Animal Adaptations Investigation at

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

Let’s go to the Zoo!

What is an Adaptation?

• Adaptations are characteristics that have developed to allow an organism to be successful in its environment.

• They are a result of an evolutionary process called Natural Selection.

• This process takes place over many generations.

Different types of Adaptations

• Although most adaptations are interrelated, there are four main types that can be identified:

• Structural• Behavioural• Physiological• Reproductive

Structural Adaptations

A Giraffe has the same number of vertebrae

(seven) as a human. Why has it evolved to have such

a long neck?

The Thorny Devil lives in a dry desert environment. It

has spikes covering its entire body. Why is this an

advantage?

Physical characteristics that allow an animal to be successful in their environment.

Behavioural Adaptations

Arctic Terns fly over 40,000km each year during their migration from the breeding shores of the Arctic to their feeding grounds in the southern hemisphere. Why?

Wolves live in packs varying in number from two to thirty. What advantage is there to living as a group?

Adaptations of individuals and groups of animals that increase their ability to survive in their habitat. (e.g. feeding, communication and social behaviours).

Physiological Adaptations

Llamas live at high altitudes where less oxygen is available. Their blood is unique because they have more red blood cells per unit of blood then any other mammal. Their haemoglobin, a type of red blood cell which carries oxygen, allows them to move oxygen quickly and in sufficient quantities around their body to ensure optimal body function.

An animals ability to control and regulate mechanical, biochemical and physical functions of the body. It also describes their ability to detect and respond to changes in their surrounding environment.

Physiological Adaptations

The Pit Viper has tubular pits between its nostrils and each eye on the sides of its head. These pits contain sensitive membranes that detect infrared radiation. The pit viper prefers to hunt in the cool of the night. What do pit vipers use the tubular pits for? How is this adaptation an advantage?

Can you think of another physiological adaptation that most snakes have?

The Pit Viper has tubular pits between its nostrils and each eye on the sides of its head. These pits contain sensitive membranes that detect infrared radiation. The pit viper prefers to hunt in the cool of the night. What do pit vipers use the tubular pits for? How is this adaptation an advantage?

Reproductive AdaptationsAnimals use different systems and strategies to optimise their reproductive success in their specific environments.

Female kangaroos enter into heat, mate and conceive within a few days after giving birth. In other words, a female kangaroo is always pregnant. How is this an advantage?

After one week of development the embryo enters a dormant state that lasts until the previous young leaves the pouch. Harsh environmental conditions can also cause the embryo to remain dormant until more optimal conditions arrive. How does this benefit the kangaroo?

Reproductive Adaptations

The female Emperor Penguin lays one egg and then returns to sea to feed. The male is then in charge of incubating the egg until hatching and is also responsible for feeding the chick its first meal. Why does the male of this species take on the “motherly” role of incubation?

Animal Adaptation Comparisons

Arctic Tundra Adaptations