FACTORS THAT

INFLUENCE THE
DISTRIBUTION OF
PLANTS AND ANIMALS
 1.) TEMPERATURE
The ability to withstand extremes in
temperature widely vary among plants
and animals.
ANIMALS
ENDOTHERMS- refer to warm-
blooded animals. They are the animals
who maintain a constant body
temperature irrespective of the ambient
temperature. Primarily, endothermic
animals constitute birds and mammals of
the animal kingdom. However, some fish
also are endothermic.
ECTOTHERMS - Animals cannot generate
enough energy through metabolic to
maintain their internal temperature.
Instead, ectotherms depend primarily on
the external environment for their internal
temperature. Ectothermic animals include
most animals that are not birds or
mammals.
Ectotherms are often referred to as "cold-
blooded" animals; however, unlike the
name implies, ectothermic animals do not
necessarily have cold blood. All metabolic
activity generates heat as a side product, so
even ectothermic animals generate some
amount of heat by digesting food.
HIBERNATION - a state of minimal
activity and metabolic depression
undergone by some animal species.
It is seasonal heterothermy
characterized by low body-
temperature, slow breathing and
heart-rate, and low metabolic rate.
PLANTS
Photosynthesis slow down or stops
when temperatures get too high or too
low.
Leaves loss to avoid
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Water also evaporates directly into the
atmosphere from soil in the vicinity of
the plant. Any dew or droplets of water
present on stems and leaves of the plant
eventually evaporates as well. Scientists
refer to the combination of evaporation
and transpiration as
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
 2.) WATER
XEROPHYTES - are plants that are
adapted to very dry conditions with a
lot of sun exposure, like cacti and
succulents. Xeric environments, or
desert-like environments, are some of
the most extreme locations in which
plants can be found.
•Xerophytic species are often easy to
recognize by their looks. They tend to
be small, with either succulent leaves
or stems, a waxy surface, and pale
colors. These are all adaptations to
store water, minimize water loss, and
reflect sun light.
 •Another problem that xerophytes have to
avoid is being eaten by herbivores. In their
extreme desert-like environment, a little plant
full of water makes a great meal. Xerophytes
have a few different strategies to avoid being
eaten, such as covering themselves in spines,
or camouflaging themselves against their
sandy substrate.
• Another modification, which increases desert
plant survival, is the extension of the root
system for greater root absorption. Desert
plants, known as phreatophytes, grow long
deep roots that are capable of reaching the
water table, which depths depend on the
geology and nearby water sources.
Phreatophytes deep root systems allow them to
reach the zone of saturation in order to access
water during long periods of drought.
 3.) LIGHT
•Life Depends on the Sun
• Energy from the sun enters an ecosystem
when plants us e light energy to make sugar
molecules.
• This happens through a process called
photosynthesis.
•Photosynthesis is the process by
which plants, algae, and some
bacteria use sunlight, carbon
dioxide, and water to produce
carbohydrates and oxygen.
Life Depends on the Sun
•** From Producers to Consumers
• Because plants make their own food,
they are called producers.
• A produceris an organism that can
make organic molecules from inorganic
molecules.
•Producers are also called autotrophs, or
self-feeders.
• Most producers get their energy directly
from the sun by absorbing it through their
leaves.
• Organisms that get their energy by eating
other organisms are called consumers.
• A consumer is an organism that eats other
organisms or organic matter instead of
producing its own nutrients or obtaining
nutrients from inorganic sources.
• Consumers are also called heterotrophs, or
other-feeders.
• Consumers get their energy indirectly by
eating producers or other consumers.
Organisms can be classified by what they eat.
• Producers–makes its own food using light
energy (photosynthesis) or chemical sources
(chemosynthesis)
• Examples: grasses, ferns, cactuses, flowering
plants, trees, algae, some bacteria
• Consumers–gets energy by eating producers or
other consumers
• Examples: mice, starfish, elephants, humans
 Types of Consumers:
Herbivores-eat producers
•Example: cows, sheep, deer,
grasshopper
Carnivores–eat other consumers
•Examples: lions, hawks, snakes,
sharks
Omnivores–eat both producers and
consumers
•Example: bears, pigs, gorillas,
humans
Decomposers–break down organic
matter from dead organisms
•Example: fungi, bacteria
INTERACTIONS AMONG ORGANISMS
IN ECOSYSTEM
•Competition is a relationship
between organisms that strive
for the same resources in the
same place. The resources might
be food, water, or space.
There are two different types of
competition:
Intraspecific competition occurs
between members of the same species.
For example, two male birds of the same
species might compete for mates in the
same area. This type of competition is a
basic factor in natural selection. It leads to
the evolution of better adaptations within
a species.
 Interspecific
competition occurs between
members of different species. For
example, predators of different
species might compete for the
same prey.
 •Interspecific Competition and
Extinction
Interspecific competition often leads
to extinction. The species that is less
well adapted may get fewer of the
resources that both species need. As a
result, members of that species are less
likely to survive, and the species may go
extinct.
Interspecific Competition and
Specialization
• Instead of extinction, interspecific
competition may lead to greater
specialization. Specialization occurs
when competing species evolve
different adaptations. For example,
they may evolve adaptations that allow
them to use different food sources.
 Predation is a biological
interaction where one organism,
the predator, kills and eats
another organism, its prey
 When prey is detected, the predator
assesses whether to attack it. Predators
may actively search for or pursue prey
(pursuit predation) or sit and wait for
prey (ambush predation), often
concealed, prior to attack. If the attack is
successful, the predator kills the prey,
removes any inedible parts like the shell
or spines, and eats it.
Predation has a powerful selective effect
on prey, and the prey develop
antipredator adaptations such as warning
coloration, alarm calls and other signals,
camouflage, mimicry of well-defended
species, and defensive spines and
chemicals. Sometimes predator and prey
find themselves in an evolutionary
arms race, a cycle of adaptations and
counter-adaptations.
 SYMBIOSIS
What is symbiosis? Symbiosis can be
defined as any kind of relationship or
interaction between two dissimilar
organisms, each of which may receive
benefits from their partners that they did
not have while living alone
Protocooperation is where two species interact
with each other beneficially; they have no
need to interact with each other - they interact
purely for the gain that they receive from
doing this. It is not at all necessary for
protocooperation to occur; growth and
survival is possible in the absence of the
interaction.
Mutualism

