VocabularyAdaptation: A body part, body covering, or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment
Environment: Everything that surrounds and affects a living thing. The environment includes non-living things, such as water and air, as well as other living things. Mimicry: An adaptation in which an otherwise harmless animal looks like a harmful animal in order to protect itself. |
Today's Target: Understand what adaptation is in animals and be able to understand how they help certain animals survive.
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What are adaptations
Adaptations help animals defend themselves in their environment. Two adaptations types are Physical adaptation and behavioural adaptation. The Physiological Adaptation is about what happens inside of animals, and involves organs helping the animal adapt to the environment.
Physical Adaptation
Physical Adaptation
- Colour: Patterns, Camouflage
- Body Parts: Beak, Antlers, Claws
- Defenses: Quills, sprays
- Cold Weather: Migration, Hibernation
- Moving together as a group
- Learned defenses or reactions to people or other animals
- Hibernation
- Venom creation
- Reducing or increasing body temperature to suit the environment
Examples
BearsBears are known for hibernating. However, bears are not the only animal that hibernates in the winter, and not all bears hibernate. However, hibernation is not a physical adaptation, but behavioural and physiological.
In the fall-winter, there is not a lot of food for many bear species, so they enter hibernation to wait until there is enough food when the weather is warmer, not because they cannot handle the cold. |
Physical or Behavioural?
Go through this list and write down a quick educated guess on whether this adaptation is physical or behavioural. We will share our answers together.
Extending Thoughts: Make an educated guess and explain how the animal uses that adaptation to survive better.
Extending Thoughts: Make an educated guess and explain how the animal uses that adaptation to survive better.
- Turtles laying their eggs on the beach
- The stripes on a skunk
- The Western Hognose snake, when feeling threatened, flips on its back and stops moving
- Birds Migrating for the winter
- The feathers of female hummingbirds are less "bright" or "noticeable" than the male counterparts.
- Mountain goats can jump 10 feet and travel on cliffsides with ease
- Wolves hunt in packs
- The octopus uses camouflage in its environment
- Extra: The bright blue rings on a blue ringed octopus (seen below)
The octopus is about the size of a golf-ball to a tennis ball. Not very large.
Important: This cute looking octopus is a top 10 most poisonous creature on our planet.
Found in the ocean between Japan and Australia.
It is also quite docile, so if you see one, simply move away from it.
Important: This cute looking octopus is a top 10 most poisonous creature on our planet.
Found in the ocean between Japan and Australia.
It is also quite docile, so if you see one, simply move away from it.
Discussion
What are some adaptations you can think of in pets or animals on the spot? Why do you think those animals may have that adaptation?