Adaptations & Natural Selection

NICHE A habitat supplying factors necessary for existence of an organism and its ecological role in regard to food consumption.

Polar Bear Lives: Cold environment Why? Blend in for hunting and protection Job: Keep population of seals down

Woodpecker Lives: Why? Job: In a tree Safe from predators Control insect population that harms trees

ADAPTATION A characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce. Survive means: eat, blend, hunt, protect self, find food, etc.

DESERT FOX Hot environment Big ears

ARCTIC FOX Cold environment Small ears

DESERT RABBIT Hot environment Big ears

ARCTIC HARE Cold environment Small ears

Heat escapes through the ears BIG IDEA Heat escapes through the ears

Adaptations Bioluminescence Light that is given off by a creature Lightening bugs Angler fish Mushrooms in Brazil

Adaptations Echolocation An animal’s (or human’s) ability to tell where an object is by detecting the sound bouncing off of it Bat, dolphins http://www.shockwave-sound.com/sound-effects/bat-sounds/bat1.wav

Adaptations Flippers Legs that are specialized for swimming Sea turtles Ducks Walrus

Adaptations Claws Used for gripping, digging and tearing things apart Bears Moles Cats

Adaptations Smell Ability to detect scent to find food, a mate, or avoid danger Vultures Turkey Dogs

Adaptations Teeth Used for tearing, chewing, ripping food for consumption Sharp Lion Eating Meat Flat Horse Grass/Grains Baleen (filter-like) Blue Whale Krill Mixed Humans Meat and plants

Another Adaptation Asexual reproduction A form of reproduction without a mother and a father; genetically identical to its parent (like a clone) Strawberries plants will make runners, vines that will root and make a new plant A potato will sprout and produce new potato plants

Fungi make spores that will explode off of themselves and make new fungi. Black bread mold grows on bread Black bread mold produces spores Black bread mold spores spread over surface of bread and continue to grow more

Natural Selection Process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than other members of the species Therefore, they pass on the more desired traits for survival

Natural Selection Its theorized that giraffes adapted to the climate change in Africa when it went from being a lush jungle to a drier savannah over two million years ago. Normal food sources died out. Trees became the main food source, with leaves high up. Offspring that were born with shorter necks could not reach the food and did not survive. Only the giraffes with the longer necks were able to survive and reproduce, so the giraffe population passed on the long neck gene to its offspring.

Vocabulary Genetic Diversity- Variations- Resilient- Continuous- Difference in the genes among a species If every human was exactly the same and an infectious, deadly disease came around, what would happen??? Variations- Any difference between individuals of the same species Resilient- Able to overcome a tough situation Continuous- Never ending; cycle Water cycle, carbon cycle, changes Migration- Movement of a species during certain times of the year Birds, sea turtles, monarchs Competition- Interaction among organisms by which they compete for survival, for biotic and abiotic factors, reproduction, and hierarchal position.

Vocabulary Bubbles Prey Predator Commensalism Mutualism Parasitism Asexual Reproduction

Prey Prey Picture Definition An animal that is eaten by another A mouse gets eaten by a snake Example 1 Example 2

Predator Predator Picture Definition An animal that eats another animal Predator A lion eating a gazelle Example 1 Example 2

Commensalism Commensalism Picture Definition Relationship between animals where one species benefits while the other is unaffected Commensalism A whale and barnacles Example 1 Example 2

Mutualism Mutualism Picture Definition Relationship between animals where both species benefit Mutualism A mouse gets eaten by a snake Example 1 Example 2

Parasitism Parasitism Picture Definition Relationship between animals where one species benefits while causing harm to the other Parasitism A mosquito to a human Example 1 Example 2

Regeneration Regeneration Picture Definition The ability of an organism to regrow or renew a part of itself; also part of asexual reproduction Regeneration A starfish that gets a leg cut will grow it back Example 1 Example 2