#AP Biology: Environmental Responses & Communication - The Night Before 🚀

Hey! Let's get you prepped for the AP Bio exam. We're focusing on how organisms sense, respond, and communicate – it's all about survival and passing those genes on! Remember, everything is connected, so keep an eye out for links between topics.

#Environmental Sensing: The Key to Survival 🔑

Organisms are constantly reacting to their surroundings. This ability to detect and respond to environmental changes is called environmental sensing. It's crucial for survival and reproduction, which are the driving forces of evolution.

#Organism to Environment

Organisms use both behavioral and physiological mechanisms to respond to environmental cues:

• Behavioral Mechanisms: These are actions organisms take in response to their environment. Think of it as their immediate reaction!

  • Examples:
    • Migratory birds using the sun and stars to navigate 🧭
    • Insects timing reproduction based on day length 🌞

• Physiological Mechanisms: These involve internal changes like gene expression, enzyme activity, and hormone release. It's the body's way of adjusting!

  • Examples:
    • Plants changing leaf shape in response to light intensity 🌿
    • Animals changing fur color based on temperature 🐻

#Examples of Environmental Responses

• Photoperiodism: Plants sense day length to regulate growth and flowering. Short-day plants (like poinsettias) flower when days are short, while long-day plants (like wheat) flower when days are long. 💡

• Phototropism: Plants grow towards light to maximize photosynthesis.

  

  Caption: Plants exhibit phototropism by bending their stems towards the light source.

• Taxis: Animals move towards or away from a stimulus (like light or chemicals...