Features of the air habitat. How does the land-air environment differ from the water environment?

Layered structure of the Earth's shells and the composition of the atmosphere; light regime as a ground-based factor air environment; adaptation of organisms to different light regimes; temperature regime in the ground-air environment, temperature adaptations; air pollution

Ground-air environment- the most difficult in terms of environmental living conditions. Life on land required such morphological and biochemical adaptations that were possible only with sufficient high level organization of both plants and animals. In Fig. Figure 2 shows a diagram of the Earth's shells. The ground-air environment includes the outer part lithosphere and lower part atmosphere. The atmosphere, in turn, has a fairly clearly defined layered structure. The lower layers of the atmosphere are shown in Fig. 2. Since the bulk of living beings live in the troposphere, it is this layer of the atmosphere that is included in the concept of the ground-air environment. The troposphere is the lowest part of the atmosphere. Its height in different areas is from 7 to 18 km, it contains the bulk of water vapor, which, when condensed, form clouds. In the troposphere there is a powerful movement of air, and the temperature drops by an average of 0.6 ° C with a rise for every 100 m.

The Earth's atmosphere consists of a mechanical mixture of gases that do not chemically affect each other. All meteorological processes take place in it, the totality of which is called climate. The upper boundary of the atmosphere is conventionally considered to be 2000 km, i.e. its height is 3 times the radius of the Earth. Various processes occur continuously in the atmosphere. physical processes: temperature and humidity change, water vapor condenses, fogs and clouds appear, the sun's rays heat the atmosphere, ionizing it, etc.

The bulk of the air is concentrated in the 70 km layer. Dry air contains (in%): nitrogen - 78.08; oxygen - 20.95; argon - 0.93; carbon dioxide- 0.03. There are very few other gases. These are hydrogen, neon, helium, krypton, radon, xenon - most of the inert gases.

Atmospheric air is one of the main vital important elements environment. It reliably protects the planet from harmful cosmic radiation. Under the influence of the atmosphere on Earth, the most important geological processes, which ultimately shape the landscape.

Atmospheric air belongs to the category of inexhaustible resources, but intensive industrial development, urban growth, and expansion of space research increase the negative anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere. Therefore, the issue of protection atmospheric air is becoming more and more relevant.

In addition to air of a certain composition, living organisms inhabiting the ground-air environment are affected by air pressure and humidity, as well as solar radiation and temperature.

Rice. 2.

Light regime, or solar radiation. To carry out life processes, all living organisms need energy coming from outside. Its main source is solar radiation.

Action of different parts of the spectrum solar radiation different for living organisms. It is known that in the spectrum sun rays allocate ultraviolet, visible And infrared region, which, in turn, consist of light waves of different lengths (Fig. 3).

Among ultraviolet rays(UV) only long-wavelengths (290-300 nm) reach the Earth's surface, and short-wavelengths (less than 290 nm), destructive for all living things, are almost completely absorbed at an altitude of about 20-25 km by the ozone screen - a thin layer of the atmosphere containing 0 3 molecules (see Fig. 2).

Rice. 3. Biological effect of different parts of the solar radiation spectrum: 1 - protein denaturation; 2 - intensity of wheat photosynthesis; 3 - spectral sensitivity of the human eye. The area of ​​ultraviolet radiation that does not penetrate is shaded

through the atmosphere

Long-wave ultraviolet rays (300-400 nm), which have high photon energy, have high chemical and mutagenic activity. Large doses are harmful to organisms.

In the range of 250-300 nm, UV rays have a powerful bactericidal effect and cause the formation of anti-rickets vitamin D in animals, i.e., small doses of UV rays are necessary for humans and animals. At a length of 300-400 nm, UV rays cause a tan in humans, which is a protective reaction of the skin.

Infrared rays (IRL) with a wavelength greater than 750 nm have thermal effect, are not perceived by the human eye and provide the thermal regime of the planet. These rays are especially important for cold-blooded animals (insects, reptiles), which use them to increase their body temperature (butterflies, lizards, snakes) or for hunting (ticks, spiders, snakes).

