ADAPTATIONS

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ADAPTATIONS
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What are Adaptations?

• The environments where plants and animals live
  can be
• very different. Some may be able to live in
  deserts while
• others might not. Others might be able to
  survive in snow
• While others might not. How is this possible?
  This is due
• to Adaptations. An adaptation is a
  characteristic that an
• organism has evolved that helps it to survive in
  its
• environment. There are two main types of
  adaptations.
• They are
• Structural adaptation
• Behavioral adaptation

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Structural Adaptations
Structural adaptations are body parts that an
organism has that helps it to survive. It could
be the insulating fur of a Siberian Husky or the
webbed feet of a Duck. Plants also have
structural adaptations.
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Behavioral Adaptations
Behavioral adaptations are the ways that an
organism behaves that helps it to survive. A
millipede curls up when it is touched. Oxen form
a circle around their young when predators are
near. Behavioral adaptations can be learnt within
an organisms lifetime.
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How is food found?

• All animals have some kind of adaptations to help
  them get the food they need to survive.
• Examples
• Cheetah It is able to run very fast and thus is
  able to catch its prey.
• Echidna It has a long and thin nose which makes
  it easy for them to burrow for ants.
• Spiders They have stick glands which enables
  them to spin sticky webs.
• Pelican Large spoon-shaped beak which allows
  them to scoop food.
• Woodpecker they have strong sharp beaks to tear
  bark off trees.
• 
  
  etc.

This is an Echidna.
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Defense...

• Many animals and plants have special features to
  make it easy for them to escape from their
  predators. Some are covered with hard scales or
  plates . Others have spine or spikes on their
  bodies. Most of the animals stay together to
  protect themselves.
• Examples
• Porcupine fish (Spines on the body)
• Zebras (stay in group)
• Anteater ( Body is covered with spine)

Etc.
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Camouflage

• Some animals blend so well with their
  surroundings that they cannot be seen or
• recognized easily. This adaptation is called
  camouflage.
• Body covering of a single color, not easily
  seen when
  surroundings are of that color.
• Example
• snow owl
• Artic Fox ( white in winter )

Can you spot an insect?
Yes, it is none other then a stick insect. Most
of us were not able to see it as it is well
camouflaged.
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Staying cool
Keeping warm

• Animals that live in cold environment are able to
  keep themselves warm.
• They will have a layer of insulating fat and also
  a layer of thick fur covered by a layer of
  waterproof fur to keep themselves warm
• Birds have also adapted to living in cold
  environment. They have feathers to help them keep
  warm. If it gets too cold they fly to warmer
  environments. This behavioral adaptation is
  called migration.

• Animals that live in hot places have certain ways
  to adapt to their surroundings.
• Some animals dig holes, go inside and stay out of
  the sun.
• Others are able to drink large amounts of water
  at one time.
• Most desert plants have shallow roots to absorb
  water rapidly.

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Moving on Land
Animals that move on land may have legs with
powerful muscles to help them overcome the forces
of gravity and friction. These forces oppose
movement on land. Animals that move on land may
also have modified feet. For example, the feet of
the horse and the kangaroo are adapted to help
these animals move on land.
Animals with legs may move about by hopping,
walking or running. Animals with no legs, eg
snakes, are able to crawl or slither on land.They
have adaptations to protect the lower part of
their bodies, which experience friction as they
drag along the ground.
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Moving in water
Anything that moves in water experience a force
called water resistance. It acts against the
direction of movement, just like the force of
friction on land. Aquatic animals have
streamlined body shape to reduce the effects of
water resistance. Aquatic animals may also have
modified limbs like flippers and webbed feet.
These help push the water back so the animal
can move forward at a high speed.
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Adaptations on Flight

• Have well developed wings
• Have powerful flight muscles for flapping their
  wings
• Are covered with feathers for warmth, allowing
  flight muscles to work properly
• Feathers are light and strong, so ideal for
  wings
• Have hollow, strong bones that are filled with
  air to reduce body weight
• Streamlined body so can overcome air
  resistance.

Ex crow, sparrow, eagle, seagull, hawks,
falcon, owl, duck
Predatory birds such as eagles, falcons and hawks
also have excellent eyesight. They can spot their
prey from a very long distance away and then
rapidly swoop down to capture it. Many birds
migrate to cope with seasonal climate changes.
Other birds have evolved to cope with season
temperature variations.
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Breathing in water
Some aquatic animals are adapted to be able to
take in dissolved oxygen from water. Some aquatic
animals may live in water, but come up to the
surface to take air. Some aquatic animals can
live in water and on land. They are adapted to
take in dissolved oxygen when in water, and
breathe air when on land.
Ex Fishes, shrimp, frog tadpole, toad tadpole,
dragonfly nymph ( Gills ) Ex Leech, worms (
soft, thin skin that can take in dissolved oxygen
) Ex Mosquito larva, water scorpion, water
stick insect ( Air tube or breathing tube
that sticks out above the water surface to take
in air )
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Adapting to low light
Nocturnal animals are animals that are asleep
during the day and awake in the night. They have
special adaptations which enables them to see at
night. The retina in these nocturnal creatures
are large to collect more light. Nocturnal
animals have huge eyes. The eyes fill nearly half
of these animals skull. The bad thing about this
is that they are not able to move their eyes
freely. To overcome this limited movement most
nocturnal animals heads can be rotated 270
degrees.
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Plants
Some plants may be in low light environments. For
instance, in a rain forest, most of the light is
absorbed by the top canopy layers. The plants on
the rain forest floor have huge leaves which
enables them to absorb more sunlight at one time.
Most of them are able to grow on stems of other
tall plants so as to reach higher areas in the
rain forest where more light is available
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