Adaptation: a function in an environment
| English | 中文 | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| adaptation/ˌædæpˈteɪʃn/ | 适应性特征 | shì yìng xìng tè zhēng |
| acclimatization/əˌklaɪmətaɪˈzeɪʃn/ | 适应过程 | shì yìng guò chéng |
What would explain this observation?
- Leaves in dry environments often have features that reduce water loss. The value of a feature depends on environmental conditions and trade-offs.
- Start with a prediction. State the quantities or features you would compare, then decide what evidence could distinguish two explanations.
Build the model
- An adaptation 适应性特征 is a heritable feature associated with improved survival or reproduction in particular conditions. A thick cuticle can reduce evaporation; stomatal control affects gas exchange and water loss. Acclimatization 适应过程 is an individual response during life and is different from evolutionary adaptation.
- adaptation: A heritable feature benefiting survival or reproduction in a context; acclimatization: An individual adjustment to changed conditions during life.
Which statement distinguishes acclimatization?
Explain both a benefit and a cost. Reducing stomatal opening conserves water but can limit carbon dioxide entry. A feature cannot be judged as universally best without its ecological context.
Match each technical term to its precise meaning.
Use the definitions to distinguish related quantities and processes.
Choose evidence that can test it
- Explain both a benefit and a cost. Reducing stomatal opening conserves water but can limit carbon dioxide entry. A feature cannot be judged as universally best without its ecological context.
- Compare replicated observations across a measured environmental gradient. Account for relatedness, leaf area and age. Use local permitted plant observations rather than removing protected species.
Which two habits make the investigation or model in this case more defensible?
Compare replicated observations across a measured environmental gradient. Account for relatedness, leaf area and age. Use local permitted plant observations rather than removing protected species.
Work from known quantities
- State the known values and their units. Choose the relation because its assumptions fit this case, then rearrange before substitution.
- Known: water loss is 12 g from 0.20 square metres of leaf area over 2 h. Area-time-normalized rate = 12/(0.20 × 2) = 30 g/(m² h). Comparisons require the same humidity and temperature.
Water loss is 8 g from 0.20 m² over 2 h. Calculate rate per area per hour. Use the same sequence: known quantities → model → relation → substitution → unit and interpretation.
Water loss is 8 g from 0.20 m² over 2 h. Calculate rate per area per hour.
The result is 20 g/(m² h). Known: water loss is 12 g from 0.20 square metres of leaf area over 2 h. Area-time-normalized rate = 12/(0.20 × 2) = 30 g/(m² h). Comparisons require the same humidity and temperature.
Check the conclusion and its limits
- An individual organism does not evolve a new inherited trait because it needs it. A plausible story about function is a hypothesis requiring evidence.
- Return to the original observation. Explain what the result supports, which conditions it assumes, and one way to test a competing explanation.
Every useful individual response is evidence of a newly evolved inherited trait. This claim is false: An individual organism does not evolve a new inherited trait because it needs it. A plausible story about function is a hypothesis requiring evidence.
Adaptation: a function in an environment: Explain both a benefit and a cost. Reducing stomatal opening conserves water but can limit carbon dioxide entry. A feature cannot be judged as universally best without its ecological context.
Every useful individual response is evidence of a newly evolved inherited trait.
An individual organism does not evolve a new inherited trait because it needs it. A plausible story about function is a hypothesis requiring evidence.
A heritable feature benefiting survival or reproduction in a context: write the technical term.
adaptation means A heritable feature benefiting survival or reproduction in a context.