Unity and Diversity of Life : Living organisms exhibit a common set of character
ID: 261699 • Letter: U
Question
Unity and Diversity of Life: Living organisms exhibit a common set of characteristics. For example, all living organisms are composed of cells, manipulate energy, and reproduce.
1.Final Question: In addition to the characteristics listed above, list and explain five more characteristics that are common to all living organisms.
On the other hand, living organisms also exhibit diversity: consider the tremendous assortment of plants, animals, fungi, protists and bacteria found in a forest. There is diversity in structure, and it ranges from subtle differences (e.g. between species of earthworms) to radical differences (e.g. between squirrels and trees).
2. Final Question: Choose one challenge that all animals must overcome. Explain three different ways that animals address the challenge. Make sure to explain relevant anatomy and physiology, in detail.
Explanation / Answer
1. Five more characteristics that are common to all living organisms are:
a) Respiration, b) Movement, c) Excretion, d) Growth, and e) Sensitivity that means able to sense and respond stimuli aound them. 2. Lack of water and excessive heat are two severe problems faced by desert animals for surviving. Two main adaptations that desert animal must make are how to deal with excessive temperature and how to deal with lack of water. Here we discuss the different way of adaptations of diffeent desert animals for surviving against lack of water
A. Camel, the ship of the desert has several adaptive features : a. A camel can drink around 46 liters of water at one drinking season and can go a week without water. b. Unlike other mammals the body temperature of a camel can fluctute between 93 degree to 107 degree F throughout the day. This allows the camel to conserve water by not sweating as the environmental temperature rises.
B. Thorny devil or thorny dragon: a lizard found in Australian desert, has unique adaptive feature to survive against lack of water. The skin of this lizard can absorb water by cappilary action like blotiing paper. The scales of the body collects dew where the lizard drinks and channelise it down to the corner of the mouth.
C. The Sand Grouse: birds mainly found in the desert of Asia and North Africa has speacialized feathers on its belly which are able to soak up small quantitties of water. The male species use this features like sponge to carry the water to the nest and share with their female counterpart.and offspring.
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