Currently, many devices have been manufactured that use one or another part of the spectrum: ultraviolet irradiators, Appliances with infrared radiation for instant cooking food, etc.

Visible rays with a wavelength of 400-750 nm have great importance for all living organisms.

Light as a condition for plant life. Light is absolutely necessary for plants. Green plants use solar energy precisely this region of the spectrum, capturing it during photosynthesis:

Due to different needs for light energy, plants have different morphological and physiological adaptations to light mode a habitat.

Adaptation is a system for regulating metabolic processes and physiological characteristics that ensure maximum adaptability of organisms to environmental conditions.

In accordance with adaptations to light conditions, plants are divided into the following ecological groups.

• 1. Photophilous- having the following morphological adaptations: highly branching shoots with shortened internodes, rosette-shaped; the leaves are small or with a strongly dissected leaf blade, often with a waxy coating or pubescence, often with the edge turned towards the light (for example, acacia, mimosa, sophora, cornflower, feather grass, pine, tulip).
• 2. Shade-loving- constantly located in conditions of strong shading. Their leaves are dark green and arranged horizontally. These are plants of the lower tiers of forests (for example, wintergreens, bifolia, ferns, etc.). When there is a lack of light, deep-sea plants (red and brown algae) live.
• 3. Shade-tolerant- can tolerate shading, but also grow well in the light (for example, forest herbs and shrubs that grow in shaded areas and on the edges, as well as oak, beech, hornbeam, spruce).

In relation to the light, plants in the forest are arranged in tiers. In addition, even on the same tree, leaves capture light differently depending on the tier. As a rule, they are sheet mosaic, that is, they are positioned in such a way as to increase the leaf surface for better light capture.

The light regime varies depending on the geographic latitude, time of day and time of year. Due to the rotation of the Earth, the light regime has a distinct daily and seasonal rhythm. The body's reaction to a change in lighting conditions is called photoperiodism. Due to photoperiodism, the processes of metabolism, growth and development in the body change.

The phenomenon associated with photoperiodism in plants phototropism- movement of individual plant organs towards light. For example, the movement of a sunflower basket during the day following the sun, the opening of dandelion and bindweed inflorescences in the morning and closing them in the evening, and vice versa - the opening of night violet and fragrant tobacco flowers in the evening and closing them in the morning (daily photoperiodism).

Seasonal photoperiodism is observed in latitudes with changing seasons (temperate and northern latitudes). With the onset of a long day (spring), active sap flow is observed in the plants, the buds swell and open. When the short autumn days arrive, plants shed their leaves and prepare for winter dormancy. It is necessary to distinguish between “short-day” plants - they are common in the subtropics (chrysanthemums, perilla, rice, soybean, cocklebur, hemp); and “long day” plants (rudbeckia, cereals, cruciferous vegetables, dill) - they are distributed mainly in temperate and subpolar latitudes. Long-day plants cannot grow in the south (they do not produce seeds), and the same applies to short-day plants if grown in the north.

Light as a condition for animal life. For animals, light is not a factor of primary importance, as it is for green plants, since they exist due to the energy of the sun accumulated by these plants. Nevertheless, animals need light of a certain spectral composition. They mainly need light for visual orientation in space. True, not all animals have eyes. In primitives, these are simply photosensitive cells or even a place in the cell (for example, the stigma in unicellular organisms or the “photosensitive eye”).

Imaginative vision is possible only with sufficient complex device eyes. For example, spiders can distinguish the contours of moving objects only at a distance of 1-2 cm. The eyes of vertebrates perceive the shape and size of objects, their color and determine the distance to them.

Visible light is a conventional concept for different types animals. For humans, these are rays from violet to dark red (remember the colors of the rainbow). Rattlesnakes, for example, perceive the infrared part of the spectrum. Bees distinguish the multicolored ultraviolet rays, but do not perceive red ones. The spectrum of visible light for them is shifted to the ultraviolet region.

