How Living Things Meet their Needs The Survival Game How Living Things Meet their Needs

Adaptations body parts or behaviors of living things that help them survive in a certain environment

Reasons for Animal Adaptations: sense environment food / eat movement communicate reproduce defend itself

Sense Environment A duck-billed platypus has a soft birdlike beak with lots of nerve endings. It uses its beak to find worms and small fish in muddy waters. seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, & touching help an animal sense its environment

Food / Eat Animals need to eat – some eat plants, others eat animals, and some eat both plants & animals.

Movement enables an animal to search for food, investigate its surroundings, or escape a dangerous situation A gibbon has arms twice as long as its body, making it easy to swing through the trees. It uses its long, curved fingers to firmly grip the branches.

Communicate Animals use sounds, scents, touch, and body movement to communicate with one another. Dolphins use over 32 sounds – squeals, clicks, barks, and whistles – to talk to one another.

Reproduce Most animals need two parents to reproduce, so they exhibit certain behaviors to help find and choose suitable mates. A male bird of paradise uses its brilliantly colored feathers to attract a mate. it perches on a low branch and spreads its wings in an eye-catching display.

Defense Animals may attack, hide, or make a quick getaway to defend themselves. The sloth in South America is so dirty that green algae grows on its coat. This helps camouflage the sloth to hide among the trees.

Wings, Trunks, & Teeth body parts that help animals get food Penguin’s wings are strong for paddling underwater. Alligator Snapping Turtle swims with mouth open. It’s tongue looks like a worm. Elephants use their tusks for drilling to underground water. They use their trunks to lift the water to their mouth. Dogs use their tongue to scoop water into their mouth

Claws, Feathers, & Ears Pocket gophers have large front teeth, sharp claws, and flexible bodies. This helps them dig tunnels. body parts that are used as shelter or regulate body temperature The fluffy down on feathers help keep a bird warm. The large ears of a fennec or elephant help keep it cool.

Behaviors for Survival behaviors – ways living things respond to their environment instinctive behaviors – behaviors that living things inherit from their parents learned behaviors – develop after birth

Chasing & Cradling Instinctive Behaviors crocodile cradle baby in mouth when danger is near rattlesnake coils and strikes at danger Learned Behaviors wolf learns to catch food by chasing & playing with other pups and watching other wolves catch deer

Spinning & Shivering behaviors for getting food - spinning web keep body temperature within certain range - bask in sun - seek shade - shiver when cold

Instinctive vs. Learned Behaviors - Partner Questions What is an instinct? Where do animals’ instincts come from? How are instinctive behaviors different from learned behaviors? Give two examples of instinctive behaviors and two examples of learned behaviors. Suppose a dog barks when a stranger comes close to its home. Suppose it also barks when its master asks it to speak. Which behavior is probably learned? Which behavior is an instinct?

Wooly Mammoth (extinct) Snow Leopard (endangered) Is It Ever Too Late? extinct – dies out endangered – few remaining, species is near extinction To survive, an organism must be able to meet its needs in the environment where it lives. Wooly Mammoth (extinct) Snow Leopard (endangered)

When Environments Change natural forces - earthquake - forest fire - drought human impact - cut down trees - oil spills

Reasons for Endangered Animals killed for use in products - furs & feathers - meat not to late to save a species as long as some are still alive

Review Questions What is instinctive behavior? Describe an example of it. Name two animals. Describe one behavior that helps each animal meet a basic need. Choice a circus animal. Describe one instinctive behavior and one learned behavior. Think about the adaptations of animals that help them to survive. What traits might help some Asian elephants to survive?