Adaptations and the Environment

If an environment changes, plants & Animals will do 1 of 3 things1 Become extinct

2 Move to another environment or location (migrate)

3 Traits change over time (change genetically) Individuals with variations that are favorable in the new environment will survive and reproduce. The population with the favorable variation will increase! ex: Gray moths on gray bark will increase.Adaptations and the Environment

Tutorial: Adaptations and Survivalhttp://lgfl.skoool.co.uk/content/keystage3/biology/pc/learningsteps/ADSLC/launch.html

What is an Adaptation?Adaptations are favorable variations of traits that help an organism better survive in a given environment!

Ex: shape of a beak or claw, teeth, antlers, feathers/fur (body coverings), the presence of a tail or movement

There are two types of adaptations:1. Physical Body Structures2. Behavioral Actions

Examples of Physical AdaptationsStructure of TeethAnimals that eat meat, are called Carnivores.Sharp Canine Teeth and Incisors in the top jaw indicate a Carnivore Animals that eat plants, they are called herbivores.Flat Molars and no incisors on the top jaw indicate an Herbivore

simplyteeth.comPHYSICAL ADAPTATIONSDense Root Structures in Plants(Allows plants to grow in compacted soil and anchors plants)

Hollow Hair(Insulates animals from hot & cold)Like insulation around your home!

Physical Adaptation: Hollow bonesBirds have hollow bones (nothing on the inside) to help them fly.It makes them light enough or less dense to soar through the air.

PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONSDesert Plants have small leaves or spines and/or wax coatings to reduce the loss of water from the plant.

Physical adaptationsArctic Animals have short ears, legs, & round bodies to reduce the surface area of their bodies. This reduces the amount of body heat loss. Keeps them warmer!!

Physical Adaptation: VisionOwls can see at night because of their large eyes.

More physical adaptations

Animals with armored plates protect them from predators and harm.

Physical Adaptations of birdsBirds and their beaks: beaks allow them to eat.This house finch has a short, stubby beak for eating seeds.

More physical adaptationsHummingbirds long pointed beaks allow them to reach inside the flower for nectar.

More Physical AdaptationsThe European goldfinch eats insects with its sharp, pointed beak.

Physical Adaptation: ClawsClaws, or talons, help animals to catch and eat their food.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Ospreys talons Physical Adaptation: Forked tonguesThey allow reptiles to smell and to tell which direction the smell is coming from.

Physical Adaptation: CamouflageCamouflageWhere organisms are colored or shaped like their surroundings.This adaptation helps protect organisms from their enemies. On the other hand, camouflage also helps a predator "fit in" to its environment so that it won't be seen very easily as it comes up on its prey.Take the Arctic fox. During summer months, the Arctic fox has a brown coat. During winter, the coat of the Arctic fox is white, matching its icy, snowy surroundings.

More Physical CamouflageHawkfish changes colors to blend in with their environment.

Even more physical camouflageA tiger uses its stripes to blend into grass, leaves and trees.

Physical Adaptations: MimicryAn adaptation in which an organism is trying to look, act, or sound like another organism to survive (or for their own protection).Like a Copycat!!!Plant mimicking and insects trying to get pollinated.Caterpillar mimicking bird droppings.

MimicryMonarch butterflies are toxic to predators, and you can tell from their bright colors, so the Viceroy mimics the Monarch to protect itself.

Monarch (original) Viceroy (imitator)

MimicryThe King Snake tries to imitate the Poisonous Coral Snake.

Behavioral Adaptations: InstinctWhat does it mean to act on instinct or have an instinct?

An instinct occurs naturally without thinking (sneezing, tripping).

It does not have to be taught, it is natural.

Animals are born with instincts.Behavioral Adaptation: INSTINCTBears or Squirrels hibernate in the winter to escape the cold.

Behavioral Adaptation: InstinctSea turtles migrate (move somewhere else during a season) no one tells them to, it is something that naturally happens.

Behavioral Adaptation: InstinctSnakes like the rattlesnake shake their rattles to warn predators to stay away.A snake would rather hide, not attack.

Behavioral Adaptation: InstinctTurtles withdraw their bodies into their shells to hide from predators.Desert Tortoise burrow into the ground to escape the heat during the day time.

Behavioral Adaptation: Instinct

Chameleons change color because of their mood, or because they sense a predator nearby.

AcclimationAn individual changes in response to the environment over the course of its life.NOT passed on through genes

What does it mean to learn something?

You are taught it, it is not an instinct.

You observe it being done, and then you practice it yourselfAcclimation: Learned Cheetahs watch their mothers to learn how to hunt.

Acclimation: LEARNEDChimpanzees learn sounds in order to communicate with each other.

Wrap it Up..Adaptations are qualities that help animals to survive in a given environment.There are physical and behavioral adaptations. Physical AdaptationsCamouflage helps an animal hide by changing color.Mimicry helps an animal survive by imitating something more dangerous. Behavioral AdaptationsInstinct is natural. AcclimationNew behavior is learnedThe End