9-19-16 Adaptation Model Lab

Adaptation Model Lab Since the beginning of life on Earth, species have had special characteristics called adaptations that have helped them survive changes in environmental conditions. Changes in a species’ environment include climate changes, habitat destruction, or the extinction of prey.

These changes can cause a species to die out unless the species has a characteristic that helps it survive. For example, a species of bird may have an adaptation for eating sunflower seeds and ants. If the ant population dies out, the bird can still eat seeds and can therefore survive.

In this activity, you will explore several adaptations and design an organism with adaptations you choose. Then, you will describe how these adaptations help the organism survive.

Procedures: 1. Look at the chart on page 90. Choose one adaptation from each column. 2. Design an organism that has the three adaptations you have chosen. You may NOT draw an animal that already exists. You must create your own! Use white copy paper and colored pencils or markers to create your organism. 3. Give your organism a two-part “scientific” name that is based on its characteristics. Write the name at the bottom of your paper. 4. Write a caption on the back of your paper describing your organism. Describe its appearance, the environment or habitat your organism would most likely survive (in the desert, tropical rain forest, plains, icecaps, mountains, or ocean), what it eats, and the way its adaptations help it survive.