Week 3: Animals and ecosystems at the extremes

Introduction

Figure 1

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Two contrasting photographs, one of tall rock formations in a sandy desert and the other of penguins approaching the edge of an ice shelf in Antarctica.

Figure 1

Studying ecosystems in the most inhospitable places reveals a range of adaptations to survival. Desert or polar ecosystems seem remote, but their links with other ecosystems are very important.

Conditions in deserts and around the poles are harsh and the organisms that live in these habitats have a range of adaptations that enable them to live there, though often on the margins of survival. So, understanding how organisms survive is part of our understanding of the ecosystems as a whole. Studying how the organisms fit into an ecosystem involves considering a number of features. You will look at the integration of behaviour anatomy, physiology and biochemistry in diverse vertebrates that live in extreme conditions.

Figure 2

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Two contrasting photographs of animals from cold and warm envirobnments. An Adélie penguin in Antarctica and a group of meerkats in a sandy desert.

Figure 2