ADAPTATIONSBIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS

Understand that organisms have adaptations that help themsurvive and reproduce.

Discuss examples of adaptations (behavioural, structural,and physiological) in plants and animals.

Overview

An adaptation is a physical or behavioural characteristic that hasdeveloped to allow an organisms to better survive in its environment.

Adaptations are the result of evolution and may occur when a genemutates.

This mutation may cause the organism to have a better chance atsurvival, therefore reproducing and passing it’s traits onto the offspring.

It can take many generations to develop an adaptation.

Adaptations

INTENDED STUDENT LEARNING

Understand that organisms have adaptations that help them survive and reproduce.

There are three main types of adaptations:

1. Structural AdaptationsRelated to an organism’s appearance

2. Physiological AdaptationsRelated to an organism’s body chemistry and metabolism

3. Behavioural AdaptationsRelated to an organism’s behaviour

Adaptations

Structural adaptations are adaptations that affect an organism’sappearance.

Examples:• Desert foxes have large ears for heat radiation. Arctic foxes have small ears to

retain body heat.

• Seals have flippers to navigate water. Raccoons have separate, flexible digits tomanipulate food.

• White polar bears blend into the snow and ice. Spotted jaguars blend into thespecked jungle shade.

• Trees may have corky bark to protect from wildfires.

Structural Adaptations

Physiological adaptations are based on an organism’s body chemistryand metabolism.

They are usually not observed from the outside. Laboratory studies thatmeasure the contents of blood, urine and other body fluids, that tracemetabolic pathways, or microscopic studies of tissue are often necessary toidentify physiological adaptations.

Examples:• Desert animals like kangaroo rats have more efficient kidneys that prevent blood

coagulation in mosquito saliva.

• The presence of toxins in plant leaves that repel herbivores.

Physiological Adaptations

Behavioural adaptations are adaptations that affect how an organismacts.

Behavioural adaptations can include mating procedures (Australianbowerbird).

Examples:• Bears hibernate to escape cold. Birds and whales migrate to warmer winter

climates.

• Desert animals are active at night during hot summer weather. Lizards seek asunny spot in the morning to warm up to operating temperatures more quickly.

• Humans employ cultural adaptations as a subset of behavioural adaptations;people who line in a given environment learn ways of raising the food they needand coping with the particular given climate.

Behavioural Adaptations

Bowerbirds

Best Australian Adaptations

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2016/02/top-10-ingenious-aussie-animal-adaptations/

INTENDED STUDENT LEARNING

Discuss examples of adaptations (behavioural, structural, and physiological) in plants and animals.

Homework

Independent content revision