Download Animal Adaptations

Chapter 3 Section 4
Animal Adaptations
Proficient I Can
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I can analyze physical adaptations to
predict which organisms are likely to
survive in a particular environment.
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I can analyze behavioral adaptations
to predict which organisms are likely
to survive in a particular
environment.
Basic I Cans
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I can identify three kinds of adaptations that
help organisms survive.
I can describe the four parts of natural
selection.
I can explain how variation occurs within a
population.
I can explain why genetic variation within a
population is important.
I can explain how resistance to insecticide is a
survival characteristic.
Types of Adaptation
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An adaptation is a characteristic that
improves an individual’s ability to survive
and reproduce in a particular environment.
It also refers to the ability of living things to
adjust to different conditions within their
environments.
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Structural adaptation
Protective coloration
Mimicry
Behaviour adaptations
Migration
Hibernation
Structural adaptations
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A structural adaptation involves
some part of an animal's body.
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Teeth
Body coverings
Movement
Protective Coloration
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Coloration and
protective
resemblance allow
an animal to blend
into its environment.
Another word for this
might be
camouflage. Their
camouflage makes it
hard for enemies to
single out
individuals.
Mimicry
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Mimicry allows one
animal to look,
sound, or act like
another animal to fool
predators into
thinking it is
poisonous or
dangerous.
Behaviour adaptations
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Behaviour adaptations
include activities that help
an animal survive.
Behaviour adaptations can
be learned or instinctive.
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Social behaviour
Behaviour for protection
Migration
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This is when
behavioural adaptation
that involves an animal
or group of animals
moving from one region
to another and then
back again.
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Animals migrate for
different reasons.
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better climate
better food
safe place to live
safe place to raise
young
go back to the place
they were born.
Hibernation
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This is deep sleep in which animal’s body
temp drops, body activities are slowed to
conserve energy.
E.g. Bats, woodchucks & bears.
Adaptations for Obtaining
Food
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Chameleons use
their long, fastmoving tongue to
catch unsuspecting
insects.
Woodpeckers use
their long sharp
beak to break into
wood and look for
insects to eat.
Predator-Prey Adaptations
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Many organisms
have adaptations
that serve as a
defense against
predators.
For example, the
porcupine has a
protective
covering.
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Bright markings also warn
potential predators to
leave an organism alone.
Patterns with black stripes
and red, orange, or yellow
markings are common in
many species of bees,
wasps, skunks, snakes,
and poisonous frogs.
Predator-Prey
Adaptations
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Another adaptation
that helps both
predators and prey is
called camouflage.
An organism that is
camouflaged is
disguised so that it is
hard to see even when
the organism is in
view.
Adaptations to
Interactions
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Two species can also adapt
to interact with one
another. For example, the
honeycreeper and the
lobelia plant have adapted
to each other.
The honeycreeper has a
long, curved beak, which
lets it reach the nectar at
the base of the long,
curved lobelia flower.
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As the bird sips nectar from
the flower, the bird gets
pollen on its head.
When the bird moves to
another flower, some of the
pollen will rub off. Therefore,
the honeycreeper helps
lobelia plants reproduce.
Natural Selection
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As you have already
learned, adaptations help
organisms survive.
Organisms inherit
adaptations and other
characteristics from their
parents.
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However, inherited
characteristics in
populations can change
over time.
This change is called
Natural Selection, which is
the process by which
individuals that are better
adapted to their
environment survive and
reproduce more
successfully than less well
adapted individuals do.
Four Parts to Natural
Selection
Changes in Genetic Variation
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Over time, a
population will be
made up of more
individuals with
characteristics that
help them survive.
If a population
decreases rapidly,
many characteristics
may be lost entirely
from a population
because all those
individuals died.
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This reduction in the
number of
characteristics within a
population is called a
genetic bottleneck.
If the population is able
to increase again,
inbreeding will cause
the individuals to be
genetically similar.
This will make them
susceptible to birth
defects and genetic
diseases.
Florida Panther Population
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The Florida panther population is an example of a
population that has experienced a genetic
bottleneck. Because of isolation from other
populations, panthers, habitat loss, and an
overall decrease in population size, the genetic
variation within the Florida panther population
has decreased. As a result, many of the panthers
that survived have become genetically similar.
This similarity has caused inbreeding to occur
within the population. Inbreeding in panthers
can result in heart defects, the failure of
reproductive organs, and low birth rates.
Insecticide Resistance
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Insecticide
resistance is also a
result of natural
selection.
Insecticides are
used to kill insects.
However, some
may be resistant to
certain
insecticides.
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These insects
reproduce and in
turn pass the gene
to their offspring
making them
resistant to
insecticides.
Proficient I Can

I can analyze physical adaptations to
predict which organisms are likely to
survive in a particular environment.


I can analyze behavioral adaptations
to predict which organisms are likely
to survive in a particular
environment.