Cells And Living Things Junior Science

Adaptations are genetically inherited traits that allow speciesto survive better in their habitatAdaptations can be classified into three main group. Structural adaptations are oftenseen as physical characteristics but all three types are genetically inherited andcontrolled by genes.StructuralPhysiologicalA structure/physical feature A chemical or processof an organism that helps it inside an organism thatto successfully live in it’shelps it survive.habitat.e.g.: the long beak of akiwi to get food in thesoft forest grounde.g.: bad tastingchemicals inside beetlesto stop being eatenBehaviouralAn activity that anorganism does that helps it(or its group) to survive.e.g.: fish swimming ingroups for safety

Organisms vary and that some variations give advantages overothers in a given environmentAdaptations of a NewZealand kakapo includemossy green colouringfor camouflage, and astout ridged bill to cutthrough tough plantmaterialIndividuals of a species occupy aniche and they have adaptations tosurvive in their habitats. Theadaptations may help them to bestobtain food, seek mates, raiseoffspring, find shelter or escapepredators.Adaptations are physicalcharacteristics (phenotypes) anorganism can genetically pass ontotheir offspring. Because there isvariation between individuals of aspecies, some individuals may havean advantage over others whenone or more of their adaptations isbetter suited for survival in s%20kakapo

Predator and Prey AdaptationsPredators hunt, catch and eat other animals. The animals they hunt are known as prey.Many animals can also be both – the predator of one type of animal but the prey foranother species. Both predator and prey have evolved adaptations to help them survivein their habitat. The predator species has adaptations to help it better catch prey, andthe prey species has adaptations to help it better avoid being eaten. The best huntersand the best escapers go on to have the most offspring.In New Zealand in the past wedid not have any Mammalpredators but we did have avery large predator bird calledthe Haast's eagle. Sadly thisgiant eagle is now extinct, andwe are not entirely sure whatcolour the feathers were but thebird was a terrifying sight forspecies of Moa (also extinct)that was its prey.https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/lost-in-time/

Predator adaptations - Haast's eagleHaast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei).Sharp rippingbeak3m wingspanLarge size toprotectagainst coldPowerfulstrong talonsHaast's eagle is the largest,heaviest eagle species that hasever lived, weighing up to 18 kgand had a wingspan up to 3metres. The Eagle was thepredator of moa such as theSouth Island giant moa that wasnearly 4 m and over 10 times theeagles weight. The Eagle dived onits moa prey from a high spot andkilled moa by flying into their hindquarters and grappling the moawith its large feet and talons, thatwere stronger than a tigers,before crushing the Moa's skull.Haast's eagle became extinct 500600 years ago, around the sametime that New Zealand's moaspecies, its food sources, haasts-

Prey adaptations - South Island Giant MoaLarge eyes towatch forpredatorsThe South Island Giant Moa was amain prey species for Haast’s Eagle. Itwas a herbivore, browsing and eatingsmall shrubs, plants and berries. TheEagle needed light to hunt so the moamay have done much of its eatingearly morning or dusk when it wasdarker. The large feet could helpdefend it and long legs to help it runfor cover. It also had a very good senseof smell.South Island giant moaDinornis robustusMotley browncolouring forcamouflagePowerful strongfeet to ?m 1

Plants fill the role of Producers in a communityPlants are special because they haveleaves and are able to produce theirown food by the process ofphotosynthesis from sunlight usingraw materials that they get from theair and soil.Plants can be thought of as ‘foodfactories’ which provide most livingorganisms on Earth with a source ofenergy and food.They produce the energy that is atthe start of any food chain andtherefore the group of plants areknown as Producers.AnimalrespirationCommunity – a group of differentspecies living together 442

The importance of plants as producers.Food entering the food chainProducers are at the beginning of a food chain. On land, Producers are plants.Plants are at the beginning of every food chain that involves the Sun. Allenergy comes from the Sun and plants make food with that energy using theprocess of photosynthesis. Energy in the form of nutrients and food are passedonto other organisms when they eat (consume) the plants.

The role of producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains and webs.The two main groups that organisms can be divided into as feeding groups areeither producers or consumers. Consumers can then be further dived intodecomposers, herbivore, carnivores, omnivores and scavengers.ProducersConsumersOrganisms that make theirown food throughphotosynthesis, such asplantsOrganisms that need to eat otherorganisms for food, such as animals

The definition of consumers (Part 1)HerbivoresOmnivoresCarnivoresHerbivores areanimals that eatplants only. (planteaters) In a foodweb they are directlyabove the producersOmnivores eat bothplants and otherconsumers. Theyobtain their foodfrom more than onesource.Carnivores eat onlyother livingconsumers (meateaters). This alsoincludes birds thateat only insects.

