Avoidance Behaviour :
Avoidance Behaviour AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOUR is a behavioural adaptation which reduces the risk of being predated. e.g. Earthworm retreating into it’s burrow when touched.
Habituation :
Habituation HABITUATION is a short term response when an animal stops responding to a repeated harmless stimuli that it has been exposed although it wares off after a period of time. e.g. A snails response to repeated touching: avoidance behaviour- retreating into the shell, habituation- stops retreating, benefit- does not waste energy in unnecessary behaviour
Learning :
Learning LEARNING is a long term modification of responses in the light of previous experiences e.g. A toad stung will no longer eat yellow/ black prey. It has learned to associate yellow/ black colour with an unpleasant experience.
Slide 5:
Active Passive Fleeing at high speed to escape predation. Inky smokescreen to aid escape Bright colours to reflect poisonous. Protective outer coverings.
Mechanisms for defence :
Mechanisms for defence INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL ESCAPE RESPONSE- fast protective response: squid retreats rapidly which allows it to move away from danger. Caribbean reef squid SCHOOLING- swimming in shoals: fish gather as it is safer in numbers as the predator (dolphin) can get confused etc. herring
Slide 7:
Plants
Grazing Tolerance :
Grazing Tolerance Plants are sessile so they must under take different strategies from animals for defence. Some plants are able to tolerate grazing by having:
deep root systems
underground stems Plants are kept in check by a medium amount of grazing, as the grazers target the more dominant species which allow the other species to grow. Biodiversity is increased with grazing as without it the dominant species would wipe out all the other species. Some plants (e.g. Grasses) have the ability to regenerate using underground structures. Having a rosette growth pattern makes it difficult to graze. Also having a low growth point makes it easy to produce leaves to replace grazed.