Welcome You are about to begin to work on solving the case of the mysterious mammals!

Our class has skulls, pelts, feet, and scat examples that belong to five different unknown mammals. In addition, we have a skull, a pelt, a foot, and a scat example that belong to a cat that you can use to compare to our unknown samples. Your job is to work with your classmates to make observations and inferences to determine what mystery mammals are in our wooden case! Along the way, you will learn all about the class of animals that humans belong to called mammals.

During your quest, you will use this journal to record your notes and observations. At the end of the unit, you will share your findings on one of the mystery animals. You will earn points on your journal and your presentation. You will have many opportunities to use the new vocabulary necessary to understanding and learning about mammals. You will also have a unit test.

Make sure as we continue with the unit and work at centers that you fill in the important information into your field journal your vocabulary organizer. Make sure your journal entries are complete.

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Scientific InquiryStandard 1 – Analysis, Inquiry, and Design

Classifying Arranging or distributing objects or events in classes according to some method or system.

Students will examine mammal skulls, and then group the skulls: herbivores, carnivore, omnivore.

Formulating Constructing a prediction or assumption of what is thought likely to be trueHypothesis based on reasoning, which serves as a tentative testable theory.

Using their knowledge about teeth, students will independently formulate a hypothesis about what the mammal eats based on skull observations.

Recording Data Collecting bits of information about objects and events which illustrate a specific situation.

Students will examine the mammal skulls, then sketch and record their observations about the eye placement types of teeth, and brain case. Students will formulate questions with the aid of references for guiding their search for explanations Students will create a Power-Point presentation to present their findings.

Predicting Making a forecast or estimate of what future events may occur.

Based on their skull observations and knowledge about mammals, students will predict the types of food each mammal could eat.

Generalizing Drawing general conclusions from information Warm blooded animals require a great amount of food (energy) in

order to maintain their body temperature. Predators require sharp, pointed canines to stab, grab, and hold on to

their prey. Mammals with side facing eyes have monocular vision which gives

them an early warning to possibly escape danger.

Inferring Making a statement based on reasoning to explain an observation. This mammal eats plants only because it only has flat molars and weak

incisors.

Observing Becoming aware of an object or event by using any of the senses to identify properties.

Students will observe the types of teeth in each skull, compare the size of the brain case relative to the size of the skull, and identify the location of the eyes.

Manipulating Materials Handling or treating materials, equipment or procedures skillfully and effectively.

Students will carefully handle the mammal skulls.

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Mammals Vocabulary

aestivate to pass the summer in an inactive or resting state

adapt to change so as to fit a new situation, adjust behavior for survival

binocular vision forward facing eyes, which focus simultaneously on an object, giving the animal

depth and distance perception

diurnal active during the day

diversity the state of being unlike; a variety

hibernate to pass the winter in an inactive or resting state

habitat the natural environment of a plant or animal

extinction putting an end to; disappearance

migrate to travel from one region or climate usually on a regular schedule to another for feeding or breeding

herbivore an animal that feeds on plants

carnivore a flesh-eating animal, a meat eating mammal or a plant that eats insects

locomotion animal movement: run, swim, hop, fly, slither

omnivore an animal that eats a diet of both plants and animals

invertebrate without a spinal column or backbone

monocular vision eyes are placed on the side of the skull giving the animal a very wide peripheral

vision, which gives the animal an early warning in spotting hungry predators

nocturnal an animal that is active at night

predator an animal that eats the flesh of others; the hunter

prey the object of the hunt; the victim or quarry

vertebrate animals with a backbone

conservation the preservation of a resource, especially natural resources such as soil,

water, or forests from loss, pollution or waste.

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warm-blooded animals that maintain their body temperature regardless of the surrounding temperature

endothermic an animal that makes its own internal heat by burning food

Name _________________________________ New York State Mammals

Date _________________

Use books, Internet, your own observations, friends and family members to list mammals that live in New York

State.1. _______________________________

2. ________________________________

3. _______________________________

4. _______________________________

5. _______________________________

6. ______________________________

7. ______________________________

8. ______________________________

9. ______________________________

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10.______________________________

Name _____________________Mammals are vertebrates (backboned animals) that feed their young on mother’s milk. There are approximately 4,260 species of mammals. When you think of an animal it is likely to be a mammal. People are mammals. Cats and dogs are mammals. So are such farm animals as cattle, goats, hogs, and horses. Mammals also include such fascinating animals as porcupines, gorillas, giraffes, rhinoceroses and kangaroos.

Mammals are found to exist all over the world in all different climates. Mammals such as chimpanzees and elephants dwell in tropical regions. Arctic foxes, polar bears and many other mammals make their home near the North Pole. Camels and coyotes live in deserts. Some mammals even live in the sea such as dolphins, seals and whales. One group of mammals, the bats, can fly.

Characteristics of a Mammal

These characteristics are common to all mammals:

Mammals nurse their babies. They feed them on the mother’s milk. Mammals have to eat a lot of food to maintain their high body temperature.

Most mammals give their young more protection and training than do other animals.

Only mammals have hair. All mammals have hair at some time in their life, though in certain whales it is present only before birth.

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Mammals are warm-blooded. Their body temperature remains about the same all the time, even though the temperature of their surroundings may change. Birds are also warm-blooded. But, other animal groups such as fish, reptiles and amphibians are not; they are cold-blooded animals.

Mammals have a larger, more well developed brain than do other animals. Some mammals, such as chimpanzees, dolphins, and especially human beings, are highly intelligent.

Mammals are able to move around using limbs.

Mammals with Bill Nye video

1. They are big, hairy, and warm-blooded…what are they? ___________________________

2. Give a few, 3, examples of mammals: _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

3. What are the benefits of having hair for a mammal? _____________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. What does warm-blooded mean? ___________________________________________________

5. If a mammal is outside on a very cold day (20 F), will its body temperature go down? _________

6. Where do mammals get their body heat (what gives them the energy to make their own body heat)? _________________________________________________________________

7. What do mother mammals feed their babies? ________________________________________

8. Do other kinds of animals, like reptiles, fish or birds, have hair? ___________________

9. Name 2 marine mammals: ________________________________________________________

10. Bears and people are omnivores, what do omnivores eat? _______________________________

11. What does camouflage mean? _____________________________________________________

12. Most mammals give birth to _______________________ young. The Spiny Anteater and the Platypus are mammals that lay eggs.

