toad Adaptations

How do adaptations help species survive in their environment? An adaptation is a body part or behavior that helps a species survive in a particular environment. Adaptation can help a species breathe, get food, or hide. All species are adapted to live in certain habitats. Species that cannot adapt will die out.

Have you ever wondered how animals are able to survive in the wild? Animals have certain adaptations that help them to survive.

Think about the way you dress in the winter. You don’t wear your shorts and bathing suit when it’s snowing outside! You wear warm clothes, and maybe even a hat and mittens to protect yourself from the weather.

We can separate adaptations into two categories: Physical AND Behavioral

Physical adaptations help an animal survive in its environment. are body structures that allow an animal to find and consume food and defend itself. Hey! I’m a walking stick. I look just like a stick you’d find on the ground. Physical adaptations help an animal survive in its environment. © A. Weinberg

Physical adaptations Body coverings & parts (claws, beaks, feet, armor plates, skulls, teeth) The elephant’s trunk is a physical adaptation that helps it to clean itself, eat, drink, and to pick things up.

Camouflage (use of color in a surrounding): to blend in Physical adaptation Camouflage (use of color in a surrounding): to blend in The chameleon can change its color to match its surroundings. Can you do that?

(looking or sounding like another living organism) Physical adaptation Mimicry (looking or sounding like another living organism) The Viceroy butterfly uses mimicry to look like the Monarch butterfly. Can you tell them apart? I’m the Viceroy! Not poisonous Poisonous I’m the Monarch!

Physical adaptation Chemical defenses (like venom, ink, sprays) The use of chemical compounds by plants and animals

Behavioral Adaptations… Now let’s learn about Behavioral Adaptations… Behavioral Adaptations allow animals to respond to life needs.

Behavioral Adaptations are animals’ actions. Remember that Physical Adaptations are body structures. Each organism has unique methods of adapting to its environment by means of different actions.

We can divide Behavioral Adaptations into two groups: Instinctive Learned These behaviors happen naturally & don’t have to be learned. These behaviors must be taught.

= Instinctive behaviors happen naturally & don’t need to be learned Methods of gathering & storing food Hibernating Defending oneself Finding shelter Raising young Migrating

Learned behaviors Obtained by interacting with the environment and cannot be passed on to the next generation except by teaching. =

Theory of Evolution Evolution: The process of change over time Specifically, a change in the frequency of a gene or allele in a population over time

Misconceptions about Evolution Evolution does not tell us about how life first appeared on Earth Single organisms do not evolve. Only populations can evolve. Not all changes are “good”

Darwin’s Background Born in England, 1809 Studied Medicine at Edinburgh University Transferred to Cambridge University Studied to be a Minister Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ61-104].

Charles Darwin Father of Evolution Proposed a mechanism for evolution, natural selection Darwin went on a 5-year trip around the world on the ship, the HMS Beagle in 1831 As the ship’s naturalist, he made observations of organisms in South America and the Galapagos Islands Wrote a book, “Origin of the Species” in 1859

Darwin’s Finches

Natural Selection Natural Selection: Organisms that are best adapted to an environment survive and reproduce more than others

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection occurs in four steps: Overproduction Variation Competition Selection

1. Overproduction Each species produces more offspring that can survive

2. Variation Each individual has a unique combination of inherited traits. Adaptation: an inherited trait that increases an organism’s chances of survival

What adaptations do you see?

What adaptations do you see?

Why is Variation Important? Because the environment changes. The more variation within a species, the more likely it will survive EX: If everyone is the same, they are all vulnerable to the same environmental changes or diseases The more variation of types of species in an habitat, the more likely at least some will survive EX: Dinosaurs replaced by mammals

Which community has a better chance of surviving a natural disaster? Community A Community B

3. Competition Individuals COMPETE for limited resources: Food, water, space, mates Natural selection occurs through “Survival of the fittest” Fitness: the ability to survive and reproduce Not all individuals survive to adulthood

4. Selection The individuals with the best traits / adaptations will survive and have the opportunity to pass on it’s traits to offspring. Natural selection acts on the phenotype (physical appearance), not the genotype (genetic makeup) Ex: When a predator finds its prey, it is due to the prey’s physical characteristics, like color or slow speed, not the alleles (BB, Bb)

Individuals with traits that are not well suited to their environment either die or leave few offspring. Evolution occurs when good traits build up in a population over many generations and bad traits are eliminated by the death of the individuals.

Peppered Moth A Which moth will the bird catch? B

Descent with Modification Descent with Modification – each living species has descended, with changes, from other species over time. Common Descent – all living organisms are related to one another

Evidence for Evolution: Fossil Record Homologous Body Structures Vestigial Organs Embryology Biochemical Evidence

The Fossil Record Fossils: a record of the history of life on Earth

Pangea

Coral Snake (Poisonous) Milk Snake (Not poisonous)

Stick Mantid

Flower Mantid