GLENDOWIE COLLEGE
YEAR 13 BIOLOGY
ACHIEVEMENT STANDARD: BIOLOGY 3.4
DESCRIBE ANIMALS BEHAVIOUR AND PLANT RESPONSES
UNIT: SPECIES RELATIONSHIPS
Credits: 4
Assessment: External
SPECIFC LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this unit, students should be able to:
 Explain the difference between learned and innate behaviour
 Explain what is meant by stereotyped and state when such behaviour is used
 Explain what is meant by fixed action pattern and state when such behaviour is used
 Describe the role of sign stimuli in innate behaviour
 Explain what competition is
 Explain the difference between intraspecific and interspecific competition
 Explain what is meant by Gause’s competitive exclusion principle
 Describe the resources for which plants compete
 Explain why these resources (light, minerals, water) are important to plants
 Explain what an adaptation is
 Explain what legumes are
 Explain what succession is
 Explain the difference between primary and secondary succession
 Explain what a lichen is
 Describe biochemical defences (antibiotics, caffeine, chillies, canavaine, cyanogenesis,
pungent and volatile chemicals, pyrethrins, tannins, alkaloids, phenols, strychnine, morphine,
nicotine, digitoxin, peppermint, cinnamon, cloves) that plants have to protect themselves and
give examples
 Describe structural defences (thorns, spines, prickles, stings, low growing points,
divarication, seed masting, hiding, waxy cuticle and epidermis, trapping animals, enclosing
seeds in a hard coat or prickles) that plants have to protect themselves and give examples
 Explain the difference between passive and active defences in plants
 Explain how passive and active defences operate
 Explain what alleopathy is and give an example
 Explain what commensalisms is and give an example
 Explain the difference between an epiphyte and a liana
 Explain what parasitism is and give an example
 Explain what haustoria are
 Explain what mutualism is and give an example
 Explain what a legume is and give examples
 Explain what mycorrhizae are
 Describe the benefits of group behaviour
 Describe the disadvantages of group behaviour
 Explain what is meant by cooperative behaviour
 Explain what clumping is and give an example
 Explain the difference between schools and flocks and give examples
 explain what is meant by the term territory
 Explain what altruism is
 Explain what kin selection is
 Discuss the role of altruistic behaviour in a highly organised social group
 Describe various organisations within groups where cooperative defence reduces the
change of predation (e.g. baboon troops)
 Describe an example of a species that exhibits cooperative hunting behaviour
 Describe the advantages to the individual and the group in cooperative hunting
 Explain what breeding behaviour is
 Explain what courtship is
 Describe the role of courtship behaviours in breeding
 Explain what is meant by pair bonding
 Explain what is meant by male display and give an example
 Explain the basis of mate selection
 Explain the role of territories, male displays and combat in mate selection
 Explain the difference between the following mating systems: monogamy and the various
forms of polygamy (polyandry, polygynandry, polygyny)
 Describe which mating systems involves care of the young by either the male or female
parents
 Explain what is meant by parental care
 Explain why parental care is not considered to be altruism
 Explain why animals that provide no or little care produce a large number of offspring
 Explain why animals that provide a large amount of care produce only a very small
number of offspring
 Explain what communication is
 Describe the forms of communication and give examples
 Explain why communication is important
 Describe three examples of animals that show social behaviour and describe the
behaviour involved
 Explain the difference between aggression and agonistic behaviour
 Describe examples of aggression and agonistic behaviour in the following behaviours –
sexual; parental, parent-offspring, and sibling; territorial and competitive; dominance (as in a
hierarchy)
 Explain what is meant by sexual dimorphism
 Explain the difference between a territory and a home range
 Describe, using examples, signals and behaviours used by
animals to establish and maintain their territories
 Explain what a hierarchy is
 Explain the purpose and advantages of a hierarchy
 Describe ways that rank is maintained in a hierarchy
 Describe behaviours used to consolidate relationships in a
hierarchy (grooming, displays, vocalisations, ceremonies etc)
 Describe an example of a hierarchy
 Describe the adaptations of predators for prey capture (pursuit
strategy, ambush strategy)
 Describe the adaptations of prey to avoid detection and/or capture
by a predator (well-developed sense organs, behaviour defences, coloration, chemical)
 Explain the difference between Batesian and Mullerian mimicry