The development of the visual organs largely depends on the environmental situation and living conditions of organisms. Thus, in permanent inhabitants of caves where sunlight does not penetrate, the eyes can be completely or partially reduced: in blind ground beetles, bats, some amphibians and fish.

The ability for color vision also depends on whether the organisms are diurnal or nocturnal. Canines, cats, and hamsters (which feed by hunting at dusk) see everything in black and white. Nocturnal birds - owls and nightjars - have the same vision. Diurnal birds have well-developed color vision.

Animals and birds also have adaptations to diurnal and nocturnal lifestyles. For example, most ungulates, bears, wolves, eagles, larks, are active during the day, while tigers, mice, hedgehogs, and owls are most active at night. The length of daylight hours affects the onset of mating season, migrations and migrations in birds, hibernation in mammals, etc.

Animals navigate with the help of their visual organs during long flights and migrations. Birds, for example, choose their flight direction with amazing accuracy, covering many thousands of kilometers from nesting sites to wintering grounds. It has been proven that during such long flights, birds are at least partially oriented by the Sun and stars, i.e., astronomical light sources. They are capable of navigation, changing orientation to get into desired point Earth. If birds are transported in cages, then they correctly choose the direction for wintering from anywhere on Earth. Birds do not fly in continuous fog, as during the flight they often lose their way.

Among insects, the ability for this kind of orientation is developed in bees. They use the position (height) of the Sun as a guide.

Temperature regime in the ground-air environment. Temperature adaptations. It is known that life is a way of existence of protein bodies, therefore the boundaries of the existence of life are the temperatures at which the normal structure and functioning of proteins is possible, on average from 0°C to +50°C. However, some organisms have specialized enzyme systems and are adapted to active existence at temperatures beyond these limits.

Species that prefer cold (they are called cryophiles), can maintain cell activity down to -8°... -10°C. Bacteria, fungi, lichens, mosses, and arthropods can tolerate hypothermia. Our trees also do not die when low temperatures. It is only important that during the period of preparation for winter, the water in the plant cells passes into a special state, and does not turn into ice - then the cells die. Plants overcome hypothermia by accumulating substances in their cells and tissues - osmotic protectors: various sugars, amino acids, alcohols, which “pump out” excess water, preventing it from turning into ice.

There is a group of species of organisms whose optimum life is high temperatures, they are called thermophiles. These are various worms, insects, mites that live in deserts and hot semi-deserts, these are bacteria from hot springs. There are springs with a temperature of + 70°C containing living inhabitants - blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), some types of mollusks.

If we take into account latent(long-term dormant) forms of organisms, such as spores of some bacteria, cysts, spores and plant seeds, then they can withstand significantly different temperatures. Bacterial spores can withstand heat up to 180°C. Many seeds, plant pollen, cysts, and unicellular algae can withstand freezing in liquid nitrogen (at -195.8°C) and then long-term storage at -70°C. Once thawed and placed in favorable conditions and sufficient nutrition, these cells can become active again and begin to multiply.

Temporary suspension of all vital processes of the body is called suspended animation. Anabiosis can occur in animals both when the ambient temperature decreases and when it increases. For example, in snakes and lizards, when the air temperature rises above 45°C, thermal torpor occurs. Amphibians have virtually no vital activity at water temperatures below 4°C. From a state of suspended animation, living beings can return to normal life only if the structure of macromolecules in their cells (primarily DNA and proteins) is not disturbed.

Resistance to temperature fluctuations varies among terrestrial inhabitants.

Temperature adaptations in plants. Plants, being immobile organisms, are forced to adapt to the temperature fluctuations that exist in their habitats. They have specific systems that protect against hypothermia or overheating. Transpiration- this is a system for evaporating water by plants through the stomatal apparatus, which saves them from overheating. Some plants have even become resistant to fires - they are called pyrophytes. Fires often occur in savannas and bushland. Savannah trees have thick bark impregnated with fire-resistant substances. The fruits and seeds have thick, woody coverings that crack when engulfed in fire, which helps the seeds sink into the ground.

