Basic Needs Biotic & Abiotic
Basic Needs Objectives:
- Provide examples of how limited resources and continual threats can impact organisms.
- Describe why organism care may need to be altered over time.
- Develop an organism care plan that includes the basic tenants of animal care, including limited resources and continual threats.
The fitness (survival and reproduction) of organisms is impacted by two groups of factors:
Limited Resources
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Food/water
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Territory
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Potential mates
Continual Threats
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Parasites
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Predators
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Environmental Change
Let’s apply this to the chia seeds that were planted in the previous module. What are possibly limiting factors or potential threats to these seedlings?
Organism husbandry (care and breeding) attempts to maximize resources and remove potential threats.
Food & Water
Territory (space)
Potential Mates
Reduce Parasites
Remove Predators
Control Climate
The significance of quality organism care is apparent if you have spent time on a farm. Consistent and knowledgable practices are essential for successful crops and maintenance of livestock.
Effective organism care requires continual observation and assessment of conditions.
Often adjustments are made as an organism advances through life stages, whether it is early development or advanced aging.
Caretakers themselves also experience changing conditions and need to assess motivation, time, and resources. Some species can live many years and need more than one generation of caretakers.
Often people experience organism care through pets.
In many cases, having two or more of an animal reduces the amount of care required, as the animals can interact with each other rather than depending on a caretaker for social interactions.
Typically adequate care is more likely when an animal is positively responsive. Cats purr, knead, and make gestures that elicit and reinforce human behaviors.
Efforts have to be made to not overlook organisms that don’t “ask” for attention and care.
In some cases, organism care requires monitoring a population over generations.
These are the parents of the Dubia roaches we met in a previous guide.
Flour beetles raised as food for small carnivores can also be interesting to study over time.
Organisms often require different foods at different life stages. Changes can be dramatic, essential (required) dietary nutrients can shift over time.
Hornworm larvae are sold as food for larger reptiles, but can also be raised on their own through their pupal and adult stages.
Some foods, like hornworm larvae food, have to be prepared fresh on a regular basis.
When taking care of organisms consider:
This might not be the most important moment in your day,
but it may be the most important moment in that organism’s day.
Start this Guide’s Media Assignment here
Organism Care Plan
Select an organism (typically plant or animal) that you would potentially take care of over an extended period of time. This could be a potted plant, a plant in a garden, livestock, a companion animal, a wild population you are assisting, a wild organism that is being rehabilitated.
Develop a long-term care plan for the organism, it can be in bulleted checklist or paragraph form. Include in your plan:
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How you will address potentially limited resources like food, water, and housing.
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How you will address continued threats like diseases or potential predators/herbivores (if any)
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Whether care will need to be adjusted for different life stages, for example, an aging organism.
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How you will stay consistent with care over time as your life changes.
Upload your plan to Canvas when it is completed. This could be used in the final portfolio as an example of applying ecological principles (limited resources & continual threats) to animal care.
The next section is a visit to tidal pools; organisms surviving rapid changes and extreme conditions.
Check your knowledge. Can you:
- Provide examples of how limited resources and continual threats can impact organisms?
- Describe why organism care may need to be altered over time?
- Develop an organism care plan that includes the basic tenants of animal care, including limited resources and continual threats?
Go back to the Organism Care Guide Overview
Go forward to the Tidal Zones Page
Organism Care Guide Contents
Complete all four of these sections before taking the quiz and making your media piece.
Back to Module 6
This week’s overview
This Guide
6B: Organism Care
Products Information
6B: Quiz & Media
