Adaptation - Animals

An adaptation is a way an organism’s body helps it survives or live in its environment.

Having the ability of adapt to changes in the environment is important for an organism’s survival.

Adaptations in animals help them to:

Ø Obtain food

Ø Keep safe

Ø Build homes

Ø Withstand weather

Ø Attract mates

Physical adaptations help animals to get food and water or protect themselves.

Ø Birds have different types of beaks meant for the different type of food they consume.

Ø Birds have different types of feet to suit their movement and way to get their food.

Animals adapt certain behaviours or actions to increase its chances of survival.

• Having a special appearance, camouflaging


• Moving in groups

Adaptation to the cold weather:

Ø Polar bears have thick hair to protect them from the cold.

Ø Some birds migrate to warmer places during the colder months.

Ø Bears hibernate during the colder months.

Ø Beavers and squirrels store food prior to the winter months so that they have constant supply of food.

Ø Squirrels and mice hurdle together to keep warm.

Adaptation to the hot weather:

Ø Having light colouration to reflect light, so that the animals do not take in too much heat.

Ø Desert animals reduce water loss by avoiding the heat and are active in the night

Ø Owls and nighthawks gape open-mouthed to dissipate the heat.

Ø Jackrabbit have long ears to release heat.

Ø Some animals are able to retain water in their body for long period of time.

Adaptation to the light:

• Use of echolocation by bats.
• Owls have the ability to rotate their neck 270 degree to aid their vision.

Adaptation to movement in water:

• Fish have fins to help them balance and move in water.
• Fish have streamlined body to help it move faster because it can cut through the water more efficiently than other shapes.
• Amphibians have webbed feet to help push against the water.
  
  
• Crocodiles and polar bears close their nostrils when swimming in the water.

• Dolphins and sea turtle have flippers that acts like paddles to help steer through the water.

• Water birds have special oil which does not allow water to penetrate their feathers.

Adaptation to breathing in water:

• Whales and dolphins have blowholes to breathe out air.
• Fish have gills to breathe in the water.
• Water scorpion and the wriggler have breathing tubes.
• Diving beetle and water spider trap air in bubbles in order to breathe in water.

Adaptation to getting more water:

Ø Desert tortoise store water under their shell.

Ø Gila monster and camels store fats in so that they can live off this fat when there is not enough water.

Ø Most animals conserve water by keeping cool and are active in the morning, evening and after dark.

Adaptation for obtaining food and feeding:

Ø Most predators have sharp teeth, claws and jaws that they use to eat meat.

Ø Plant eating animals have small, pointy teeth or chopping or large flat teeth for crushing and grinding.

Ø Hummingbird has small, long and hallow beak to probe into flowers.

Ø Hawk has curved beak with sharp point to rip the flesh of its prey.

Ø Toucan has long, thick beak that helps to pluck the fruit on trees.

Ø Some animals will ambush their prey and make surprise attack.

Eg. Sparrowhawk.

Ø Lions, killer whales live and hunt in family teams so that they can protect their young at the same time.

Ø Some species of spider inject venom into their insect preys, paralyzing them and dissolving them from within.

Ø Animals have sharp sense of vision. Hearing and smell that helps them to hunt for food.

Adaptation for escaping predators:

Ø Rhinoceros have horns to fight off predators.

Ø Some animals are active only at night so that it is harder for the predator to find them.

Ø Some butterflies appear to look like other organism so that the predators thought them to be poisonous or bad-tasting and thus leave them alone (mimicry)

Ø Some butterflies have eyespots on their wings to fool the predators to think that they are other animals.

Ø Bumblebee and the yellow wasps have bright warning colours to tell the predators to stay away.

Ø Some animals give unpleasant taste or poison when the predators eat them.

Ø The ostrich has long legs to flee, the mice have holes that the predators cannot enter and the octopus give off black ink clouds so that they can escape.

Camouflage is the use of colours to match the place where the animals live so that they cannot be spotted easily.

This method can be used by the predator so that they are not easily spotted by the prey when they approached.

Some preys also use this method so that the predator cannot see them easily.