Question

• Give two realistic examples each of behavioral and physiological adaptations a species could use to better compete with a rival species. Give the type of competition the following two examples represent and explain why.
  • Two different hyena species are competing with each other for more time feeding at the newly killed carcass.

-Lions eating gazelles that are then unable to be eaten by hyenas.

Response must be between 2-3 paragraphs.

Answer 1

Behavioural adaptations

Behavioural responses is when an organism that help itself to survive/reproduce.

Example:

Behavioural responses of an Adult male penguins is such that they huddle together during winter. This helps them to avoid heat loss therefore survive until spring. Also they breed during the winter season so that their offspring can reach independence in summer when more food is available.

Physiological adaptations

Physiological response is when a body process that will helps an organism to survive/reproduce.

Example:

Generaly Penguin males can go without food for around 100 days. This is very beneficial for them to survive during winter when food availability is difficult. A penguin’s resting heart rate can slow down greatly during a dive , this facilitate oxygen conservation underwater and thus allow them to spend more time finding food.

QA1- Defensive Behavior

It is a generalized nature that, when an animal has found a space that contains all the resources it needs to survive, it wants to hold on to it. This nature helps many animals to defend their territory containing those resources. Hence most of the animals are territorial. Animals defend territories for following different types of resources:

A continuous source of fresh water, a sufficient supply of vegetation and food, proximity to a stable source of prey, resource location, etc. Animals can smartly advertise their ownership of the identified territories by visual and chemical signals. These help them deter their competitors from encroaching their location. However ignorance of the signals may lead to breaching of the boundaries of the territory, a thus a territorial battle is sure to begin.

QA2- Interspecific competition

This response is when animals that live in the same geographic area compete for the same set of resources, mostly food and space. Direct competition in such situation occurs when individuals compete with each other directly for the same resource.