Temperature adaptations of animals. Animals, compared to plants, have greater ability to adapt to temperature changes, since they are able to move, have muscles and produce their own internal heat. Depending on the mechanisms for maintaining a constant body temperature, there are poikilothermic(cold-blooded) and homeothermic(warm-blooded) animals.

Poikilothermic- These are insects, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Their body temperature changes along with the ambient temperature.

Homeothermic- animals with a constant body temperature, capable of maintaining it even with strong fluctuations outside temperature(these are mammals and birds).

The main ways of temperature adaptation:

• 1) chemical thermoregulation- increase in heat production in response to a decrease in ambient temperature;
• 2) physical thermoregulation- the ability to retain heat due to hair and feathers, the distribution of fat reserves, the possibility of evaporative heat transfer, etc.;

3) behavioral thermoregulation- ability to move from places of extreme temperatures to places optimal temperatures. This is the main way of thermoregulation in poikilothermic animals. When the temperature rises or falls, they tend to change their position or hide in the shadows, in a hole. Bees, ants, and termites build nests with well-regulated temperatures inside them.

In warm-blooded animals, the thermoregulation system has been significantly improved (although it is weak in cubs and chicks).

To illustrate the perfection of thermoregulation in higher animals and humans, the following example can be given. About 200 years ago, Dr. C. Blagden in England performed the following experiment: he, along with friends and a dog, spent 45 minutes in a dry chamber at +126°C without any health consequences. Fans of the Finnish sauna know that you can spend some time in a sauna with a temperature of more than + 100°C (for each person), and this is good for health. But we also know that if you hold a piece of meat at this temperature, it will cook.

When exposed to cold, warm-blooded animals intensify oxidative processes, especially in the muscles. Chemical thermoregulation comes into play. Muscle tremors are noted, leading to the release of additional heat. Lipid metabolism is especially enhanced, since fats contain a significant supply of chemical energy. Therefore, the accumulation of fat reserves provides better thermoregulation.

Increased production of heat products is accompanied by consumption large quantity food. So, birds staying for the winter need a lot of food; they are afraid not of frost, but of lack of food. At good harvest Spruce and pine crossbills, for example, hatch chicks even in winter. People - residents of harsh Siberian or northern regions - have developed a high-calorie menu from generation to generation - traditional dumplings and other high-calorie foods. Therefore, before following fashionable Western diets and rejecting the food of our ancestors, we need to remember the expediency existing in nature, which underlies the long-term traditions of people.

An effective mechanism for regulating heat exchange in animals, as well as in plants, is the evaporation of water through sweating or through the mucous membranes of the mouth and upper respiratory tract. This is an example of physical thermoregulation. A person in extreme heat can produce up to 12 liters of sweat per day, dissipating 10 times more heat than normal. The excreted water must be partially returned through drinking.

Warm-blooded animals, like cold-blooded animals, are characterized by behavioral thermoregulation. In the burrows of animals living underground, temperature fluctuations are smaller, the deeper the burrow. In skillfully constructed bee nests an even, favorable microclimate is maintained. Of particular interest is the group behavior of animals. For example, in severe frost and snowstorms, penguins form a “turtle” - a dense heap. Those who find themselves on the edge gradually make their way inside, where the temperature is maintained at about +37°C. There, inside, the cubs are also placed.

Thus, in order to live and reproduce in certain conditions of the land-air environment, animals and plants in the process of evolution have developed a wide variety of adaptations and systems to suit this habitat.

Ground-air pollution. IN Lately increasingly significant external factor, changing the ground-air habitat, becomes anthropogenic factor.

The atmosphere, like the biosphere, has the property of self-purification, or maintaining balance. However, the volume and speed of modern atmospheric pollution exceed the natural capabilities of their neutralization.

