Living Things and the Environment

1.) What needs are met by an organism's environment?

An organism's environment must provide food, water, shelter, and other necessary things specific to the organism itself. It needs to be able to live, grow, and reproduce in this environment. When the animal lives in a place that does all that for it, then it can be called it's habitat.

2.) What are the two parts of an organism's habitat with which it interacts?

An organism interacts with all the living and non-living things in it's habitat.  The living things in an ecosystem are called, "biotic."  Biotic things can include plants, (such as trees, bushes, grasses, and flowers), animals (deer, frogs, fish, birds...), and worms, mushrooms, and fungi.  The non-living things are referred to as "abiotic."  Abiotic factors include sun, soil, rocks, oxygen, and temperature. 

3.) What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem?

The levels of organization within an ecosystem are:
1. A single organism that belongs to a population of the same species as it.
2. A population is a part of a community with many different species.
3. Communities are places where the different populations of species are close enough to interact with each   other.
4. Ecosystems are when the communities and abiotic factors around it interact.

4.) Why do you find different kinds of organisms in different habitats?

Organisms must interact with each other to live.  For example, we are in a field full of grass and  mice.  Mice eat the grass, but hawks eat the mice.  If there weren't any hawks, the mice would thrive.  They would over-populate, and soon all the grass would be gone.  Without the grass, the mice either migrate to a new place, or die.  Then there isn't really anything left in that field.  There has to be a balance of all things, especially if the food chain is long.  If one species gets too big, then it's like dominoes---everything changes.  That's why there are many different organisms in one place---as well as the fact that predator organisms eat herbivore organisms.

5.) Think about what will soon be happening in Belgrade.  How do animals prepare for such a change?
There are a couple different ways that animals prepare for the cold winter months that are coming soon.  One way is hibernation.  Some animals will eat very much during the spring, summer, and fall months, and then sleep in dens in the winter.  When spring comes, they will wake up, crawl out of their dens, and begin a new year of eating, sleeping, and mating.  By snoozing through the cold, the hibernating creatures use as little energy as possible. 
Another way that animals prepare for winter is by growing an extra thick coat which they shed in the spring.  The thicker fur helps keep them warm as they hunt for food and sleep.  It helps to conserve body heat, which, in turn, helps preserve energy that is in greater demand during the months of cold.

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