• Question: HOW DO ANIMALS EVELOVE TO THE ATMOSTPHERE

    Asked by 11mstock to Callum, Gina, Katie, Michelle, Sam on 16 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Michelle Linterman

      Michelle Linterman answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      Hi 11mstock,

      Great question, the atmosphere is are the gases that cover the earth, and which gases surround the earth are so important for evolution.

      The very early atmosphere didn’t contain much oxygen, what you and I need to breathe. But then something amazing happened that allowed all of the things alive today to evolve. Small germs, called cyanobacteria, started to produce oxygen that started to fill the atmosphere, once there was lots of oxygen then our very distant ancestors started to evolve.

      I hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions.

      Michelle

    • Photo: Callum Johnston

      Callum Johnston answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      The earth’s atmosphere has changed massively over time and hence organisms (animals and plants) have had to adapt to these changes. During the time of the dinosaurs the amount of carbon dioxide was much higher than today, this meant there were many more plants growing on the planet and so there was loads of food available for the dinosaurs to eat. This is one of the reasons the Dinosaurs managed to evolve to be so big compared to the animals we have today.

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