Organism Distribution

Noadswood Science, 2011

Organism Distribution

To understand how changes in the environment affect the distribution of organisms

Friday, April 21, 2023

Environmental Change

Animals and plants are exposed to environmental change – these changes may be caused by living factors, such as a change in a predator, a food source or a competitor

Environmental changes may also be caused by non-living factors, such as a change in temperature or rainfall

Predators & Prey

If the prey population grows, predator numbers will respond to the increased food supply by increasing as well

Growing predator numbers will eventually reduce the food supply to the point where it can no longer sustain the predator population, and the number of predators will go down…

Practical – Choice Chamber

Investigate the behaviour of woodlice using a choice chamber – setup the chamber with 4 different environments: -

Dark and damp

Dark and dry

Light and damp

Light and dry

Leave the woodlice on their own for a while, and then the number of animals in each quarter…

* Remember these are living organisms – treat them appropriately

Practical – Choice Chamber

Describe and explain your findings…

Woodlice prefer dark, damp conditions – this is the type of habitat they live in. Should this change in their environment they will seek a better location