Mutualism is one of the most studied types of

symbiotic relationships. It is described as an
interaction between individuals from different
species that brings in positive (beneficial) effects
on each one of the participants. It can affect the
reproduction and/or survival of the populations
involved. It is a highly dynamic interaction in
which there is likely to be continual evolution and
coevolution among partner species
Commensalism

Commensalism is an interaction where

one individual benefits from another
species, while the other is unaffected.
Amensalism

Amensalism is the interaction where one

species affects another negatively, while
the second species has very little if no
effect at all on the first
Parasitism
• The relationships do not have to be mutually
beneficial to be considered symbiotic.
Around two-thirds of the Earth’s species are
believed to be parasites, and parasitism has
evolved independently in many different
groups (vampire bats, fleas, flatworms,
nematodes, several protists, several plants,
etc.)
 Parasitism is an association between different
species of organisms in which the parasite
(symbiont) depends on its host to meet its
metabolic needs. It involves the uptake of
substances that are nutrients to the parasite. They
usually live inside or under their hosts, and they
generally harm or debilitate them, though do not
kill them immediately. Parasites are usually
smaller than their hosts and outnumber them.
 Community, in biology, refers to the assemblage
of interacting organisms (either of the same or
different species) coexisting in a particular area
and time. Because of their interactions, members
of a community tend to affect each other’s
abundance, distribution, adaptation, and existence.
Two of its major properties are community
structure and community function.
Community structure pertains to biotic
composition whereas community
function is associated with energy flow,
resilience, and resistance of the
community. Apart from these properties,
communities share common
characteristics.
 There are three main types of
interactions that occur among species
in a community
COMPETITION
PREDATION
SYMBIOSIS
 Niche definition
• Niche is defined in a general sense as a cavity, hollow, or recess, especially in
a wall. However, in biology and ecology, a niche pertains to any of the
following:
• The specific area where an organism inhabits
• The role or function of an organism or species in an ecosystem
• The interrelationship of a species with all the biotic and abiotic factors
affecting it
Habitat refers to the place or the location
where an (or a biological population)
lives, resides or exists. The
term habitat came from the
Latin “habitātus”, meaning “having been
inhabited”. Synonyms: natural home;
natural environment; natural territory.
 Community vs. Ecosystem
Ecological community and ecosystem are
different but related concepts. While a
community pertains to the group of
species interacting and living together in a
particular habitat an ecosystem is a
broader concept.
 An ecosystem is comprised of not only
living things but also of the physical
environment that altogether functions as a
unit.