The definition of consumers (Part 2)DecomposerScavengerFungi and bacteria that breakdown the bodies of deadplants and animalsConsumers that eat d-nature/hyenas/

The role of producers in food chains.A food chain is a series of organisms through which energy flows; first linkis always a producer, such as a plant. The producer stores energy from theSun through the process of photosynthesis. Each organism above theproducer eats the one below it in the chain. Energy flows in one /

The role of producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains and webs.Food ChainsThe feeding of one organism upon another in a sequence of foodtransfers is known as a food chain.Arrows go from the organism being eaten to the organism eating itshowing the direction of flow of ood-chain-references

Food WebsIn an ecosystem there are many different food chains and many ofthese are cross-linked to form a food web. Ultimately, all plants andanimals in an ecosystem are part of this complex food web.If one species in the food webchanges in numbers, it willaffect all other species in thefood web.For example, if all the rabbitswere removed the predatorswould need to start eatingmore of the birds, mice andrats. The grass that the rabbitsate would increase and feedmore of the other herbivores.

Energy enters an ecosystem in sunlight, which is transferred to energy in plants byphotosynthesis and that this energy is then passed along food chains.Trophic levels are the feedingpositions in a food chain such asprimary producers, herbivore, primarycarnivore, etc.Green plants and phytoplankton form thefirst trophic level, the producers.Herbivores form the second trophic level,while carnivores form the third and eventhe fourth trophic levels, all called theconsumers.Energy is passed from one trophic level toanother starting from the producers.Food webs and food chains are used toshow which species of organism is at eachlevel and how energy moves betweenthem.

New Zealand plants and animals are unique due to them evolving ingeographical isolationFor a long time in New Zealand’s geographical history it formed part of aland mass called Gondwana, also composed of Australia, and Antarctica(as well as Africa, South America and India at an earlier stage). About 85million years ago the plate that New Zealand sat on top of broke awayfrom Gondwana and moved North, through the process of plate tectonics,and has remained in isolation ever since.Gondwana85 Million Years Ago60 Million Years AgoToday

Ancestors of New Zealand’s plants and animals arrived atvarious times in the pastWhen New Zealand first broke awayfrom Gondwana it was in the form ofa giant land mass called Zealandiaand populated with animals andplants - all of which had previouslyevolved on Gondwana. Zealandia satupon a thin crust and over timescientists believe it almost completely(if not entirely) submerged. Parts of itthat we now recognise as NewZealand were raised up from theocean due to active plate movementunder it about 30 million years ago. Itwas after this time that birds, insects,reptiles and plants that either flew orrafted over from Australia or SouthAmerica populated New Zealand

New Zealand’s Plants and Animals have had to adapt to itsconstantly changing conditionsEver since New Zealand broke awayfrom Gondwana, it has had a verydisruptive geographical history. Atvarious times in its past New Zealandhas been totally (or almostcompletely) submerged under theocean, encountered a series of iceages which covered the country inice, snow and glaciers as well as hadranges of mountains pushed up dueto tectonic plate movement anderoded back down again. During thistime New Zealand’s animal and plantspecies have had to adapt and evolveto these changing conditions, somebecoming extinct but othersremaining to the present time.Ice Age Coastline

New Zealand's first arrivalsFrom the original pioneers that populated New Zealand afterit re-emerged from the sea we now have animals such astuatara, kākāpō, wrens, moa, primitive frogs, geckos,dinosaurs, primitive groups of insects, spiders andearthworms as well as some types of plants - all of which hadevolved and changed in time from their ancestors.Other species of animals either flew across large distancesfrom surrounding countries or were transported across by thesea at various times in the next 25 million years but nospecies of Mammal (aside from two species of bat that flew)ever made it across to New Zealand until Humans arrivedaround 700 years ago.

New Zealand’s plants and animals have evolvedin the absence of MammalsNew Zealand’s animals have evolved without the presence of Mammals and anyground predators.This has created some special characteristic features in our animals. Many of our birdspecies have become flightless because they have not needed to fly away frompredators. Niches or lifestyles filled by Mammals in other countries have been filled bybirds, insects and reptiles in New Zealand.For example the kiwi occupies aniche similar to a badger - lives inburrows, eats worms and otherinvertebrates (animals without aninside skeleton) , the Moa occupieda browsing niche similar to deer,Weta and the Short tailed batoccupied a niche that is taken upby mice elsewhere.Because of this, many of ourspecies look quite different fromrelated groups of animals andplants in other countries.

What is the advantage of not flying?Flight in birds is an adaptation to escape from predators and move aroundquickly. It requires a lot of energy, which means birds who fly must find andeat a lot more food than non-flying birds. Birds who fly, also need to be lightso their size and weight is limited.New Zealand had no mammalpredators so birds did not needto fly to escape. The benefits ofnot flying out weigh those offlying. Birds that did not fly had asurvival advantage over thosethat did and produced moreoffspring. New Zealand flightlessbird species could also becomeheavier and be suitable for niches(jobs) that were occupied bymammals in other areas of theworld.

