Responses

Describing plant and animal responses to their external environment.

For Achieved, describe:

• the process(es) within each response and/or how the response provides the adaptive advantage for the organism in relation to its ecological niche.

For Merit explain:

• how the responses occur
• why the responses provide an adaptive advantage for the organism in relation to its ecological niche.

For Excellence justify, evaluate and analyse:

• by linking biological ideas to explain why the responses provide an adaptive advantage for the organism in relation to its ecological niche.

Responses are selected from those relating to:

• orientation in space (tropisms, nastic responses, taxes, kineses, homing, migration)
• orientation in time (annual, daily, lunar, tidal rhythms)
• interspecific relationships (competition for resources, mutualism, exploitation including herbivory, predation, and parasitism)
• intraspecific relationships (competition for resources, territoriality, hierarchical behaviour, cooperative interactions, reproductive behaviours).

External environment will include both biotic and abiotic factors.