Adaptations
Science Challenge
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DAY 1
What Is an Adaptation?
Adaptations are characteristics or behaviors that plants and animals develop over many generations to help them survive their environment.
Adaptations develop because of natural selection!
Natural selection is the theory that nature favors individual plants or animals that have characteristics that make them more fit for their environment. The more fit animals are often healthier, survive longer, and successfully reproduce, creating offspring that also have that characteristic! This is the foundation for the theory of evolution.
Adaptations can be physical or behavioral .
Physical adaptations are parts of an organism's body or things their bodies do that help them survive.
An example of this is a giraffe's long neck. Long necks allow them to reach leaves on trees that other animals can't reach!
Behavioral adaptations are things organisms do or ways they act that help them survive.
An example of this is a nocturnal owl. Over many generations, owls have learned to hunt at night time when there are fewer birds hunting.
Animals adapt for many reasons , such as finding food, competing for resources, avoiding predators, attracting a mate, and so many others. Regardless of the purpose, adaptations make animals better suited for their habitat!
For each animal fact below, identify whether the highlighted adaptations are physical or behavioral.
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CHALLENGE #1
We, as humans, often forget that we are animals! Like most other animals, we have adaptations to help us survive our environment.
Humans live in nearly every type of climate that exists and we all have characteristics and behaviors that help us survive. Though we may be able to adjust our thermostat when we're cold or buy our food at the store when we're hungry, there are things about us that have adapted to help us survive!
Can you identify two adaptations that humans have? Identify the adaptations and describe why these adaptations would be helpful to humans!
DAY 2
Collecting & Competing for Food
One thing that all animals have in common is that we need to eat !
Not only do animals have to find their food, they often have to compete with other species for that food.
Herbivores , or plant-eating animals, have to compete with other herbivores and find food that hasn't already been grazed. This could mean moving to new areas or adapting to eat plants that other species cannot.
Carnivores, or meat-eating animals, must find and then capture their food before another, more fit carnivore can do so.
Omnivores , meaning animals who eat both plants and animals, sometimes have more options on the menu but still have to work and compete to get it!
Once they find their food and win the competition, t hey also need to be able to properly digest it. Elephants need big, flat teeth to help them grind down leaves and twigs. Tigers need sharp, strong teeth to rip apart food. Eagles need powerful beaks to open the thick hide of their prey.
Most animals rely on a wide variety of adaptations to help them get all the nutrients they need. Without these adaptations, they would likely starve!
How and Why I Get to Eat
For each species below, can you name an adaptation they have that allow them to find and collect enough food to survive?
Click the drop-down arrow to see what major adaptations scientists have discovered!
Challenge #2
All animals require food to stay alive; that is how we gain energy. Some animals have diets that are high in energy, like a tiger, and other animals have a diet that is low in energy, like a panda. Many times, an animal's behavior has a lot to do with the food they're eating!
But it is not as simple as it seems. Animals must be able to collect and eat their food, meaning they must have the right teeth structure, the right plants or animals on the menu, and the ability to get the food before another animal does.
Today, pick a species that is native to your area and think about what they eat. Is the species you selected an herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore? Identify two adaptations that help them be successful in finding and consuming their diet!
DAY 3
Avoiding Predators
Not only do most animals have to worry about finding food, but they also have to worry about not becoming food. From fish to rabbits to snakes, most animals have a menu and are on one. Predators are animals that eat other animals, while prey animals are the ones being eaten! The more well-adapted a prey species is to avoiding or deterring predators, the more successful they are!
Here are some common ways animals avoid predations, though there are many other ways animals have adapted to stay off the menu.
Camouflage
Many animals have colors and patterns that help them blend into their environment, making it harder for predators to see them.
Toxicity
It helps to be a poisonous or venomous animal when it comes to avoiding predators. Toxic animals are often brightly colored as a warning.
Mimicry
Some non-toxic animals have bright colors just like toxic animals! This is thought to be an adaptation to trick predators into avoiding them.
Large Groups
There is safety in numbers, so many animals will live in large groups. This helps them better detect danger and makes it less likely each individual will get eaten.
Not on the Menu
In the predator-prey relationships below, the prey species have adapted to avoid their predator at all cost.
Identify which of the four adaptations from above they use. There could be more than one answer!
1. Lions eat zebras
2. Hawks eat rattlesnakes
3. Wolves eat deer
4. Snakes eat mice
5. Birds eat scorpions
Challenge #3
DAY 4
Adapting to the Climate
Animals also need to adapt to the climate of their ecosystem. In some regions, it gets freezing in the winter, and in others, gets extremely hot in the summer. Animals have evolved to survive their climates, even in the most extreme environments, using both physical and behavioral adaptations. Some animals will dramatically change their behavior during the months with extreme conditions, while others have physical adaptations that allow them to continue with their normal behaviors!