GZ Science Resources 2014https://plus.google.com/ HalconerosdeCastillaCetreria/posts/hEwXm8mg9FvNew Zealand has alarge number ofendemic plants andanimals – thatmeans not only arethey found in NewZealand (native) butthey are also foundin no other place.There manythousands of fungiand insect speciesthat are endemicplus around 70birds, 80 skinks andgeckos, 38freshwater fish, fourfrogs, three batsand two species oftuatara.

New Zealand nd/New Zealand has many differenttypes of habitats ranging frommountains to forest to coast andmarine. All of these habitats havebird species which live, feed andbreed in them.Since humans have lived in NewZealand, for at least the past 700years, introduced mammal pestsand habitat destruction havereduced the numbers of thesebirds. Some like the Huia and Moahave become extinct. Others likethe kakapo and the black robinhave been saved from extinctionbut have a very small population.We are now realising howimportant it is to protect thehabitats and the birds that we stillhave left to stop more being lostforever.

Our unique birds - KakapoThe Kakapo is the only flightless and nocturnal parrot in the world. TheKakapo is also the heaviest parrot in the world, weighing up to 3.5kilograms.Due to habitatdestruction andpredation thereare now onlyapproximately 125Kakapo left. Theseremaining birdshave beenrelocated toseveral predatorfree islandhabitats, wherethe birds canbreed in parrots/kakapo-tree.jpg

Our unique birds - KiwiThe kiwi are a flightless, nocturnal group of birds related to the extinct Moaand the still living Emu, which form part of a group called the ratites whichnow live in countries once forming part of Gondwana.(Africa, Australia,South America etc.)There are five mainspecies of Kiwi in NewZealand: the brown kiwi,the rowi, the tokoeka ,the great spotted kiwi orroroa and the littlespotted kiwi.They all eat invertebrates(worms, insects etc.) andfruit.The females produce anenormous egg, which themales incubate. Thechicks must survive ontheir own as soon as theyare land-kiwi-bird-blog302

Our unique birds - TuiTūī belong to thehoneyeater family, whichmeans they feed mainlyon nectar from flowers ofnative plants such askōwhai, pohutukawa, rātāand flax. Occasionally theywill eat insects nseeds/18139365303Tūī are importantpollinators of many nativetrees and will fly a longway for their favouritefoods, especially duringwinter. Flowers that arered or yellow oftenindicate that a plant ispollinated by birds.

Our unique birds – New Zealand Black RobinThe New Zealand black robin all live on the Chatham Islands off the coast ofNew Zealand. They are an endemic species (found nowhere else in the world)and are famous for being one of the World’s rarest birds at one stage.In 1980 there wereonly five black robinsleft in the world, andonly one female – OldBlue, who was thoughtto be too old toproduce chicks.Fortunately, this wasnot the case and withthe chicks she went onto have, there are nowaround 250 blackrobins with Old Bluebeing the ancestor toall of them.

Our unique birds - kōkakoThe North Island kōkako, distantly related to the Tui and the extinct Huia, infound in small populations in the North Island forest. There is also a Southisland kōkako with orange wattles (flaps on the chin) but it is thought that thatspecies is now extinct.The kōkako have aunique way of movingthrough the foresttrees by running andclimbing along thebranches then glidingfrom tree to tree.Its song is veryparticular and the mainpart of it gave the birdits name – kō – ka – ko.

Environmental changes may occur naturally or be human inducedNatural Environmental factors such as drought leading to lack of food or water,disease, flooding, volcanic activity and sudden climate change have been occurringsince living organisms first appeared on Earth. In some cases these factors have beenso extreme that worldwide extinction of many species has occurred.Environmental factors canalso be caused or inducedby Humans such as theclimate change occurringnow created in part byhuman pollution in theatmosphere. Cuttingdown trees anddestroying habitats alongwith introducing animaland plant pests also havenegative impacts on thenative life.

The main threats to our native animalsWhat is Killing our Native Animals? Introduced species such as rats, stoats and possumskilling the birds and/or their eggs Introduced competing species such as rabbits andpossums eating the birds food Human destruction of bird habitatsOur animals in New Zealand evolved in the absence of groundpredators or mammals so they have not developedadaptations to defend themselves as well as other speciesin the rest of the world have. Our birds, that have becomeflightless, heavy and slow breeding, have been especiallyvulnerable to introduced predators. Large areas of ournative forest have been burnt and cut down as well aswetlands drained to convert to farmland, since humanshave arrived. Some of our endangered species are confinedto small marginal areas of land.

The Kakapo case studyKakapo were once spread all over New Zealand in large numbers before humansarrived on New Zealand. The species evolved without mammal predators. Thenocturnal behaviour (active at night time) and bush camouflage protected it fromits main predator, the giant Haast eagle – that hunted in the day by sight.The introduction of mammal pests that ateand killed kakapo as well as humans killingand eating kakapo, greatly reducednumbers of kakapo. Th

All living organisms are composed of one or more cells. A cell is a small, living unit that contains all the chemicals and molecules that help support an organism's life. Classifying objects as living or non-living How would we know if a car or cow is living? They both move and need “fe