedgehogs store fat to use when they are ______. f) A rabbit's ______winter coat helps to stop body ______escaping. Thick fur is a good insulator. The rabbit stores fat to use when it can't find as much ______as it needs. g) Migrating animals use their fat stores to give them the ______they need to travel long distances.

11 Remember: environmental conditions such as temperature and light vary throughout the year. In Britain, winter is a difficult time for some plants and animals. Plants and animals are adapted in many ways to avoid climatic stresses, such as low temperature.

1. Use words from this list to add labels to the diagram. Shortest longest coldest warmest winter summer autumn 2. Describe or draw differences that you have noticed in a pet, a houseplant or a tree in different seasons of the year.

3. Find out more about how one named plant or animal is adapted to seasonal change. Write at least three sentences.

12  Complete the following sentences: 1. Animals that kill and eat other animals are called ______.

2. The animals that they eat are called their ______.

3. Predators are adapted to be able to find, ______and eat prey.

4. Prey animals are adapted to help them to ______.

5. Green plants make food. So we call them ______.

6. Animals eat or consume plants and other animals. So we call them ______.

7. The names of three predators are ______, ______and

______.

8. The names of three prey animals are ______, ______and

______.

9. Owls eat voles, and voles eat grass. Draw a food chain to show this. Then:

a) Name the predator in the food chain.

b) Name the producer in the food chain.

c) Name the prey animal in the food chain.

13 1. An owl is a predator adapted to find, catch and eat its prey.  It needs to use its senses to find its prey and to land on it accurately.  It needs to move quickly to be able to hold onto and kill its prey. Explain how an owl is adapted to all of these things.

2. Look at the picture of the rabbit. Explain each of the features labelled on the picture as adaptations to help the rabbit to escape from predators. For example, having eyes at the sides of its head means that the rabbit can see in all directions around itself. So it has a good chance of noticing a nearby predator and escaping.

14 Remember: only plants make their own food. Animals feed on plants or animals that have eaten plants. Predators are animals that are adapted to kill and eat other animals. The animals that predators eat (their prey) are adapted to help them to avoid being eaten.

Animal that eats Secondary Carnivore Predator other animals consumer

Animal that eats Primary Herbivore Prey Direction of plants consumer energy transfer

Green plant producer Green Plant (makes food)

1. Learn the terms used in the food chains above. 2. Why do we call green plants producers? 3. The arrows in a food chain point from the green plant to the herbivore and then to the carnivore. Explain why. 4. Draw the longest food chain that you can think of. 5. Choose a predator from the list below. Find out how it is adapted to find, catch, kill and eat its prey. Present your findings in the form of a labelled picture, a poster or a spider diagram. Owl fox shark leopard spider conger eel mantis

15 1. Write your name in the box. Draw arrows from the things in the food web that you can et to your name.

2. Complete the following sentences: a) A food ______shows what animals in a habitat eat better than a food ______. b) This is because animals ______more than one thing. c) Two animals that compete with rabbits for ______are wood mice and voles. d) If all the rabbis die, there will be ______food for voles and ______food for owls. e) At first, the number of voles will go ______and the number of owls will go ______.