Living world
Vocabulary
Ecology- is a study of the relationships amongst organisms (living things) and the connections between organisms and their physical environment.
Ecosystems- the study of the interactions between the community and the physical environment; the focus is on energy flow and the recycling of chemicals.
Species - a group of similar organisms that can breed together.
Physical environment- is the environment in which organisms live and may include the land they live on, the air that surrounds them as well as the bodies of water.
Niche- the study of members if a species in their environment; the main focus is on how they are adapted to survive.
Populations- the study of a group of organisms belonging to the same species and living in the same place,
Communities- the study of relationships between the different species that live in a defined area; the main focus is on feeding relationships
Habitat- is the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.
Environment
The environmental factors that affect a species can be divided into physical and biotic factors.
Physical factors
air temperature
ocean temperatures
ocean currents
salinity of sea water
wind speed and direction
slope of the nesting ground
availability of space for establishing a nest
availability of materials for nest construction
Biotic factors
abundance of fish species that the birds feed on
presence of competitors for those fish e.g. fishing fleets
abundance of predators on chicks e.g. sea gulls
internal or external parasites
Different roles
All organisms (plant,animals,fungi) need food to survive and grow. Food provides energy for activities and chemicals for growth and repair.
Food consists of complex energy-rich molecules made of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen atoms bonded together.
Producers- Plants are known as producers because only plants can combine light energy from the sun with the raw materials from the environment to make food molecules.
Consumers- Animals use energy from food to supply their needs.
Herbivores eat plants only (sheep)
Carnivores eat animals only (gannets)
Omnivores eat both plants and animals (humans)
Scavengers eat dead animals (vultures, sea gulls, eagles)
Parasites feed off living organisms (fleas)
Decomposers- Bacteria and Fungi break down dead plants and animals, and the wastes of living plants and animals to get their energy. This helps to recycle the chemicals in plant and animals. So, bacteria and fungi are decomposers,.
Food chains and Food webs
Food chain- A food chain shows 'who eats whom' and always begins with a plant species. Species are connected by arrows, from food to the feeder.
E.g. Lettuce → Snail → Blackbird → cat
Food web- Most plant species get eaten by a number of different animal species and most animal species get eaten by a range of other animals. To show all of these connections a food web is constructed out of the food chains.
Photosynthesis and Energy flow
Process of Photosynthesis
Plants produce food in all green plants, but mostly in their leaves. The greenness of leaves is due to the presence of a chemical called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is able to capture sunlight energy.
Plant nutrition involves a chemical process called photosynthesis. Photo means light and synthesis means to make. So photosynthesis means making food using light. It only occurs when light is shining on the plant.
Energy flow
Each step in a food chain is called a trophic level and is labelled T1, T2 and so on.
The first trophic level T1 is always occupied by producers (plants)
The next three or four trophic levels are occupied by consumers (animals)
Adaptations
What are adaptations?
To maximize their chances of survival, plants and animals have evolved special features called adaptations.
Some of these adaptations are found in many plant and animals species, but there are a few adaptations which are unique to a particular species.
Types of adaptations
There are three types of adaptations:
Structural adaptations:
Is the way in which a plant or animal has physically evolved. E.g. Types of skeleton, number of legs, size of body, structure of the mouth parts etc. and for a plant this includes, leaf size and shape, flower and seed type.
Physiological adaptations:
Is the chemical reactions that an organism can carry out, e.g. plants photosynthesize; both plants and animals undergo respiration; animals and some unusual plants digest food; etc.
Behavioural adaptations
Refers to the behaviours a plant or animal has evolved to help it survive.- to find food or a mate, or to avoid predators. For example, possums 'freeze' to avoid being seen by predators; climbing plants use structures such as trees or walls to help them reach sunlight.
Rongoa Maori
What is Rongoā?
Rongoā is traditional Māori medicine. It includes herbal medicine made from plants, physical techniques like massage, and spiritual healing.
Supernatural sickness
Māori believed that some illnesses – called mate atua – were caused by evil spirits. If a person broke tapu (a rule), they could get sick. A tohunga (priest) could fix this kind of illness. He would find out what had caused it, remove the spirit and heal the patient.
Methods of healing
Other illnesses were believed to have physical causes. They were treated by methods such as:
herbal remedies – drinks, poultices or lotions made from plants
using heat to relieve pain
blood-letting (cutting the skin to make it bleed)
putting plant sap on wounds to help them heal.
Medicinal plants - Medicines were made from plants, including:
harakeke (flax) kawakawa Rātā mānuka kōwhai
Harakeke Kawakawa Rata
