Water is very essential for life. Write any three features both for plants and animals which enable them to survive in water scarce environment.
Answers
Plants:
- Roots branch out into several rootlets thereby expanding the surface area for absorption of water. Tap roots are also present in some plants. A taproot is a large root from which other roots sprout laterally, thus increasing surface area.
Plants lose water by life processes such as transpiration. To minimize the water loss by transpiration, plants have some adaptations.
- Sunken and hairy (trichomes) stomata are found in plants like Nerium.
- In desert plants, leaves curl up into spines (modified leaves) or are absent to reduce the surface area for transpiration.
Animals:
- Hormones such as vasopressin (ADH) enable reabsorption of water from urine when the organism is in dire need of water.
- Several animals derive water from the foods that they eat. Some have adapted by lowering their metabolic rate to reduce water loss by respiratory evaporation.
- Some animals secrete a mucous layer to reduce the water lost by perspiration. This effectively traps outgoing water and prevents it from evaporating.