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Do you know if there's any organisms living under extreme environment like lava? In this blog post, we are going to talk about it! You have to pay attention to it in I/GCSE Biology ☺️
You have to remember why living in extreme environment so special in I/GCSE Biology!
Extreme temperatures
Extremophile
- an organism that is adapted to an extreme condition of the environment
- Few organisms to compete with
Adaptations needed to survive ➡️ extreme
- Some animals e.g. Pompeii worm = Extremophile
- Extreme high temperatures 🔥 ➡️ few places on earth e.g. hot spring ♨️ or around hydrothermal vents
- Hydrothermal vents – a crack in the ocean floor where heat and chemicals escape from the rocks below into the water
Do you remember the topic regarding enzyme in I/GCSE Biology?
- Most organisms die at 40°C – proteins in their cells break down
- Bacteria that survive high temperatures have proteins that don’t break down easily
Let's look at the picture of a Pompeii worm!
No light
- Deep in ocean 🌊 ➡️ great water pressure + no light
- Many organisms live around hydrothermal vents on ocean floor – depend on bacteria that use chemosynthesis ➡️ combine chemicals from the water using heat to make sugars for food
- The bacteria are producers – organisms that make their own food
Too many nutrients
- Organisms need nutrients to make chemicals inside their cells
- Concentration of nutrients outside cell too high ➡️ water drawn out of cell ➡️ fatal for organisms
- Some microorganisms ➡️ high levels of chemicals e.g. amino acids, sugars – stops water move out
Too little oxygen
Do you remember the topic of aerobic respiration in I/GCSE Biology?
- Large organisms depend on oxygen for aerobic respiration
- Few places have no or little oxygen e.g. deep below ground
- Microorganisms get energy using chemicals e.g. sulphur to release energy in aerobic respiration
- E.g. of aerobic respiration ➡️ fermentation of glucose by yeast
References:
- "Pompeii worm", https://nereusprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/worm-01.png
- "Deep Sea Creatures", https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bPeOe2wBYbs/maxresdefault.jpg
- "Nutrient pollution". Image from the internet.
- "Fermentation in microorganism", https://image.slidesharecdn.com/fermentationinmicroorganism1-170906101326/95/fermentation-in-microorganism-21-638.jpg?cb=1620928629
And we're done with this topic! Well Done!
Drafted by Alyssa (Biology)