Firstly, this is natural pollution - various dusts: mineral (products of weathering and destruction of rocks), organic (aeroplankton - bacteria, viruses, pollen) and cosmic (particles entering the atmosphere from space).

Secondly, it is artificial (anthropogenic) pollution - industrial, transport and household emissions into the atmosphere (dust from cement factories, soot, various gases, radioactive pollution, pesticides).

According to rough estimates, 1.5 million tons of arsenic have been released into the atmosphere over the past 100 years; 1 million tons of nickel; 1.35 million tons of silicon, 900 thousand tons of cobalt, 600 thousand tons of zinc, the same amount of copper and other metals.

Chemical plants emit carbon dioxide, iron oxide, nitrogen oxides, and chlorine. Of the pesticides, organophosphorus compounds are especially toxic, from which they become even more toxic in the atmosphere.

As a result of emissions in cities where ultraviolet radiation is reduced and there are large crowds of people, air degradation occurs, one of the manifestations of which is smog.

Smog happens "classical"(a mixture of toxic fogs that occur when there is little cloud) and " photochemical"(a mixture of corrosive gases and aerosols that is formed without fog as a result of photochemical reactions). London and Los Angeles smog are the most dangerous. It absorbs up to 25% of solar radiation and 80% of ultraviolet rays, and the urban population suffers from this.

The ground-air environment is the most difficult for the life of organisms. The physical factors that make it up are very diverse: light, temperature. But organisms have adapted during evolution to these changing factors and have developed adaptation systems to ensure extreme adaptability to living conditions. Despite the inexhaustibility of air as an environmental resource, its quality is rapidly deteriorating. Air pollution is the most dangerous form of environmental pollution.

Questions and tasks for self-control

• 1. Explain why the ground-air environment is the most difficult for the life of organisms.
• 2. Give examples of adaptations in plants and animals to high and low temperatures.
• 3. Why does temperature have a strong influence on the life activity of any organisms?
• 4. Analyze how light affects the life of plants and animals.
• 5. Describe what photoperiodism is.
• 6. Prove that different waves of the light spectrum have different effects on living organisms, give examples. List what groups living organisms are divided into according to the way they use energy, give examples.
• 7. Comment on what causes seasonal phenomena in nature and how plants and animals react to them.
• 8. Explain why land-air pollution poses the greatest danger to living organisms.

Any habitat is a complex system that is distinguished by its unique set of abiotic and biotic factors, which, in fact, form this environment. Evolutionarily, the land-air environment arose later than the aquatic environment, which is associated with chemical transformations in the composition of atmospheric air. Most of the organisms with a nucleus live in a terrestrial environment, which is associated with great variety natural areas, physical, anthropogenic, geographical and other determining factors.

Characteristics of the ground-air environment

This environment consists of topsoil ( up to 2 km deep) and lower atmosphere ( up to 10 km). The environment is characterized by a wide variety of different life forms. Among the invertebrates we can note: insects, a few species of worms and mollusks, of course vertebrates predominate. The high oxygen content in the air caused evolutionary change respiratory system and the presence of a more intense metabolism.

The atmosphere has insufficient and often variable humidity, which often limits the spread of living organisms. In regions with high temperature and low humidity in eukaryotes, various idioadaptations arise, the purpose of which is to maintain the vital level of water (transformation of plant leaves into needles, accumulation of fat in the humps of a camel).

For terrestrial animals the phenomenon is characteristic photoperiodism, Thus most of animals are active only during the day or only at night. Also, the terrestrial environment is characterized by a significant amplitude of fluctuations in temperature, humidity and light intensity. Changes in these factors are associated with geographic location, changing seasons, and time of day. Due to the low density and pressure of the atmosphere, muscle and bone tissue has greatly developed and become more complex.