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Hibernation
This is a long period of inactivity in endothermic, or warm-blooded, animals where their metabolism slows during the cold months when food is less available.
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Brumation
Like hibernation, brumation is a state of inactivity during the winter months except brumation occurs in ectothermic, or cold-blooded, animals.
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Aestivation
Aestivation is also a prolonged state of inactivity but occurs during the summer and is seen in both endotherms and ectotherms.
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Physical Features
Many animals have body parts that help them survive their climate, as well. Large ears, being light-colored, and having fur on the bottom of their feet help many animals in hot climates. In cool climates, animals may have more blubber, thick fur, or dark-colored fur to absorb heat.
Climate Challenges
Each animal below lives where conditions in the winter are harsh, so they become inactive until spring when conditions are better! Using the information you just learned, identify if each animal hibernates or if they brumate!
Challenge #4
Depending on where an animal lives, they likely have to face a climate that changes throughout the year with the seasons . It has taken many, many generations for those animals to develop physical and behavioral characteristics that help them thrive in their climate. But what would happen if the climate changed too rapidly? What if there wasn't enough time for species to adapt to their ecosystem?
Things we do every day add harmful emissions to our atmosphere that can change the global climate! The Earth is surrounded by the atmosphere , which is a thin layer of gases that helps keep the Earth at the right temperature, like a greenhouse! However, the more of these gases that are up there, the more heat gets trapped near the Earth . These gases are added to the atmosphere by humans every time we turn on a light, watch TV, or do anything that uses electricity. Creating electricity releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, as does driving cars and flying planes! The more gases we produce, the quicker the climate will change.
Click on "The Greenhouse Effect" below to watch a short video and explore how these emissions are impacting our planet!
For challenge #4, choose one option.
1. Pick one animal that lives in your area. Identify one adaptation that helps them survive in your climate and predict one issue they would face if your climate were to increase too quickly.
2. Identify three things you do every day that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and one thing you can change to reduce your emissions!
DAY 5
Attract a Mate
One of the most important things an animal can do is find a mate and produce offspring. There is nothing that matters more for the livelihood of a species than creating the next generations, but this is not always so easy.
For most species, the males are the ones putting in the work to attract a mate, and no animal group takes it quite as far as birds. From singing and dancing to presenting elaborate gifts, the animal kingdom has developed some very unique ways to flirt. Some species have to work year after year to find a mate, while others have the luxury of having a mate for life.
Check out these amazing and unusual physical and behavioral adaptations that these species use to find a mate!
Why I Am the Way I Am
Challenge #5
Animals develop adaptations for so many different reasons, even more than we covered in this lesson! To figure out what kind of adaptations animals have, think about their environment and their behaviors. How do the different body parts or behaviors help that animal survive in their specific environment? How does the environment impact how they must behave?
For your final challenge, select your favorite animal and identify three adaptations they have and how they help that animal survive.
Now, change their environment; place that species in the desert, rainforest, or tundra. Would these three adaptations still be helpful? Why or why not?
Glossary
Adaptation
The process by which a species becomes more fit for its environment over the course of several generations. It is a result of natural selection.
Aestivation
A prolonged state of inactivity in both ectotherms and endotherms that occurs during the summer.
Behavioral Adaptation
Things organisms do or ways they act that help them survive.
Brumate
A state of inactivity in ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) during the winter months.
Camouflage
The ability for an organism to blend into their surroundings usually to hide from prey or predators.
Carnivore
An animal that eats other animals.
Climate
Weather conditions in a region over a long period of time.
Ectotherm
An animal that relies on the external temperature to regulate their body temperature (reptiles and amphibians). Also known as cold-blooded.
Endotherm
An animal that regulates their body temperature internally (mammals and birds). Also known as warm-blooded.
Evolution
The theory that heritable characteristics of a species change over generations to help that species better survive their environment.
Greenhouse Gases
Gases in the atmosphere that trap heat from the sun close to the Earth.
Herbivore
An animal that eats mostly plants.
Hibernation
An extended state of decreased activity and metabolic rate in endothermic (warm-blooded) animals during winter seasons.
Mimicry
Occurs when two species that are not closely related look similar.
Natural Selection
The theory that nature favors individuals within a species who have characteristics that make them more successful in their environment.
Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals.
Predator
An animal that hunts other animals for food.
Prey
An animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal.
Physical Adaptations
Body parts or other physical parts of a plant or animal that help them survive
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