13. What are some characteristics of mammals? What makes a mammal, a mammal?

_______________________________________ _______________________________________

_______________________________________ _______________________________________ 6

14. What is the only mammal that can truly fly? ___________________________________

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All About Mammals

What Is a Mammal?Mammals are animals that have hair, are warm-blooded, and nourish their young with milk. Some modern-day mammals include people, apes, cats, bats, dogs, tigers, mice, moose, aardvarks, beavers, elephants, gorillas, sloths, pandas, hamsters, horses, whales, and dolphins.

Types of Mammals Monotremes: The monotremes are primitive egg-laying mammals. Modern-day monotremes include the echidnas (spiny ant-eaters) and the duck-billed platypus.

Marsupials: Marsupials are another group of mammals; their young are born in an extremely immature state; most female marsupials have pouches. Some marsupials include the koala, kangaroo, and the numbat.

Placental mammals: Placental mammals are mammals whose young are born at a relatively advanced stage (more advanced than the young of other mammals, the monotremes and marsupials). Before birth, the young are nourished through a placenta. The placenta is a specialized embryonic organ that is attached the mother's uterus and delivers oxygen and nutrients to the young. Most mammals are placental mammals, like cats, dogs, horses, and people.

DietMammals have to eat a lot to maintain their high body temperature. Diets vary from genus to genus. As with most animal groups, there are more herbivores (plant-eaters) than there are carnivores (meat-eaters).

Types of Mammalian Diets:

Herbivores (plant eaters) - including beavers, cows, horses, pandas, sloths, and others Carnivores (meat eaters) - including whales and dolphins, dogs, tigers, lions, and others Omnivores (eat plants and meat) - people, some bears, and others

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Insectivores (eat insects) - aardvarks, anteaters, pangolins, and others

Venomous Mammals: Only a few mammals are venomous, including the duckbilled platypus (males only), several species of shrews, and the Solenodon (a small insectivore).

Mammal Extremes Fastest mammal (also the fastest land animal): the cheetah (60-70 mph = 97-110 kph) Slowest mammal - the sloth (less than 1 mph, or 2 kph) Biggest mammal, biggest animal that ever lived on Earth - the blue whale Biggest land mammal- the African Elephant Tallest mammal - the giraffe Smallest mammals - the pygmy shrew (weighing 1.2-2.7 gm) and the bumblebee bat

(weighing about 2 gm) Loudest mammal - the Blue Whale. The second loudest is the Howler Monkey. Smallest newborns - marsupials (pouched mammals, like the kangaroo) Smelliest mammal - the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) The only venomous mammals - duckbilled platypus (males only), several species of shrews,

and the Solenodon Fat - The blue whale has the thickest layer of blubber, but ringed seal pups have the greatest

percentage of fat (about 50 %).

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Similarities Between Mammals

Mammal Diversity

All mammals are endothermic

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The CoyoteThe coyote is a carnivorous mammal in the dog family. Coyotes vary in size

depending on their diet and on their geographical location. Coyotes also vary in coloration. They may be brownish gray or rusty tan on their backs and legs, and usually have lighter fur on their bellies. The bushy tail is often tipped with black.

A coyote lives by its wits, and has a relatively large brain. Its senses are keen. The broad upright ears provide the animal with excellent hearing. The yellowish eyes face forward and give the coyote good binocular vision, which focus simultaneously (at the same time) on an object, giving the coyote depth and distance perception (awareness) necessary for hunting. The long nose provides the animal with an acute sense of smell.

Its long slim legs give the coyote both speed and agility (quickness, nimbleness). It can sprint at 48 km/h (30mph) for short distances when hunting, but can also travel for long distances at 32 km/h (20 mph). Like many wild animals, the coyote steps in its own footprints and moves in a straight line whenever possible to conserve energy. Domestic dogs, by contrast, walk with their feet side by side, and often meander.

Coyotes are very vocal. Their spine-tingling howl is heard mostly at night, and probably is just an announcement saying “I am here.” The coyote also communicates with short barks and yelps, and makes soft snuffling and huffing sounds to its pups. Coyotes communicate with scent, too, and mark their territories with urine and scat (droppings) placed in noticeable places.

Pups are born in April or May, about six pups in an average litter. Born with eyes and ears shut, the pups suckle for five to seven weeks. Then, alert and lively, they leave the den to begin learning to hunt with their parents. Most pups separate from the family group in late fall when they are about seven months old.

The coyote is also a part of the natural ecosystem and helps to control rodents and clean up carrion (dead animals). In most cases coyotes avoid human contact, but it is important to remember that a coyote is a wild animal that only looks like a dog. As such, it is a smart and dangerous predator with sharp teeth, excellent senses, strength, and speed.

What do coyotes eat? Coyotes are meat eaters (carnivores), and their diets include small mammals such as mice, rabbits, and squirrels, as well as insects and reptiles. They hunt individually or in loose packs, so they do not normally bring down larger animals like deer or sheep, the way wolves can. If they find a dead carcass, they will feed on the leftover kill. Once in a while they will eat fruits and berries in season.

Where do coyotes live? Today coyotes range throughout North America. They continue to expand their range, and are now found even in suburban and urban areas. Because they are so intelligent, they have been able to adapt to changes brought about by humans. They learn quickly that garbage and small pets in areas inhabited by humans make an easy meal.

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Homework:

1.) Complete the vocabulary organizer for the following terms: endothermic, nocturnal, and warm-blooded,

2.) Read the summary about the coyote and then answer the questions below.

Questions:

1. ) Describe the coyote’s vision and how it helps it be a predator (hunter.)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3.) Describe the coyote’s snout and how it helps it be a predator.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. Draw a food chain that shows some of the animals that a coyote eats, and then what those animals may eat to create energy

Coyote rabbits _______________ ______________

carrots ________________ ______________

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The Gray SquirrelSquirrels are herbivorous mammals, members

of the rodent family which includes chipmunks, rats, and

prairie dogs. There are many different kinds of squirrels, and depending on where you live, you may see gray, red, white, or black squirrels. There are also other types such as rock, ground, and flying squirrels.

The squirrel has sharp senses. It has good hearing and a good sense of smell. Its whiskers also work as sensory organs of touch. It sees well in daylight, but not as

well at night. So it is active mostly in daylight hours, year

round. Its eyes are placed at the sides of its head. This

placementgives the squirrel a wide range of vision which is useful for spotting hungry predators such as hawks, snakes, foxes, and bobcats. Think about how much time an herbivore spends eating food each day. Pound for pound, plants do not contain as many nutrients as meat, so herbivores must spend most of their time grazing with their head down looking for that next clump of grass. While they are busy eating, it is very useful to have eyes on the side of their head so they can spot danger if it is near and run for safety.

The acrobatic gray squirrel is well adapted to life in the trees. It has powerful hind legs for climbing and leaping from branch to branch, and a large bushy tail for balance. Its claws are strong and curved for gripping the tree. It can even reverse its hind feet so that it can grip the tree while scampering down headfirst.

Squirrels may nest in tree cavities or they may build a large messy-looking nest of leaves and twigs high in a treetop. Baby squirrels are born helpless, hairless, and toothless, with eyes and ears closed. They suckle for about two months. Once they are weaned, they stay with the family group for only a short time. The mother, who can have two litters a year, will soon be busy with a new family.

Squirrels are very vocal and sometimes quite loud. Their various calls have been described as chatters, barks, buzzes, purrs, and chucks, to name just a few. They use their voices along with their tails to tell other squirrels that food is available, to send up an alarm when a predator is near, or to call to a mate.

People have mixed feelings about squirrels. They can be annoying pests that scare birds from the feeder and gobble their food. They can chew holes in the side of a house, nip off flower heads, and make a big racket. On the other hand, they are funny to watch, intelligent and persistent, and graceful in their amazing treetop acrobatics. Best of all, they are one of the few wild mammals we can observe and enjoy right in our own backyards.

What do gray squirrels eat? As herbivores, squirrels eat mostly plant parts. In fall and winter, they eat the nuts and seeds that are available as well as those they have stored or buried. In spring and summer, they eat buds, flowers, fruits, berries,

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mushrooms, and once in a while insects. They will gnaw on bones for the calcium and also to keep their ever-growing front teeth (incisors) worn down.

Where do gray squirrels live? Gray squirrels are found throughout the eastern half of the United States. They live in forested habitats, but have become well adapted to living in urban and suburban areas as well. They are not territorial, so they may rove over several acres that overlap with the home ranges of other squirrels. They form loose social groups, and recognize each other by smell and by sight.

Name ________________________________________ # ______ Date _____________The Gray Squirrel

1. The gray squirrel is a member of what family? _____________________________________

2. What does the gray squirrel use as a sensory organ of touch? _______________________________

3. How does the placement of the squirrel’s eyes on its head help him to stay safe?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What part of the squirrel’s body helps him balance? _________________________________________

5. How do squirrels communicate with each other? ___________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

6. Why are squirrels considered pests? _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

7. Squirrels form social groups and are able to recognize each other. How do they recognize each other?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

8. Is the gray squirrel a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? ______________________________________

Make a food chain showing what the grey squirrel eats.(You may add more lines as needed.)

grey squirrel14

Warm-blooded

Humans are warm-blooded animals, so are all other mammals, to a certain extent, and birds. However warm blood is not really the question, many reptiles have blood far warmer than ours, but only on hot days.

In fact, blood temperature is merely a reflection of body temperature. The important thing about mammals and birds is that they maintain a constant internal temperature. This is called being homeothermic and it involves not just generating your own heat when the surrounding temperature is low, but also finding ways to cool down when the environment is too high.

Reptiles and many other animals, particularly most insects live at the temperature of the world around them – cold when it is cold and hot when it is hot – this is being cold-blooded. Endothermic means generating heat internally. All mammals are endothermic.

Mammals maintain their inner temperature by burning food (oxidation) through digestion and they stay cool by sweating, panting and changing postures and place in the world. Sweating and panting work by generating heat loss through evaporating water; changing posture allows mammals to control to some extent the heat absorbed from the world around them; while changing position simply means seeking shade or shelter when it is too hot.

Being warm-blooded gives mammals a distinct advantage in many habitats, allowing them to be active when reptiles are hardly able to move. It also allows mammals to live in habitats where reptiles cannot live at all, such as the arctic, mountaintops, etc. The reason behind this is that muscle activity is basically dependent on chemical reactions, as are all biological functions. Chemical reactions run slowly when it is cold, but quickly when it is hot. This is because heat is the same as energy. The more energy you have, the faster the chemical reaction occurs. In the early mammals being endothermic probably allowed them to be active at night when competing reptiles were forced to rest or be sluggish.

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Only mammals sweat, but not all mammals have the same number of sweat glands. For instance while primates have sweat glands all over their bodies, cats and dogs only have them in their feet and golden moles and whales don’t have any.

Mammals – Life in Action (video)

1. Name four characteristics of mammals?

_____________________________ ______________________________________

_____________________________ ______________________________________

2. The word mammal comes from mammary glands. Mammary glands produce ___________________ in female mammals.

3. Give two functions of hair on a mammal:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

4. Monotremes are mammals that _________________________________________________

5. Marsupials are mammals with a _________________________________________________

6. Most mammals are ____________________________, their babies develop inside the mother until their bodies reach a certain stage of development.

7. Mammals are nurturers; they __________________________________,

________________________, and teach their young.

8. Name some mammal habitats: _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

9. Mammals are diverse group of animals. Diversity means: __________________________

________________________________________________________________________

10. Herbivores _____________________________________________________

11. Carnivores _____________________________________________________

12. Omnivores _____________________________________________________ 16

Tell the Story

Scientists who study mammals, mammalogists, like to say that you can find out just about everything you need to know about a mammal by looking at its teeth. While that may not be completely true, you have to admit that you can find out a lot about mammals just by studying their teeth.

Mammals can be divided into three groups based on their teeth: herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. Each group has a very different set of teeth. And each set of teeth is very well suited to what that group of animals eats.

Let’s look at some common sets of mammal’s teeth. Pay special attention to how many teeth each animal has, what kind, and how they are arranged.

The Herbivore’s Teeth The plant eaters are nippers and grinders. First they nip off a plant, and then they grind it up. Here is a picture of their general mouth plan:

In the front of their mouth, herbivores usually have a few broad incisors to nip off plants. But some have no incisors, just a tough leathery pad instead. These animals can still eat very well. They use their tongues to rip off the plants. Then they grind up the plants with their strong molars.

Some herbivores, like cows and deer, are cud chewers. First they bite off a plant with their incisors. Then they give it a few quick chomps with their molars. This packs down the plants enough so that the cow can swallow. The food goes into a kind of storage chamber that is a stomach that does not digest. Later the cow can bring the food, or the cud, back up. Now the cow uses its big, flat molars to grind up the plants very well. This time when the cow swallows, the food goes into the digestive tract.

Grasses and leaves do not contain many nutrients and they are tough and hard to digest. In order to get enough nourishment, herbivores must spend most of their time just grazing, chewing, and digesting.

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A meat eater’s mouth, a carnivore’s, is full of sharp edges, like the one in the picture below.

Carnivores are predators, like lions, tigers, wolves, killer whales, and coyotes. They have large, sharp canine teeth. They use the canines for grabbing and holding onto their prey. The canine teeth also work like daggers to help kill the prey too. The carnivore’s incisors are usually small and not very strong.

Behind the canines is a ridge of sharp slicing teeth called premolars. They work like scissors. Carnivores need premolars for cutting and tearing chunks of flesh off their prey.

In the back of a carnivore’s mouth are the molars for chewing and grinding. With the help of powerful jaw muscles, the big molars can even break up and grind bones.

If they both ate the same amount of food, the carnivore would get much more energy from the meat than the herbivore got from the plants. A small amount of meat gives the carnivore a lot of energy and nutrients. Meat is also easier to digest than plants, so carnivores don’t need to spend a lot of time chewing it. In fact, they often gulp their food in chunks.

Carnivores are hunters in the wild, so they eat only when the hunting is successful. This might mean that they have to go a long time between meals. And, even though meat gives them a lot of energy, they have to use up a lot of energy hunting and chasing it down.

The lucky omnivore has teeth to do just about any job. They have incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. They can eat whatever is available whenever they can find it. If fresh fruits and greens are in season, omnivores have the nippers and grinders to eat them. If they find meat, they have the grabbers, stabbers, slicers, and grinders to do the work.

Many omnivores, like humans, enjoy a wide variety of foods, both meat and vegetable. Although they may like one kind more than others, their teeth do not limit their choices of what to eat.

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Name ___________________________________ # _________ Date _________________

Human Teeth

Label the teeth below, (canine, incisors, premolars, molars.)

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Humans have a variety of teeth. We are lucky because we have the ability to enjoy a variety of foods, both meat and vegetable. CANINE (also called cuspid) - the pointy tooth located between the incisors and the premolars. Predators use their canine teeth to grab and hold onto their prey. Human adults have 4 canine teeth (2 in the top jaw and 2 in the bottom jaw). Canine means, "of or like a dog." INCISORS - the front teeth, used for cutting food or biting food. Human adults have 8 incisors (4 in the top jaw and 4 in the bottom jaw). PREMOLARS (also called bicuspids) - the teeth located between the canine and the molars in a human. Premolars have two points (cusps) at the top. Human adults have 8 premolars (4 in the top jaw and 4 in the bottom jaw.) MOLARS - the relatively flat teeth located towards the back of the mouth, used for grinding food. Human adults have 12 molars (6 in the top jaw and 6 in the bottom jaw).

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Study, Study, and Study

Study guide for mammals quiz#1

1) Name and Describe the three types of mammal Diets.a. __________________=______________________________________

________________________________b. __________________=______________________________________

________________________________c. __________________=______________________________________

________________________________2) Describe the terms:

a. Marsupial=____________________________________________________________________________

b. Placental=____________________________________________________________________________

c. montreme=_____________________________________________________________________________

3) Describe the function of each type of tooth.a. Incisor=__________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

b. Canine=_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c. premolar=__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

d. molar=______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Animals of all shapes and sizes inhabit the Earth’s land, air, and water, and each of these creatures has special features that help it survive where it lives. What if beavers didn’t have webbed feet? Would they still be able to spend large amounts of time in the water building their lodge and repairing their dam? What if arctic foxes were black instead of white in the winter? Their dark fur would stand out against the Arctic snow; both predators and prey would be able to spot them from far away.

Beavers and arctic foxes have special adaptations. These are special traits, or characteristics, that allow an animal to live in its environment. The variety of adaptations in nature is as large as the variety of animals themselves. These adaptations develop over many years and get passed on from parents to their offspring. These traits are not learned, they are inherited.

There are many different types of adaptations for getting food. Some creatures have sharp teeth (canines and premolars) and claws that they use to eat meat, while other animals have flat teeth called molars for grinding and chewing plants. Bats are nocturnal, they are active at night. Bats have a special hearing system called echolocation to find food in the dark. Bird beaks come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on what kind of food the bird eats. A giraffe’s long neck allows it to reach the leaves high in a tree and enable it to spot a hungry lion prowling in the bushes nearby. Special body parts are useful adaptations that help each animal survive in their habitat.

Animals have many different adaptations for protection, for movement, for finding a mate, and for caring for their young. Male turkeys have large colored tail feathers that they can fan out in a spectacular display to encourage the female to mate with them. The females are not so colorful; this helps them to blend into their surroundings so that they can protect their eggs and their young. Penguins have a layer of fat to block out cold and keep in body heat. Their black coloring on their backs absorbs the Sun’s heat to protect them from the cold Antarctic air. These adaptations protect the penguin so it can survive in such a harsh environment.

Even though some animals have not changed for millions of years, animals never become totally adapted because the environment is constantly changing. Some changes are helpful to certain animals and harmful to others. If the environment changes too quickly, animals may not be able to adapt and can die out completely. This is called extinction.

Animals have special traits that help them survive. Some adaptations are for protection. Others are for finding food. Some adaptations allow animals to live in extreme environments. Yet all adaptations have the same purpose. That purpose is the survival of the individual animal and of the species.

Quills for protection Webbed feet Bright colors to Long legs for running for swimming attract a mate after prey

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All About Animal Adaptations (video)

1. A change in an animal’s body structure or a change in the animal’s behavior to help the animal

survive where it lives is called an __________________________________________

2. The place where an animal lives is called its ________________________________________

3. How does an animal’s environment help it survive? __________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. There are many adaptations for getting food.

Carnivores have ______________________ teeth and claws that they use to eat meat.

Herbivores have ______________________ teeth for grinding and chewing plants.

Giraffes have a long _____________________ to reach leaves high up in the trees.

5. What special adaptation makes polar bears different from grizzly bears?

_______________________________________________________

6. What adaptations do big cats like lions have for getting and eating food? __________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

7. The temperature and rainfall of a particular place over a long period of time is called:

______________________________________________

8. Animals who hunt and kill other animals are called: ____________________________________

9. Animals that are hunted and killed for food by predators: _______________________________

10. What adaptation does the porcupine have to help protect it from being eaten? (Think hair)

________________________________________________

11. Some animals have the ability to blend in with their surroundings; this adaptation is called:

_________________________________________________________

12. What will happen to a species if they can’t adapt to changes in their environment? They will become…

_________________________________________________________________

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Limbs and Movement

Adaptations for LocomotionMost mammals are quadrupeds and normally move about on all fours. They may, however, travel

on very different parts of their feet.Hooves are equivalent to claws or nails. This means that hoofed animals like deer, sheep, and

horses are walking on their toenails. Pads are similar to toes, so we can say the members of the dog and cat families all walk on their toes. Some animals walk flatfooted on the soles of their feet. These include humans, bears, raccoons, skunks, and porcupines.

Marine mammals such as whales and seals have limbs modified into flippers and flukes, well adapted to swimming. Of all the mammals, only the bat has wings, and has achieved true flight. Mammals have different ways of moving around. Bats are able to fly through the use of wings. They are the only mammals that can actually fly. Flying lemurs and flying squirrels cannot actually fly. These mammals have a fold of skin between the forelimb and the hind limb on each side of the body. By stretching out these “wings,” the animals can glide from tree to tree.

Looking at Tracks

When looking at animal tracks, first, look at just one print. Note its size, shape, the number of toes, whether it shows claws, whether it shows fur.

Next look for the pattern of the prints. Measure the space between the strides and the width of the space between the prints. Note any tail drag.

Then use a guide to mammals to help you with identification. Numbers of toes and the presence or absence of claws will tell you the animal’s family. For example, members of the cat family all have four toes on both front and rear feet. Cats also retract their claws when they walk, so no claw prints will be visible.

Reading TracksSatisfying as is to put a name to the animal that left the print, there is even more to be learned

from the track patterns the animal left. From those patterns we can deduce the animal’s posture (biped or quadruped), its speed or gait (walk, trot, gallop, leap), and the direction in which it is traveling.

Changing speed produces changes in a track pattern. As speed increases, tracks become farther apart. Imprints also become deeper with increased speed.

Hopping and leaping animals make tracks that are confusing unless you realize that their hind feet usually land in front of their fore feet. To complicate matters further, some animals, like wolves, step directly into their own tracks. The hind foot steps into the print made by the fore foot.

TradeoffsFour-footed locomotion has its advantages. The quadruped animal has excellent balance and

stability so many have been able to develop remarkable speed and agility. These give them advantages in escape, defense, food getting, and finding mates.

Moving to an upright position, either partially or completely, results in some loss of stability, but frees up the fore limbs to develop for different purposes. The animal can develop hands, or hand-like appendages. Monkeys, squirrels, raccoons, and humans have all sacrificed some degree of stability in favor of hands.

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Animal Locomotion with Bill Nye (video)

1. Animals walk, slither, swim, hop, and fly. What is movement of animals called?

_____________________________________________

2. Dolphins and fish push on the __________________________ to move.

3. Birds push on the _______________________ to move.

4. Animals move around by ____________________________ on something.

5. Why do animals need to move? _________________________________________________

6. ___________________________ are used to help animals move.

7. When our muscles get shorter, they ____________________________________

8. Muscles don’t push, they can only _________________________________.

9. How many hooves do horses have on the ground when they walk? ____________________

10. Some animals, like a beaver, have webbed feet to help them _________________________

11. Lions, tigers and cats use their tails to help them:

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

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`What’s The Signal?Mammal Communication

Mammals use a surprisingly wide array of strategies to communicate. These can be as subtle as a raised eyebrow or as blatant as a skunk spray, as intricate as a song or as simple as a smile. They are all strategies for sending signals.

Signals can be auditory, visual, tactile, or olfactory and chemical. Depending on the species of animal and the signal it wants to get across, the senses vary in their importance to the animal. Humans rely heavily on sight and sound for communication, but most other mammals depend on scent to a greater extent than we do.

Why communicate? For many animals, the need to communicate is closely linked to reproductive activities. Animals need to find, identify, attract, and court a mate. They must also mark and protect their breeding territory. When offspring are born, it is important that they are recognized as kin and that their calls of distress or hunger are understood. Other reasons to communicate include the need to sound am alarm, to threaten or submit, to call the pack together, or to indicate the location of food.

Auditory MessagesHumans alone have the advantage of language and speech, the most powerful expressive tool. Although most other mammals vocalize, they cannot be said to really use language.

Except for domesticated animals, we rarely hear mammals vocalize. Few of us have heard a deer, for example, and it surprises us to learn that they can make quite a variety of sounds including loud snorts, whistles, bleats, and whines.

Beavers can also vocalize, and young kits are the noisiest. They whine and whimper, perhaps to attract the parents’ attention. Beaver also use their tails to slap the surface of a pond, probably, to so sound an alarm signal.

The fox has a voice similar to the dog. It barks, howls, and yelps in a familiar canine style.

Visual SignalsNon-vocal communication is an important vehicle for humans and animals alike. Gestures, physical stance, and facial expressions send rapid, clear signals. It usually a simple matter to interpret a friend’s thumbs up sign, a cat’s arched back, or a dog’s bared fangs.

Deer can flash an alarm by raising their white tails. A fox can issue an invitation to play by bowing down on its front legs. Or it can submit to another more aggressive fox by lying down and exposing its belly. A rabbit freezes to signal danger,. An opossum plays dead to discourage an attacker.

Chemical SignalsChemical signals play a major role for some mammals. They enable mammals to identify and establish a bonds with their young, outline their territory, find food, locate mates, and send a warning. Some mammals have special glands for producing scented chemicals. Deer have scent glands on their legs. Foxes have scent glands at the base of the tail. They also leave scent posts marked with urine or feces. Beavers build scent mounds, piles of mud marked with strong smelling oil. All these animals are using distinctive odors to mark their territory and to help them recognize each other.

Tactile Signals

It is difficult for us to interpret touch signals used by other mammals, though we can usually interpret those sent by our own kind. We understand a handshake, for example, but should not infer that a dog offering its paw is doing anything more than performing a trick. We may think that a cat rubbing against our leg is showing affection when in fact it is leaving its scent

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and marking us as its property. Some mammals, especially the primates, engage in social grooming. Again, this is difficult to interpret. It may be just a way of keeping clean, but it may also be a way of bonding and expressing kinship!

Whose Coat is That?

The majority of mammals are hairy beasts. In fact, hairiness is one of their distinguishing characteristics, one of the features that make them mammals. Only mammals have hair. But not all mammals have the same amount, and some (like most whales and dolphins) have almost none at all.

Mammal hair occurs in an extraordinary variety of ways. It can appear as fur, whiskers, wool, manes, eyelashes, and is even modified (in porcupines and hedgehogs) as spines. Each of these has its specialized function. Whiskers, for example, are sensory organs of touch. They help mammals feel their environment, and are especially useful for nocturnal animals. Eyebrows and lashes protect the eyes. Spines are a defense against predators.

Perhaps fur’s most important function is to help the mammal maintain its body temperature. Mammals are warm-blooded, or endothermic, and maintain the same body temperature no matter what the outside temperature. Only mammals and birds have this ability. It takes a great deal of energy to generate body heat, which explains why birds and mammals require more food than other types of animals. It is a big advantage to have a fur covering as an energy saving layer of insulation to keep out the cold and the wet and to keep in body heat.

A typical fur bearing animal like the fox, seal, opossum, or beaver is double coated. It has a soft thick undercoat that lies close to the skin. The function of this layer is to trap body heat. There is also a second, longer layer of fur projecting out of the undercoat. This layer is composed of thick guard hairs that are coarse and oily. Their function is to shed water and prevent it from penetrating through to the skin. Moose, deer, and elk do not have double coats. Instead, they have hollow hairs that act as very efficient insulators.

A fur coat can also serve as effective camouflage for both predator and prey alike. For example, a spotted fawn, a white snowshoe hare in winter, and a tawny lion all blend well into their habitats. The fawn and the hare have another interesting survival tactic. They change their coats to adapt to new conditions. When the fawn no longer spends most of its daylight hours hidden in the dappled shade of a forest thicket, it sheds its spotted juvenile coat for that of the solid colored adult. And when winter melts into

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spring, the snowshoe hare gradually trades its dazzling white coat for a more inconspicuous brown one.

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Plant and Animal Interdependency

In nature, when two things depend on each other for their survival, they are called interdependent. Plants and animals rely on each other for survival. Plants provide all animals, including humans, with oxygen, food, shelter, medicines and more. Plants rely on animals, for help in reproduction, seed dispersal, and gas exchange.

Oxygen is what all animals need to breathe, and when they exhale, they release carbon dioxide into the air. This invisible gas is one of the ingredients that plants use in the amazing process of photosynthesis, which is how they produce food with energy from the Sun. As a byproduct, they release oxygen into the air for animals to breathe! The food they make is stored energy that is passed to plant-eating animals called herbivores and then on to meat-eating animals called carnivores. Without plants, animals could not get the energy necessary for survival. Plants also help take moisture from the soil and put it into the air where it can fall as rain and provide drinking water to animals. In addition, plants serve as shelter for all sorts of animals, from bugs to people. Many plants also contain powerful medicines that help us when we are sick. Plants provide ingredients for many products we rely on, such as cotton, paper, and tea, aspirin from the bark of a willow tree, rubber bands, and so much more.

Some plants, like fruit trees and flowers, rely on animals to help them make seeds by moving pollen from one flower to another. These animals, called pollinators, include many insects, some birds, and even small mammals such as bats and mice! Animals also help bring plants to new areas by spreading seeds around. Some seeds are dispersed, spread around, after an animal eats the seeds (inside a piece of fruit) and the seeds pass through its digestive system. Other kinds of seeds can “stick” to the animal’s fur, and when the animal moves in its habitat, the seeds get dispersed. Seed dispersal is important because if the seeds were to develop close to the parent plant, the young plants would not receive enough sunlight to grow. If plants are too close together they compete for light, water, and minerals. It is much better if the seeds develop (germinate) in another area.

Do you think plants and animals could survive without each other?

1. What is the most important thing that plants give to people? _______________________

2. How are plants different from animals? They make their own ______________________.

3. What invisible gas is released by animals and used by plants? _______________________

4. What do plants use carbon dioxide for? To make their own ________________________.

5. A process by which a plant produces its food. __________________________________

6. Energy from the _________________, ___________________, ______________________, and chlorophyll are needed by green plants for photosynthesis.

7. Producers use the Sun’s energy to make their own food. Green _______________________ are producers.

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Let’s face it; scat is not a pleasant subject. And you are probably pretty surprised that you actually have to study it with a hand lens, even though they are just models. But there is a lot to be learned from scat, so try to look at it as just another piece of data.

What does scat say to mammalogists? Scientists who study mammals, called mammalogists, are delighted when they find scat. Out in the field, fresh scat is a key piece of evidence. It can tell the mammalogist what kinds of animals are living in that area. It can show what kinds of food the animals have been eating. Perhaps it can even tell how long ago that animal passed by.

Scientists use scat to help them identify an animal. From it they can tell what family the animal belongs to, because animals that belong to the same family all have similar scat.

Herbivores generally produce rounded pellets. But the pellets may vary in color, size, and texture, depending on what kind of plant material the animal ate.

In spring when herbivores are feasting on fresh new greens, their scat is moist, and it clumps together. But in winter when herbivores have to eat woody bark and twigs, their scat is dry and hard, and full of rough fibers.

Carnivores generally produce very different looking scat. Theirs is long and ropy. They often leave it in very noticeable places, almost like an advertisement. Depending on what they have been able to hunt down, their scat may contain small animal parts that were not digested. You might see bits of fur, bone fragments, or small teeth in the scat. Once in a while when fresh fruits or berries are in season, carnivores will switch from their meaty diet. Then their scat might contain pits and seeds too.

Omnivores’ scat can be tricky to identify. They can eat anything that is available, and usually do. So their scat follows no particular pattern. An omnivore’s menu may change from day to day, and so might its scat. It might be full of cherry pits and apple skins one day, and bits of bone the next. At least it gives the scientist some idea of what food is available in the area.

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All About Animal Needs Animal Life (video)

1. Every living creature needs certain things to stay healthy and survive. Animals all need

___________________, ________________, __________________ and ___________________

2. Living takes a lot of energy. But where does this energy come from? Energy comes from ______________.

3. Plants absorb the ___________________ energy and store it as food and this energy is passed along to the animals that eat plants.

4. _______________________ are animals that eat only plants.

5. _______________________ are animals that get the sun’s energy indirectly by eating other animals.

6. The animals that are hunted and get eaten are called __________________________.

7. Some carnivores, called ___________________________, wait until an animal dies to eat it.

8. Animals, such as humans, will eat both plants and other animals to acquire the energy they need. They’re

called _________________________________.

9. Another thing that plants produce that all animals need is ________________________, an invisible gas that is found in the air and in the water.

10. All animals have a way to acquire oxygen; most land animals have ______________________ and animals

that live in the water have special _______________________ that take in the oxygen they need to survive.

11. Warm-blooded animals, like ___________________________ & ____________________________, spend

a lot of energy keeping their bodies at a constant temperature.

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12. Snakes and fish stay the same temperature as the environment; they’re ___________________________.

They must lie in the sun for energy and then find shelter if they get too hot.

How Do Animals Spend the Winter?

Winter is cold in Western New York. There is snow on the ground. People live in warm houses. What do other mammals do?

The biggest problem for most animals in the winter is finding enough food. If an animal’s main source of food is very scarce in the winter, like insects or green plants, it may solve this problem by hibernating. This deep sleep allows them to conserve energy, and survive the winter with little or no food. It is a very deep sleep called hibernation.

Bears and chipmunks hibernate. So do frogs, snakes and even some bugs. Most hibernators prepare in some way for the winter. Some store food in their burrows or dens, to eat when they awake for short periods. Many eat extra food in the fall while it is plentiful. It is stored as body fat to be used later for energy.

Other animals stay active in winter. They must adapt to the changing weather. Many make changes in their behavior or bodies. To keep warm, animals may grow new, thicker fur in the fall. On weasels and snowshoe rabbits, the new fur is white to help them hide in the snow. Food is hard to find in the winter. Some animals, like squirrels, mice and beavers, gather extra food in the fall and store it to eat later. Some, like rabbits and deer, spend winter looking for moss, twigs, bark and leaves to eat. Other animals may find winter shelter in holes in trees or logs, under rocks or leaves, or underground. Some mice even build tunnels through the snow. To try to stay warm, animals like squirrels and mice may huddle close together.

Some animals must travel to other places where the weather is warmer to find food. The way animals move is called locomotion. Some birds fly south for the winter. Some animals, like the caribou, move south in large herds to escape the harsh conditions that winter can bring. Every year one of the world’s greatest wildlife spectacles occurs in Canada’s far north, the migration of the caribou herds. Over two million caribou move from their calving grounds on the tundra to their wintering grounds. They go south to a warmer place to find food. We call this migration.

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Just as there are places where food and water are scarce in the winter, there are other places where these resources are scarce in the summer. To survive, some animals aestivate, which is comparable to hibernate. While the northern ground squirrels spend the summer eating and preparing for winter hibernation, ground squirrels living in the southwest desert may avoid the extreme heat by aestivating in their burrows.

All About Animal Behavior & Communication (video)

1. All animals have to meet their basic life needs of eating, breathing, sleeping, finding shelter and mating. What an animal does to meet these needs is called:

____________________________

2. An animal is born knowing how to do certain things; these actions are called

__________________________________ behavior.

3. Give an example of an instinctive behavior: _________________________________

4. To hibernate means: ___________________________________________________

5. Why do many animals hibernate? _________________________________________

6. Is hibernation instinctive or learned behavior? _________________________________

7. Instinctive behavior is very important in helping animals ___________________ to their environment.

8. Some behaviors must be taught; these behaviors are called ______________________ behaviors.

9. Young animals learn how to hunt and how to react to new experiences. Name another

learned behavior: __________________________________________________

10. Information is shared between animals; this is called ___________________________

11. Animals communicate in many ways. What are some ways that animals share

information? ______________________________________________________________

12. How do dogs communicate? ______________________________________________

13. How do chimpanzees communicate? _______________________________________

14. How do whales communicate? ____________________________________________

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Name ____________________________

All animals, wherever they live, have the same basic survival needs. Animals all need food, water, oxygen, shelter, and protection from the changing environment. They also need a way to maintain their body temperature within a safe healthy range. For most animals, just meeting their basic needs takes up most of their time and energy.

While animals all have the same needs, they each meet these needs in different ways. Animals have features that allow them to survive in the particular environment in which they live. For example, land animals use their lungs to take in oxygen from the air, while many animals living in the water use gills to get oxygen directly from the water. Oxygen is taken into the animal’s body when it inhales; it goes into the blood stream of the animal and then it is used by the cells in the animal’s body.

All animals need to eat food to get the energy needed for life. This energy originally comes from the Sun and is transferred to plants, and then on to animals. After eating food, an animal’s body then transforms the energy, releasing it during essential activities like breathing, growing, and moving around. Even sleeping takes energy! In addition to food, getting enough fresh water is important to maintain life.

Each animal needs a place to live. The environment in which an animal makes its home is called its habitat, and every creature has its own special habitat requirements. Many animals require shelter to escape predators, to raise young and to help regulate body temperature. Some animals, like sharks, require large spaces to roam; others, like anemones, are anchored to one spot and don’t need much room at all. Within a habitat, there are always animals in competition for the available food, space, and water. In addition to these pressures, habitat destruction by humans has created a hardship for many animals.

Warm-blooded animals use a lot of energy to keep their bodies at a constant temperature. Cold-blooded animals are the same temperature as their surroundings, and while they need less energy to survive, they must find ways to escape extreme temperature conditions. Like snakes, many cold-blooded animals slow down when exposed to low temperatures. Some animals hibernate or aestivate when their environment cannot support their needs, while some migrate to new locations. Throughout the many different environments in the world, all animals face the same struggles to meet their basic survival needs.

1. What are the basic needs of animals? __________________________________________________

2. Why do animals need oxygen to survive? _______________________________________________

3. All animals require food to get the energy they need to survive. Where does this energy found in food originally come from? ___________________________________

4. What do some animals do to avoid harsh conditions of an environment? ______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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5. Animals that can maintain a constant body temperature regardless of their surrounding environment are

called __________________________________ animals.

Name ____________________________

Every living thing uses energy that flows from the Sun. when a mouse eats grass, it gets energy. Then a snake eats the mouse and gets energy. Eventually, the snake dies and its body becomes a source of energy for insects, fungi, and microscopic creatures. This energy transfer from organism to organism is called a food chain.

All life is dependent on plants as the first link in the food chain. Plants, also called producers, make food and oxygen. Through a process called photosynthesis, producers trap the Sun’s energy and make it available to animals. Animals are called consumers because they must eat, or consume, to get energy. This energy is then transferred throughout the ecosystem in food chains. An ecosystem is the relationship between all of the living and non-living elements in an environment. Plant-eating animals, herbivores and meat-eating animals, carnivores, are called consumers. Decomposers are the insects, bacteria, and fungi that break down the remains of all plants and animals, returning some of the Sun’s energy to the soil. In this process, carbon dioxide and nitrogen are release, and other nutrients are deposited in the soil for use by producers, starting the cycle all over again. This is called the nitrogen cycle.

We can track the flow of energy through an ecosystem by looking at food chains. The greatest concentration of energy is in the plants. Herbivores use about 10% of the energy that plants produce. Carnivores use only about 10% of the energy in the herbivores, so they must eat more to get the same amount of energy. Because the energy flow from one level to the next is less and less, animals at the top of the food chain must eat the most. An ecological energy pyramid illustrates the fact that it takes an enormous number of small animals to sustain fewer numbers of large animals.

Because many animals within an ecosystem share the same food, food chains connect into complex food webs. When an ecosystem is in balance, all organisms have sufficient energy and food to survive. When an imbalance occurs, every organism in the food web suffers.

1. What is an example of a producer in a food chain? ____________________________________________

2. Producers make their own food; this process is called __________________________________.

3. Animals that only eat plants are called __________________________________.

4. Decomposers break down dead plants and animals, returning nutrients to the soil. Examples of decomposers are: ___________________________________________________________________________________

5. What are some examples of consumers in a food chain? _________________________________________

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Food Chains and WebsDo you like to play games? If you do, you will need energy. Every time you run or jump, you are using up energy in your body. How do you get the energy to play? You get energy from the food you eat. Similarly, all living things get energy from their food so that they can move and grow. As food passes through the body, some of it is digested. This process of digestion releases energy.

A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. Some animals eat plants and some animals eat other animals. For example, a simple food chain links the trees & shrubs, the giraffes (that eat trees & shrubs), and the lions (that eat the giraffes). Each link in this chain is food for the next link. A food chain always starts with plant life and ends with an animal.

1. Plants are called producers because they are able to use light energy from the Sun to produce food (sugar) from carbon dioxide and water.

2. Animals cannot make their own food so they must eat plants and/or other animals. They are called consumers. There are three groups of consumers.

a. Animals that eat ONLY PLANTS are called herbivores (or primary consumers).

b. Animals that eat OTHER ANIMALS are called carnivores.

c. Animals and people who eat BOTH animals and plants are called omnivores.

3. Then there are decomposers (bacteria and fungi), which feed on decaying matter.

These decomposers speed up the decaying process that releases mineral salts back into the food chain for absorption by plants as nutrients.

The further along the food chain you go, the less food(and hence energy) remains available.

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The energy pyramid shows many trees & shrubs providing food and energy to giraffes. Note that as we go up, there are fewer giraffes than trees & shrubs and even fewer lions than giraffes ... as we go further along a food chain, there are fewer and fewer consumers. In other words, a large mass of living things at the base is required to support a few at the top ... many herbivores are needed to support a few carnivores.

The following is a possible food web:

Note that the arrows are drawn from food source to food consumers ... in other words, you can substitute the arrows with the words "by"

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Name _________________________________

All animals, from the huge hippo to the cuddly koala, have a life cycle that involves many changes from beginning as an egg in a shell or a womb through development into an adult. This process is best described if visualized as a circle, where a baby is born, grows, becomes an adult, and eventually has babies of its own, completing the cycle through reproduction. This life cycle is different for different animals and often depends on an animal’s basic needs and the environment in which it lives. Some animals are fed and taught how to survive by their parents, while other animals rely on their natural instincts from the moment they are born.

From birth to adulthood, animals go through different stages of development. Animals generally resemble their parents; however, in the case of animals that experience metamorphosis, like most insects and amphibians, they look very different during the first three stages of their lives. The stages of metamorphosis are the egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages.

At some point, an animal stops reproducing, begins to grow old, and eventually dies. An animal’s life span is the amount of time it is alive, and this can vary tremendously between animals. The average life span of a human is 75 years, while the average life span of the grey fly is around one week. However, even in death, there are ways an animal helps the life cycles of others to continue. The animal can be used as food or it can decompose, providing the soil with nutrients. With that in mind, it becomes apparent that life cycles of animals are part of a much larger cycle, a cycle that includes all living things.

fertilization life cycle life span offspring organism reproduction

1. A series of stages all living things go through that includes being born, developing into adulthood, and

eventually reproducing. __________________________________

2. Baby animals are called __________________________________

3. Any living thing, plant or animal - __________________________________

4. The process of producing a new generation of offspring is called ___________________________________

5. The process in which the egg cell from the mother is combined with the sperm cell of the father, creating one

new cell, which develops into an organism inheriting its parents’ characteristics. _________________________

6. The amount of time that an animal lives - _________________________________

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