Vertebrates developed complex limbs adapted to support the body and move on solid substrates in conditions of low atmospheric density. In plants, progressive root system, allowing it to gain a foothold in the soil and transport substances to a considerable height. Land plants also have developed mechanical, basal tissues, phloem and xylem. Most plants have adaptations that protect them from excess transpiration.

The soil

Although soil is classified as a ground-air habitat, it is very different from the atmosphere in its physical properties:

• High density and pressure.
• Insufficient oxygen.
• Low amplitude of temperature fluctuations.
• Low light intensity.

In this regard, underground inhabitants have their own adaptations that are distinguishable from terrestrial animals.

Aquatic habitat

An environment that includes the entire hydrosphere, both salt and fresh water bodies. This environment is characterized by less diversity of life and its own special conditions. It is inhabited by small invertebrates that form plankton, cartilaginous and bony fish, mollusc worms, and a few species of mammals

Oxygen concentration varies significantly with depth. In places where the atmosphere and hydrosphere meet, there is much more oxygen and light than at depth. High pressure, which at great depths is 1000 times higher than atmospheric, determines the body shape of most underwater inhabitants. The amplitude of temperature changes is small, since the heat transfer from water is much less than that of the earth's surface.

Differences between the aquatic and land-air environments

As already mentioned, the main distinctive features different habitats are determined abiotic factors . The land-air environment is characterized by great biological diversity, high oxygen concentration, variable temperature and humidity, which are the main limiting factors for the settlement of animals and plants. Biological rhythms depend on the length of daylight, season and natural climate zone. In the aquatic environment, most of the nutrient organic substances are located in the water column or on its surface, only a small proportion is located at the bottom; in the ground-air environment, all organic substances are located on the surface.

Terrestrial inhabitants are distinguished by better development of sensory systems and nervous system in general, the musculoskeletal, circulatory and respiratory systems have also changed significantly. The skins are very different because they are functionally different. Lower plants (algae) are common under water, which in most cases do not have real organs; for example, rhizoids serve as attachment organs. The distribution of aquatic inhabitants is often associated with warm underwater currents. Along with the differences between these habitats, there are animals that have adapted to live in both. These animals include Amphibians.

And directly or indirectly affects its vital activity, growth, development, reproduction.

Each organism lives in a specific habitat. Elements or properties of the environment are called environmental factors. There are four environments of life on our planet: ground-air, water, soil, and other organisms. Living organisms are adapted to exist in certain living conditions and in a certain environment.

Some organisms live on land, others in soil, and others in water. Some chose the bodies of other organisms as their place of residence. Thus, four living environments are distinguished: ground-air, water, soil, other organism (Fig. 3). Each living environment is characterized by certain properties to which the organisms living in it are adapted.

Ground-air environment

The land-air environment is characterized by low air density, abundance of light, rapid temperature changes, and variable humidity. Therefore, organisms that live in the ground-air environment have well-developed supporting structures - the external or internal skeleton in animals, special structures in plants.

Many animals have organs of movement on the ground - limbs or wings for flight. Thanks to their developed visual organs, they see well. Land organisms have adaptations that protect them from fluctuations in temperature and humidity (for example, special body coverings, construction of nests, burrows). The plants have well-developed roots, stems, and leaves.

Water environment

The aquatic environment is characterized by a higher density compared to air, so water has a buoyant force. Many organisms “float” in the water column - small animals, bacteria, protists. Others are actively moving. To do this, they have locomotion organs in the form of fins or flippers (fish, whales, seals). Active swimmers, as a rule, have a streamlined body shape.

Many aquatic organisms (coastal plants, algae, coral polyps) lead an attached lifestyle, others are sedentary (some mollusks, starfish).

Water accumulates and retains heat, so there are no such sharp temperature fluctuations in water as on land. The amount of light in reservoirs varies depending on the depth. Therefore, autotrophs populate only that part of the reservoir where light penetrates. Heterotrophic organisms have mastered the entire water column.

