We have learned that in ecosystems there are limiting factors like, not enough space, not enough food, not enough water or sunlight and organisms learn to adapt to their situation. Look at this interesting strategy: Playing dead. Snakes under stress and believing their lives are threatened will play dead. The eastern hog nosed snake actually lays still and hangs his tongue out of his mouth, a foul smell is emitted from his body. Another animal is the opossum. When they feel threatened they go into shock and appear to go into a coma, their heart rates slow, breathing slows down and they even become stiff. The next organism that plays dead is rather surprising...it's a plant. It's name reflects its strategy, it's called the "resurrection plant". Without water it plays dead. Really, it has just gone dormant. The plant can remain dormant for weeks or months and will appear to be a ball of dead plant matter. It looks like this until it can accumulate enough moisture to "resurrect." Organisms learn to adapt to drought conditions, and other hard conditions because they want to survive. Plants and animals have many things in common and this is one of them.
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |