Explore how short‐term and long‐term environmental changes affect organisms and traits in subsequent populations

Question 1

04:26

Question 2

04:28

Short-term and Long-term Changes

Entire species, populations, and individual organisms are directly and indirectly dependent on their environment. Thus, if environmental conditions change, the changes will affect the animals and plants living there. There are generally two types of environmental change, short-term and long-term. Short-term environmental changes, like floods, don’t give populations time to adapt to change and force them to move or die. These changes typically occur over days to hundreds of years. Long-term environmental changes, such as climate change, occur slowly over time and affect organisms traits over generations. These changes occur over thousands to millions or even billions of years.

1

Which of the following are short-term environmental changes?

climate change

hurricane

wildfire

deforestation

1

Which of the following are long-term environmental changes?

climate change

hurricane

wildfire

deforestation

Organisms that encounter environmental change have three options:

Organisms can adapt to the changes, but this process requires time and successful reproduction of many generations.
Organisms can migrate to a new area that meets its current needs.
Organisms can perish due to inability to survive or escape current conditions.

Question 5

04:00

Adaptations

An adaptation is any structure or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment. Adaptations are the processes of a population in response to a changing habitat in order to become better suited for survival and reproduction.

Structural adaptations are physical features of an organism like the bill on a bird or the fur on a bear that help organisms survive and/or reproduce.

Question 6

01:47

Behavioral adaptations are the things organisms do to survive and/or reproduce. For example, bird calls and migration are behavioral adaptations.

Question 7

01:23

Physiological adaptations are changes within the body to help the organism survive and/or reproduce such as producing venom, secreting slime, or changing fur color.

Question 8

03:22

Natural Selection

The process where organisms that are best suited to their environment survive and pass on their genetic traits in increasing number to successive generations. At the same time, organisms that are less adapted fail to survive or multiply at a lower rate, and tend to be eliminated from the ecosystem.

1

Bank swallows are birds that make their nests on the edges of rivers but can’t swim or breathe underwater. They feed on flying insects and in the spring, they lay four or five eggs. What change in these birds will likely be brought about by flooding in their habitat?

Laying more eggs in the spring.

Building nests higher up the banks.

Eating different kinds of insects.

Learning to breathe underwater.

1

Every year, a region of the Gulf of Mexico experiences low oxygen levels due to heightened algae growth from excess runoff from the Mississippi River. Which of the following statements best describes the likely impacts of reduced oxygen on aquatic organisms?

begin using algae as a food source.

move to an area with more oxygen.

start to breathe carbon dioxide gas.

compete with the algae for space.

1

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) has two forms, a white-bodied and a dark-bodied form. The table provided shows the percentages of each type in a moth population over several years' time.
What environmental change would lead to these changes in the population of peppered moths?

The primary food sources for the peppered moth disappears.

The trees became lighter in color.

Predators of peppered moths develop a distaste for dark colored moths.

The climate in the area where the moths live suddenly becomes much cooler.

1

Robins migrate south during the winter months to avoid harsh conditions and then return north during the summer. What environmental condition are the robins most likely responding to in order to determine when the seasons are changing?

The tilt of Earth on its axis.

Fluctuations in predator populations.

Changing length of daylight hours.

Increasing availability of water.

1

An illustration of a water lily is provided.
If annual rainfall increased and caused ponds in this habitat to become deeper, how might the traits of these water lilies change after many generations?

brighter flowers

longer stems

wider leaves

thicker roots

1

Koalas live almost entirely on leaves from eucalyptus trees and they are native exclusively to Australia. Destruction of the Koalas’ habitat will most likely lead to -

koalas eating other kinds of leaves.

the koalas becoming larger.

the reduction of the koala population.

koalas producing more offspring.

1

The Resurrection Fern (Selaginella lepidophylla) can shrivel up into a ball and remain that way for many years. When moisture is available, the dry leaves absorb the water and unroll. The plant will then turn green and grow. Under which environmental conditions did this ability develop?

Atmosphere with little carbon dioxide.

Climate including periods of prolonged drought.

High density of many competitor plant species.

Abundant insect pollinators of many varieties.

1

The population of an organism will likely decrease if there is an increase in -

soil nutrients available to the organism.

predators that prey on the organism.

food resources eaten by the organism.

rainfall in the habitat of the organism.

1

The Grey Mangrove tree (Avicennia marina) grows in the salty, coastal regions of South America, Africa, and Australia. Mangrove forests are found in areas where high tide brings in salt water and then the tide recedes, leaving the soil behind very salty. Which of the following traits would be found in populations of Mangroves living in this environment?

underground bulbs for the storage of food

flowers which attract insect pollinators

a mechanism for removing salt from water

larger leaves to absorb more sunlight

Effects of Environmental Change

Explore how short‐term and long‐term environmental changes affect organisms and traits in subsequent populations

Adaptations

Natural Selection

Effects of Environmental Change

Explore how short‐term and long‐term environmental changes affect organisms and traits in subsequent populations

Short-term and Long-term Changes

Which of the following are short-term environmental changes?

Which of the following are long-term environmental changes?

Organisms that encounter environmental change have three options:

Adaptations

Natural Selection

Bank swallows are birds that make their nests on the edges of rivers but can’t swim or breathe underwater. They feed on flying insects and in the spring, they lay four or five eggs. What change in these birds will likely be brought about by flooding in their habitat?

Every year, a region of the Gulf of Mexico experiences low oxygen levels due to heightened algae growth from excess runoff from the Mississippi River. Which of the following statements best describes the likely impacts of reduced oxygen on aquatic organisms?

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) has two forms, a white-bodied and a dark-bodied form. The table provided shows the percentages of each type in a moth population over several years' time.
What environmental change would lead to these changes in the population of peppered moths?

Robins migrate south during the winter months to avoid harsh conditions and then return north during the summer. What environmental condition are the robins most likely responding to in order to determine when the seasons are changing?

An illustration of a water lily is provided.
If annual rainfall increased and caused ponds in this habitat to become deeper, how might the traits of these water lilies change after many generations?

Koalas live almost entirely on leaves from eucalyptus trees and they are native exclusively to Australia. Destruction of the Koalas’ habitat will most likely lead to -

The Resurrection Fern (Selaginella lepidophylla) can shrivel up into a ball and remain that way for many years. When moisture is available, the dry leaves absorb the water and unroll. The plant will then turn green and grow. Under which environmental conditions did this ability develop?

The population of an organism will likely decrease if there is an increase in -

Short-term and Long-term Changes

Which of the following are short-term environmental changes?

Which of the following are long-term environmental changes?

Organisms that encounter environmental change have three options:

Bank swallows are birds that make their nests on the edges of rivers but can’t swim or breathe underwater. They feed on flying insects and in the spring, they lay four or five eggs. What change in these birds will likely be brought about by flooding in their habitat?

Every year, a region of the Gulf of Mexico experiences low oxygen levels due to heightened algae growth from excess runoff from the Mississippi River. Which of the following statements best describes the likely impacts of reduced oxygen on aquatic organisms?

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) has two forms, a white-bodied and a dark-bodied form. The table provided shows the percentages of each type in a moth population over several years' time.
What environmental change would lead to these changes in the population of peppered moths?

Robins migrate south during the winter months to avoid harsh conditions and then return north during the summer. What environmental condition are the robins most likely responding to in order to determine when the seasons are changing?

An illustration of a water lily is provided.
If annual rainfall increased and caused ponds in this habitat to become deeper, how might the traits of these water lilies change after many generations?

Koalas live almost entirely on leaves from eucalyptus trees and they are native exclusively to Australia. Destruction of the Koalas’ habitat will most likely lead to -

The Resurrection Fern (Selaginella lepidophylla) can shrivel up into a ball and remain that way for many years. When moisture is available, the dry leaves absorb the water and unroll. The plant will then turn green and grow. Under which environmental conditions did this ability develop?

The population of an organism will likely decrease if there is an increase in -

Effects of Environmental Change

Explore how short‐term and long‐term environmental changes affect organisms and traits in subsequent populations

Adaptations

Natural Selection

Effects of Environmental Change

Explore how short‐term and long‐term environmental changes affect organisms and traits in subsequent populations

Short-term and Long-term Changes

Which of the following are short-term environmental changes?

Which of the following are long-term environmental changes?

Organisms that encounter environmental change have three options:

Adaptations

Natural Selection

Bank swallows are birds that make their nests on the edges of rivers but can’t swim or breathe underwater. They feed on flying insects and in the spring, they lay four or five eggs. What change in these birds will likely be brought about by flooding in their habitat?

Every year, a region of the Gulf of Mexico experiences low oxygen levels due to heightened algae growth from excess runoff from the Mississippi River. Which of the following statements best describes the likely impacts of reduced oxygen on aquatic organisms?

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) has two forms, a white-bodied and a dark-bodied form. The table provided shows the percentages of each type in a moth population over several years' time. What environmental change would lead to these changes in the population of peppered moths?

Robins migrate south during the winter months to avoid harsh conditions and then return north during the summer. What environmental condition are the robins most likely responding to in order to determine when the seasons are changing?

An illustration of a water lily is provided. If annual rainfall increased and caused ponds in this habitat to become deeper, how might the traits of these water lilies change after many generations?

Koalas live almost entirely on leaves from eucalyptus trees and they are native exclusively to Australia. Destruction of the Koalas’ habitat will most likely lead to -

The Resurrection Fern (Selaginella lepidophylla) can shrivel up into a ball and remain that way for many years. When moisture is available, the dry leaves absorb the water and unroll. The plant will then turn green and grow. Under which environmental conditions did this ability develop?

The population of an organism will likely decrease if there is an increase in -

Short-term and Long-term Changes

Which of the following are short-term environmental changes?

Which of the following are long-term environmental changes?

Organisms that encounter environmental change have three options:

Bank swallows are birds that make their nests on the edges of rivers but can’t swim or breathe underwater. They feed on flying insects and in the spring, they lay four or five eggs. What change in these birds will likely be brought about by flooding in their habitat?

Every year, a region of the Gulf of Mexico experiences low oxygen levels due to heightened algae growth from excess runoff from the Mississippi River. Which of the following statements best describes the likely impacts of reduced oxygen on aquatic organisms?

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) has two forms, a white-bodied and a dark-bodied form. The table provided shows the percentages of each type in a moth population over several years' time. What environmental change would lead to these changes in the population of peppered moths?

Robins migrate south during the winter months to avoid harsh conditions and then return north during the summer. What environmental condition are the robins most likely responding to in order to determine when the seasons are changing?

An illustration of a water lily is provided. If annual rainfall increased and caused ponds in this habitat to become deeper, how might the traits of these water lilies change after many generations?

Koalas live almost entirely on leaves from eucalyptus trees and they are native exclusively to Australia. Destruction of the Koalas’ habitat will most likely lead to -

The Resurrection Fern (Selaginella lepidophylla) can shrivel up into a ball and remain that way for many years. When moisture is available, the dry leaves absorb the water and unroll. The plant will then turn green and grow. Under which environmental conditions did this ability develop?

The population of an organism will likely decrease if there is an increase in -

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) has two forms, a white-bodied and a dark-bodied form. The table provided shows the percentages of each type in a moth population over several years' time.
What environmental change would lead to these changes in the population of peppered moths?

An illustration of a water lily is provided.
If annual rainfall increased and caused ponds in this habitat to become deeper, how might the traits of these water lilies change after many generations?

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) has two forms, a white-bodied and a dark-bodied form. The table provided shows the percentages of each type in a moth population over several years' time.
What environmental change would lead to these changes in the population of peppered moths?

An illustration of a water lily is provided.
If annual rainfall increased and caused ponds in this habitat to become deeper, how might the traits of these water lilies change after many generations?