Biology- Activity 3

Compost heap is made of organic matter, such as nitrogen,

oxygen, carbon and water. This provides an optimum living
environment for organisms like woodlice. Woodlice break down plant
matter, and also love dark and damp conditions. An abiotic factor
that affects woodlice is moisture levels. Water is important for all
chemical reactions. When there is too much water (above 60%),
organisms will drown, as they have internal gills. Too little water
(below 50%) usually forces the woodlice to dig deeper into the
compost in search for more water. Oxygen is another abiotic factor
that affects woodlice. They use oxygen for respiration. If oxygen
levels drop below 5%, anaerobic respiration takes place and
ammonia gets released, which will make the compost more acidic.
Woodlice are adapted to acidic conditions as they have a hard
exoskeleton.
Rock pools are found in the intertidal zone, more specifically, the
mid tide zone. The biotic factors present in the rock pools are
mussels. Mussels are siphons that suck on algae and oxygen, and
then spit out the waste materials. They are affected by wave action.
These small organisms attach to rocks by threads called byssus.
Predators also affect them, in a forceful way. Mussels have shells
that open and close to let water in and out. When the predators are
close, the mussels shut close and so the water cant go out of the
shell, therefore suffocating the mussel. Yet their shells are strong
and hard, therefore they are well adapted to chances to predation.