Soil environment

There is no light in the soil environment, no sudden temperature changes, and high density. The soil is inhabited by bacteria, protists, fungi, and some animals (insects and their larvae, worms, moles, shrews). Soil animals have a compact body. Some of them have digging limbs, absent or underdeveloped organs of vision (mole).

The totality of environmental elements necessary for an organism, without which it cannot exist, is called the conditions of existence or living conditions.

On this page there is material on the following topics:

• shrew habitat terrestrial aerial aquatic soil or other

• organism as a habitat examples

• examples of organisms living in our environment

• what properties are characteristic of aquatic habitats

• organisms living in the body of other organisms

Questions for this article:

• What is habitat and living conditions?

• What are called environmental factors?

• What groups of environmental factors are distinguished?

• What properties are characteristic of the ground-air environment?

• Why is it believed that the land-air environment of life is more complex than the water or soil environment?

• What are the characteristics of organisms living inside other organisms?

• A feature of the land-air environment is that the organisms living here are surrounded by air, which is a mixture of gases, rather than their compounds. Air as an environmental factor is characterized by a constant composition - it contains 78.08% nitrogen, about 20.9% oxygen, about 1% argon, and 0.03% carbon dioxide. Synthesized from carbon dioxide and water organic matter and oxygen is released. During respiration, a reaction occurs that is the opposite of photosynthesis - the consumption of oxygen. Oxygen appeared on Earth approximately 2 billion years ago, when the formation of the surface of our planet took place during active volcanic activity. A gradual increase in oxygen content has occurred over the past 20 million years. Development played a major role in this flora land and ocean. Without air, neither plants, nor animals, nor aerobic microorganisms can exist. Most animals in this environment move on a solid substrate - soil. Air as a gaseous medium of life is characterized by low humidity, density and pressure, as well as a high oxygen content. The environmental factors operating in the ground-air environment are distinguished by a number of specific features: the light here is more intense compared to other environments, the temperature undergoes stronger fluctuations, humidity varies significantly depending on geographical location, season and time of day.

  Adaptations to the air environment.

  The most specific among the inhabitants of the air are, of course, flying forms. Already the peculiarities of the body’s appearance make it possible to notice its adaptations to flight. First of all, this is evidenced by the shape of his body.

  Body Shape:

  • · streamlining of the body (bird),
  • · presence of planes for support on air (wings, parachute),
  • · lightweight design (hollow bones),
  • · the presence of wings and other devices for flight (flying membranes, for example),
  • · lightening of the limbs (shortening, reducing muscle mass).

  Running animals also develop distinctive features, by which it is easy to recognize a good runner, and if he moves by jumping, then a jumper:

  • · powerful but light limbs (horse),
  • reduction of toes (horse, antelope),
  • · very powerful hind limbs and shortened forelimbs (hare, kangaroo),
  • · protective horny hooves on the toes (ungulates, calluses).

  Climbing organisms have a variety of adaptations. They may be common to plants and animals, or they may differ. A unique body shape can also be used for climbing:

  • · a thin long body, the loops of which can serve as a support when climbing (snake, vine),
  • · long flexible grasping or clinging limbs, and possibly the same tail (monkeys);
  • · body outgrowths - antennae, hooks, roots (peas, blackberries, ivy);
  • · sharp claws on the limbs or long, curved claws or strong grasping fingers (squirrel, sloth, monkey);
  • · powerful muscles of the limbs, allowing you to pull up the body and throw it from branch to branch (orangutan, gibbon).

  Some organisms have acquired a peculiar universality of adaptation to two at once. In climbing forms, a combination of climbing and flight characteristics is also possible. Many of them can climb a tall tree and make long jumps and flights. These are similar adaptations among inhabitants of the same habitat. Animals capable of fast running and flight are often found that simultaneously carry both sets of these adaptations.

