Biodiversity & Interdependency in the Milkweed Patch
Last year we studied habitats, or the place where an organism lives. To live and reproduce, the organism must have 5 things that the habitat provides: water, air, space, food & shelter. Each organism is uniquely "adapted" to its habitat. An adaptation is a characteristic or trait that helps the organism survive in its habitat. It can be a physical characteristic (such as camouflage, claws, beaks, wings etc.) or a behavioral characteristic (such as a particular bird call, mating dance, or hunting strategy) that makes it live and reproduce successfully in its habitat.
A polar bear is adapted (or suited) to the artic environment because it has adapations such as thick fur where each hair is hollow so that more air is trapped, keeping it warm. The artic habitat provides the polar bear's food (fish and seals). The polar bear has adaptations such as camouflage (white fur blends in with the snow) and sharp teeth and claws that help it catch and eat its prey. It also has behavioral adapations that make it more successful when it hunts. For example, it may sit quietly near a hole in the ice where seals come up to breathe. This behavior makes it successful in catching the seal. To learn more about the physical characteristics and adaptations of a polar bear, click here. A polar bear does not have adaptations that help it live in the prairie, and most certainly not on a milkweed plant!
Interdependency in the milkweed patch The common milkweed is a habitat unto itself. Many organisms depend on the milkweed plant for food, shelter, space, water and even air. These organisms have special adaptations or characteristics that allow them to live and reproduce on the milkweed. For example, Monarch caterpillars and aphids are able to eat the milkweed without being harmed by the milky substance that is toxic to many other organisms. Spiders depend on the plant to build their webs and to attract insects to the web.
All living organisms (including plants), require oxygen for respiration, which is the process that turns their food into energy. One byproduct of respiration is carbon dioxide, which plants need to make their own food using the process called photosynthesis. The milkweed plant also depends on some of these organisms for reproduction (bees & butterflies help to pollinate the plant), and for protection (spiders that keep insects from eating the plant). The milkweed uses abiotic parts of its habitat like sun and rain to 'produce' its own food, and the soil for space to put its roots and anchor itself. Click here to see some of the organisms that make the common milkweed their home and learn what adaptations they have that allow them to be successful on these.
A polar bear is adapted (or suited) to the artic environment because it has adapations such as thick fur where each hair is hollow so that more air is trapped, keeping it warm. The artic habitat provides the polar bear's food (fish and seals). The polar bear has adaptations such as camouflage (white fur blends in with the snow) and sharp teeth and claws that help it catch and eat its prey. It also has behavioral adapations that make it more successful when it hunts. For example, it may sit quietly near a hole in the ice where seals come up to breathe. This behavior makes it successful in catching the seal. To learn more about the physical characteristics and adaptations of a polar bear, click here. A polar bear does not have adaptations that help it live in the prairie, and most certainly not on a milkweed plant!
Interdependency in the milkweed patch The common milkweed is a habitat unto itself. Many organisms depend on the milkweed plant for food, shelter, space, water and even air. These organisms have special adaptations or characteristics that allow them to live and reproduce on the milkweed. For example, Monarch caterpillars and aphids are able to eat the milkweed without being harmed by the milky substance that is toxic to many other organisms. Spiders depend on the plant to build their webs and to attract insects to the web.
All living organisms (including plants), require oxygen for respiration, which is the process that turns their food into energy. One byproduct of respiration is carbon dioxide, which plants need to make their own food using the process called photosynthesis. The milkweed plant also depends on some of these organisms for reproduction (bees & butterflies help to pollinate the plant), and for protection (spiders that keep insects from eating the plant). The milkweed uses abiotic parts of its habitat like sun and rain to 'produce' its own food, and the soil for space to put its roots and anchor itself. Click here to see some of the organisms that make the common milkweed their home and learn what adaptations they have that allow them to be successful on these.