Your Roots Help some seeds grow roots and consider the function of a plant's root system. If these natural survival resources are not available, some living things will, over time, adapt to their environment and find a way to survive anyway. The process of adaptation occurs in all living things. For example, some plants that live deep below the surface of the ocean never see sunlight, yet they are able to survive. Sometimes, plants and animals that share a habitat find a way to share the natural resources, allowing both to survive.
Many organisms live together in relationships where one depends upon the other.
This interdependent relationship is known as mutualism . Through respiration , many animals take in oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. For many plants, the respiration process uses carbon dioxide to produce oxygen through photosynthesis . An instinct is a behavior with which an animal is born. For example, from birth, a puppy instinctively knows to suck milk from its mother.