EALS - Survival of The Fittest

Module 2: Perpetuation of Life
Survival of the Fittest
Objectives
1. Explain how life bounced back after a mass extinction level;
2. Discuss how humans adapt to CoViD-19;
3. Justify why emerging diseases matter to life; and
4. Support one’s opinion on how genetic engineering changes our way of life.
How life bounced back after a mass extinction level?

A. ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
• Natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary or secondary.
• The gradual replacement of one plant community by another through natural processes over time
There are two main types of Ecological Succession

1. Primary Succession: The process of creating life in an area where no life previously existed.
2. Secondary Succession: The process of re-stabilization that follows a disturbance in an area where life has
formed an ecosystem.
Primary Succession
• The development of an ecosystem in an area that has never had a community living within it.
• An example of an area in which a community has never lived before would be a new lava or rock from a
volcano that makes a new island.
• Begins in a place without any soil

• In the beginning there is only rock, sand, volcanic ash. Since there is no soil, there is no community.
• For there to be soil there must be nutrients like nitrogen. So… why is there no soil?
• Lichens begin growing on the rocks. Over many years lichens break down rock into sand.
• Weathering and erosion break down rock into sand. Lichens that do not need soil
to survive (also called PIONEER SPECIES). Lichens grow larger. Some die.
Decomposers arrive and break down the lichens. The dead lichens and waste
materials of the decomposers enrich the sand. Nitrogen cycle begins. Eventually
enough nutrients enter the sand, and it becomes soil.
• Seeds are blown in by the wind or carried in by animals. Simple plants like mosses
can grow in the new soil. The plants grow and the soil gets enriched as plants die.
• Herbs and weeds can grow in the thicker, enriched soil. The simple plants die, adding more organic
material. Lichens on rock
• The soil layer thickens, and grasses, wildflowers, and other plants begin to take over. Medium sized
animals and birds make this their habitat. The vegetation grows closer together, reducing the amount of
space available for growing.
• Competition between lichen and shrubs for the same space. Eventually one species (lichen) will die out (or
move) and the other species will survive (shrubs). These plants die, and they add more nutrients to the
soil. Shrubs and trees can survive now.
• Insects, small birds, and mammals have begun to move in. What was once bare rock now supports a
variety of life. These plants die, and they add more nutrients to the soil. Now larger trees can grow:
Beech, Oak, Walnut, Maple, etc.
The Climax Community

• A climax community is a mature, stable community that is the final stage of ecological succession. In
an ecosystem with a climax community, the conditions continue to be suitable for all the members of
the community.
• Any particular region has its own set of climax species, which are the plants that are best adapted for
the area and will persist after succession has finished, until another disturbance clears the area.
• These are climax communities:
A summary of changes that occur during primary succession:

→ Pioneer species colonize a bare or disturbed site. Soil building.
→ Changes in the physical environment occur (e.g., light, moisture).
→ New species of plants displace existing plants because their seedlings are better able to become
established in the changed environment.
→ Newly arriving species alter their physical conditions, often in ways that enable other species to become
established.
→ Animals come in with or after the plants they need to survive.
→ Eventually a climax community that is more or less stable will become established and have the ability to
reproduce itself.
→ Disturbances will start the process of succession again.
Threats to Climax Communities

• Forest Fires
• Humans building cities and roads
• Flooding, Volcanic eruptions
• Clearing a community for agricultural purposes
• Anything that destroys the existing community, but much of the soil remains. Sometimes, some of the
organisms remain as well.
Secondary Succession
• Organisms are destroyed but the soil is safe.
• The soil already contains the seeds of weeds, grasses, and trees. More seeds are carried to the area by
wind and birds.
• Succession begins again but the primary species are different.
• Because soil is present, this succession is faster.
o Some seeds in the soil begin to grow.
o Larger shrubs move in.
o Fast growing trees (such as pines) move in
o These are followed by slower-growing hardwood trees
B. ADAPTATION
• Evolutionary adaptation, or simply adaptation, is the adjustment of organisms to their environment to
improve their chances at survival in that environment.
Types of Adaptation
1. Structural adaptation- Structural adaptations are the changes to the structure of a living
organism to adapt better to an environment.
Example - How desert plants have adapted to the desert conditions where there is a very
little amount of water available, and the temperature is high. Plants called succulents
have adapted to the desert conditions by storing water within themselves to compensate
for the lower water availability.
2. Behavioral adaptation- Behavioral adaptation is the change in the behavior of an organism to
survive better in an environment.
Example - Migration- bird migrates to the south in winter as there is more food available,
but some birds also do migrate for the purpose of reproduction.
3. Physiological adaptation- Physiological adaptations are a body process that helps an
organism survive/ reproduce better in an environment.
Example - An animal which is living in cold regions will have features like thick fur and
short ears to reduce the heat loss. The physiological adaptation here is the shivering to
generate more heat when it gets cold.
4. Co-adaptation- when two or more species are symbiotically bound to each other for their
survival and adapt together.
Example - Humming birds have long beaks which helps the bird capture nectar from
specific plants during which it gets dusted with pollen grains. In this way, the pollen grains
are distributed, and the hummingbirds get their food.
How do humans adapt to CoViD-19?
The World Health Organization warned in its 2007 report that infectious diseases are emerging at a rate
that has not been seen before. Since the 1970s, about 40 infectious diseases have been discovered including
SARS, MERS, Ebola, chikungunya, avian flu, swine flu, Zika and most recently COVID-19, caused by a new
coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
Biotechnology is basically the integration of bioscience with technology.
Generic engineering is manipulating DNA of an organism.

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Module 2: Perpetuation of Life

Survival of the Fittest

How life bounced back after a mass extinction level?

There are two main types of Ecological Succession

• Begins in a place without any soil

The Climax Community

A summary of changes that occur during primary succession:

Threats to Climax Communities

Biotechnology is basically the integration of bioscience with technology.

Generic engineering is manipulating DNA of an organism.

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