  There are combinations of adaptive traits in an organism to life in various environments. All amphibians carry such parallel sets of adaptations. Some swimming purely aquatic organisms also have adaptations for flight. Let's remember flying fish or even squid. To solve one environmental problem, different adaptations can be used. Thus, the means of thermal insulation in bears and arctic foxes is thick fur and protective coloring. Thanks to the protective coloration, the organism becomes difficult to distinguish and, therefore, protected from predators. Bird eggs laid on sand or ground are gray and brown with spots, similar to the color of the surrounding soil. In cases where eggs are inaccessible to predators, they are usually colorless. Butterfly caterpillars are often green, the color of the leaves, or dark, the color of the bark or earth. Desert animals, as a rule, have a yellow-brown or sandy-yellow color. A monochromatic protective color is characteristic of both insects (locusts) and small lizards, as well as large ungulates (antelope) and predators (lion). Dismembering protective coloration in the form of alternating light and dark stripes and spots on the body. Zebras and tigers are difficult to see even at a distance of 50 - 40 m due to the coincidence of the stripes on the body with the alternation of light and shadow in the surrounding area. Discriminating coloration disrupts the idea of ​​the contours of the body, while frightening (warning) coloration also provides protection for organisms from enemies. Bright coloring is usually characteristic of poisonous animals and warns predators that the object of their attack is inedible. The effectiveness of warning coloration gave rise to a very interesting phenomenon of imitation - mimicry. Formations in the form of a hard chitinous cover in arthropods (beetles, crabs), shells in mollusks, scales in crocodiles, shells in armadillos and turtles protect them well from many enemies. The quills of hedgehogs and porcupines serve the same purpose. Improvement of the movement apparatus, nervous system, sensory organs, development of means of attack in predatory animals. The chemical sense organs of insects are amazingly sensitive. Male gypsy moths are attracted to the scent of a female's scent gland from a distance of 3 km. In some butterflies, the sensitivity of taste receptors is 1000 times greater than the sensitivity of the receptors of the human tongue. Nocturnal predators, such as owls, have excellent vision in the dark. Some snakes have well-developed thermolocation abilities. They distinguish objects at a distance if their temperature difference is only 0.2 °C.

  In the ground-air environment, the operating environmental factors have a number of characteristic features: higher light intensity compared to other environments, significant temperature fluctuations, changes in humidity depending on the geographical location, season and time of day. The impact of the factors listed above is inextricably linked with the movement of air masses - wind.

  In the process of evolution, living organisms of the land-air environment have developed characteristic anatomical-morphological, physiological, behavioral and other adaptations. Let us consider the features of the impact of basic environmental factors on plants and animals in the ground-air environment of life.

  Low air density determines its low lifting force and insignificant support. All inhabitants of the air are closely connected with the surface of the earth, which serves them for attachment and support. For most organisms, staying in the air is associated only with settling or searching for prey. The low lifting force of air determines the maximum mass and size of terrestrial organisms. The largest animals living on the surface of the earth are smaller than the giants of the aquatic environment.

  Low air density creates little resistance to movement. The ecological benefits of this property of the air environment were used by many land animals during evolution, acquiring the ability to fly: 75% of all species of land animals are capable of active flight.

  Due to the mobility of air that exists in the lower layers of the atmosphere, vertical and horizontal movement of air masses, passive flight is possible individual species organisms, anemochory is developed - dispersal with the help of air currents. Wind-pollinated plants have a number of adaptations that improve the aerodynamic properties of pollen.

  Their floral integument is usually reduced and the anthers are not protected from the wind in any way. In the distribution of plants, animals and microorganisms main role vertical convection air currents and weak winds play a role. Storms and hurricanes have a significant environmental impact on terrestrial organisms.

  In areas where there is constant wind strong wind As a rule, the species composition of small flying animals is poor, since they are not able to resist powerful air currents. The wind causes a change in the intensity of transpiration in plants, which is especially pronounced during hot winds that dry out the air, and can lead to the death of plants. The main ecological role of horizontal air movements (winds) is indirect and consists in enhancing or weakening the impact of such important environmental factors on terrestrial organisms. factors such as temperature and humidity.