Organisms and Their Environments

1. Organisms and Their Environments Characteristics of Organisms and Behaviors Life Science

2. Organisms are born with certain characteristics that allow them to survive. These characteristics are called instincts.

3. Instincts • An instinct is an inborn precise form of behavior. • All animals have basic instincts developed over centuries of survival. • An instinct is simply an inherited behavior pattern. • A duck knowing how to swim across the lake without being taught how is an example of an inherited behavior.

4. Acquired Organisms can acquire characteristics as they grow and develop. These are a result of learning. • Learning is a change of behavior resulting from specific experiences. • Unlike instinctive behaviors, learned behaviors are shaped by experience. • A dog learning to “roll over” on command is an example of a learned behavior.

5. Plants and animals act in distinctive ways in order to survive in an ecosystem. The ways they act is called their behavior.

6. A behavior is a response to a change in the environment.

7. Examples of Behaviors • How an animal… • eats • sleeps • communicates • reproduces • How a plant… • reproduces • gets food

8. An organism’s patterns of behavior are related to… • the organisms that are present • the availability of food and other resources • the physical characteristics of the environment Important… When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce, while others die or move to new locations.

9. Example of Behavior Pattern Organisms may compete for space and food if there are too many organisms in the environment.

10. Example of Behavior Pattern Some organisms depend on other organisms for food.

11. Example of Behavior Pattern All organisms need food, shelter, water, air, and space in order to survive.

12. Example of Behavior Pattern The temperature and amount of rainfall in an environment can affect how an organism reacts to its environment.

13. Example of Behavior Pattern Organisms thrive in the favorable conditions of their home environments. Because of this, an animal must search for the environment that fits its structure and lifestyle.

14. Example of Behavior Pattern As availability of food increases, numbers of a species will increase. The living space will then decrease and available food decrease as more animals consume more food. And then...

15. Example of Behavior Pattern Eventually the population size will begin to die off, thereby having fewer organisms to consume the prey, and at that point, the prey numbers will increase.