Living Things and their Environment
The aim of this article is to introduce you with your natural surroundings. If you read this easy and simple artical carefully, you will be able to:
- Explain the term environment.
- Explain components of an environment with its examples.
- Differentiate between various types of environment.
- Explain the characteristics of animals and plants, which enable them survive in a particular environment.
WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENT?
"Your surroundings is your environment".
Look at your surroundings. What you see. Allah (SWT) has blessed us with beautiful land, blue oceans, lush green forests, high mountains and deserts. All these places make up our environment.
An environment constitutes both living and non-living things. In fact, everything found in our surroundings is part of our environment.
Take, for example, your home. It has a specific environment for living and it includes your parents, sublings, a kitchen, wash room etc.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT
There are Biotic and abiotic components in every environment.
Every environment has two basic components. These are:
Living components (biotic) and Non living components (abiotic). Humans, animals, plants and microorganisms are the living components of an envirionment. They are called biotic components. Non-living components of an environment are called abiotic components. These include soil, water, air, light, temperature, minerals, seasons, etc.
TYPES OF ENVIRONMENT
1. Aquatic environment
2. Forest environment
3. Desert environment
4. Alpine environment
5. Polar environment
Can fish live without water?
Can a large tree grow big and strong in pond?
Every living thing, be a plant or animal, has its own special place that suits it best and provides with food and shelter. Such a place is called a habitat. So, the habitat of fish is water and that of tree is land.
Planet Earth has many different environments, depending on temperature, moisture, light and other factors. Each of these environments has distinct life forms living in it. There are five types environments. These are as follows:
1. Aquatic environment
The aquatic environment is divided into marine such as seas and oceans and freshwater for example ponds, rivers and streams environments. The vastness of the aquatic environment can be realised by the fact that almost 70% of the Earth is covered by water Both marine and freshwater environments have their specific living and non-living components. Frogs, turtles, fish, alligators and blue whales, the Earth's largest mammals, are found in them. These environments are also a source of food, minerals and energy.
2. Forest environment
Forests are areas covered with large trees and vegetation. They can be found in most parts of the world. Forests are an important component of the global carbon cycle. They use large amounts of carbon dioxide to make their food and release oxygen, a gas important for living things.
Besides, forests are the habitats of many kinds of animals such as foxes, lions, raccoons and chimpanzees.
3. Desert environment
Deserts are sandy and rocky places with little rainfall due to which most plants cannot survive in a desert environment.
Normally, deserts are very hot during the day but become cold at night. Some organisms like camels and cactus have the ability to survive with little water in a desert environment.
4. Alpine environment
The word 'alpine' is usually used for mountains. A mountain is a landform that rises high above surrounding land and forms a narrow peak. They are made of rocks and Earth. A mountain environment changes with the increase in height.
At altitudes, there is very little carbon dioxide and oxygen, which is necessary for all organisms to carry on life processes. The amount of sunlight also varies on mountains. Only some plants and animals like white bark pine and snow leopard have the ability to survive in this environment.
5. Polar environment
Polar areas comprise the Earth's North and South poles. The North Pole is at the top of the Earth in the Arctic. The South Pole is at the bottom of the Earth in Antarctica. They are covered with ice all the year round, and hence the coldest places on Earth. Polar bears and penguins are comfortable in this freezing, because of thick layers of fat around their bodies.
WHAT IS MEANT BY ADAPTATION?
Plants, animals, and humans live in their specific environments. When an environment changes, the organisms that live within it must either change their behaviours or move out, in order to survive.
A physical feature or a behviour that helps an organism to survive in an environment is called adaptation.
We can divide adaptations into two basic categories.
1. Physical adaptations
2. Behavioural adaptations
1. Physical adaptations
Physical adaptations are related to the body parts of animals and plants. These body parts help them to survive and search for food in harsh conditions. For example, polar bears in the Arctic have thick fur that helps them to keep warm on land, and a layer of fat under their skin to help them keep warm when they swim in cold water. Similarly, a cactus has the ability to survive in desert with little available water because its roots spread out to collect water and store it for future use.
2. Behavioural adaptations
It is the adaptation related to actions and activities that enable animals and plants to survive in a habitat. Some kinds of behaviours are learned and some are inherited. Migration and hunting in groups are examples of behavioural adaptations. For example, geese migrate in winter from north to south to find food.
KEY POINTS
- Both living and nonliving things make up our environment.
- Biotic components of an environment are humans, animals, plants and microorganisms.
- Abiotic components of an environment are soil, water, air, light, temperature, minerals and seasons.
- A habitat is a special place where a plant or animal lives, and finds food and shelter.
- A physical feature or a behaviour that helps an organism to survive in an environment is called adaptation.
- Physical adaptations are related to the changes in body parts of animals and plants.
- Behavioural adaptations are related to actions and activities that enable animals and plants to survive in a habitat.
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