1. Adaptations and Behaviors
Chapter 18
Taylor 2010

2. Adaptations
An adaptation is a trait that enables an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment.
Many adaptations help organisms to:
obtain food.
enable them to avoid being eaten.
survive in different environments
reproduce.
Brightly colored petals are a reproductive adaptation of some plants.
The care that some animals give their young until the young can survive on their own is a reproductive adaptation.

3. Surviving in an Ecosystem
Organisms could not survive unless they were adapted to the conditions of their surroundings.
In order to meet their basic needs, plants and animals must change to fit into their environments.

4. Example-Mammals, Birds, Lizards
Deceptive Coloration
“Camouflage”
Ibex in Isreali desert, stonebird,

5. Example-Frogs, Snakes Alerts, Warning Colors
Coral snake, rainforest frog

6. Example- Insects Mimicry
The Monarch Butterfly, Müllerian mimicry complex with the Viceroy butterfly in shared coloration patterns and display behavior. Viceroy resembles the Soldier Butterfly. All taste bad, predators see the colors and think they are all the same.

7. Example-Alligator
Third, clear sideways eyelid that protects their eyes underwater.
Wide flap of skin at the back of the throat, keeps water away from the lungs while swallowing underwater.

8. Example-Prairie Dogs
“Kiss" and “Hug" when they meet to identify each other as family!
Take turns keeping watch! If the watch dog sees danger.
Sound an alarm call by stretching their heads into the sky and barking!

9. Traits
Most adaptations are traits or characteristics that offspring inherit from their parents.
Traits are determined by genes.
Genes are sets of information inherited by an organism’s parents.

10. Changes to an organism’s environment
Environmental changes affect the organisms that live in the environments.
If an organism’s environment changes, the characteristics that it has inherited help determine whether it can adapt.
If a niche disappears then an animal can go extinct!
Deforestation forces organisms to adapt or die!

11. Internal Adaptations
Allow organisms to function and survive in their environments.
Examples
Birds have hollow bones to make them light weight enough to fly
Fish have gills so they can breathe under water

12. Animal Behavior
Behavior consists of all the actions an animal performs.
Examples:
Things it does to get food
Avoid predators
Find a mate

13. Behaviors Behavior is an important adaptation.
Most behaviors help an animal survive and reproduce.
An organism’s reaction to a stimulus is called a response.
House Sparrows aggressively protect a small territory just around their nesting site.. House Sparrows use a set of postures and behaviors to communicate with others of their species.
House Sparrows also have a set of vocalizations that are used to attract mates, deter intruders, and warn others. 

14. Stimuli and Response All behaviors are responses to stimuli.
Some stimuli come from outside the animal’s body, like a noise.
Some stimuli come from inside the animal’s body, like hunger.

15. Types of animal behaviors
Instinct-behaviors an animal is born being able to do.
Usually done correctly the first time.
Ex:
A bird can build a nest.
A spider spinning a complicated web.
Earthworms crawling away from bright light
Learning-changes in behavior based on practice or experience.
Result from an animal’s experience and are not usually done perfectly the first time.
Learned behaviors depend in part on instincts.
Ex: Lion cub learns to hunt from his mother, birds learn songs from other birds

16. Patterns of Behavior
Scientists classify patterns of behavior into different types.  

17. Aggression
Threatening behavior that one animal uses to gain control over another.
Competition for limited resources such as food, water, space, shelter, or mates.
Establish a territory, an area that is occupied & defended by an animal or group of animals.

18. Courtship behavior
Behavior in which males and females of the same species prepare for mating.
Courtship behaviors ensure that the males and females of the same species recognize one another, so that mating and reproduction can take place.

19. Living in groups A characteristic that usually helps animals survive.
Protection
Find food
Society-A group of closely related animals, like “prides” of lions, “packs” of wolves, “herds” of elephants, “gaggles” of geese, “towns” of prairie dogs, etc…

20. Communication
Communication is used for sending information to other organisms.
Sounds for defense
Body positions and movements for courtship
Movements or body position to communicate information of food and resources
Scents  

21. Behavior cycles Some animal behavior occurs in predictable patterns
Nocturnal- active at night 
Diurnal- active during the day.
Circadian Rhythms- daily behaviors

22. Other behavior cycles are related to seasons
Hibernation- state of greatly reduced body activity that occurs during the winter.
During the fall, animals eat more food than usual.
“Sleep” in nests, dens and burrows.

23. Migration- periodic journey of an animal from one place to another and back again.
Animals travel for food.
Animals travel for a favorable environment for reproduction.

24. Estivation- dormancy, or "sleep", occurs in hot or desert climates.
Heat and water are important.
Some animals need protection from high temperatures and drought.
Lungfish bury themselves in the mud of dried up lake, survive for many years

25. Animals learn new behaviors in different ways
Imprinting – some newborn animals bond with the first moving object it sees (usually its mother).
Conditioning -connecting some sort of stimulus with a good or bad event.
Trial-and-error learning- repeated practice, gaining more and more skill.
Insight learning – highest form of learning, this is problem solving by applying past experiences.

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