Lesson 1. What are Adaptations? November, 2013 Pg. A76 – A82

Adaptations that help Organisms Adaptations are inherited physical or behavioral traits that help individual organisms meet their needs and survive in their environment. Some adaptations help animals get food, water, and oxygen. Others help them reproduce, escape danger, and survive harsh conditions such as heat or cold.

Some adaptations help plants gather sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide; reproduce; discourage herbivores; and survive harsh environmental conditions.

Structural Adaptations Structural adaptations are physical traits that help a plant or animal survive in its evironment. Colors are adaptations that can protect an animal from enemies in different ways. Some animals use bright colors to attract mates. Plants have structural adaptations to help attract pollinators, capture sunlight to make sugar.

Examples of Structural Adaptations A protective pouch helps protect the female kangaroo protect its young from danger. Stinky flower smells like rotten meat, the odor attracts flies to the flower. The smells helps the flower reproduce.

Mimicry is an adaptation in which one organism looks like another. Protective coloration is an adaptation i which an organism´s body matches the color or pattern of the background.

Warning coloration; many poisonous or bad-tasting organisms have bright colors and patterns that warn enemies of danger.

Behavioral Adaptations Behavioral adaptations are inherited behaviors that help an animal survive in its environment. Examples of behavioral adaptations include finding or building a home, attracting mates, caring for young, finding food, avoiding enemies, migrating, and so on. Human actions sometimes destroy the places where animals live.

Examples of Behavioral Adaptations “Playing Possum” when it is frightened by an animal, a possum falls down and it looks dead. Riding safe on Mom, after her young are born the mother scorpion carries them on her back.

The behavioral adaptations we studied are called instinctive behaviors because animals are born with them. Animals can also learn some behaviors to survive, this are called learned behaviors.