Some mutations can help an animal or plant survive better than others in the species without the mutation. For example, imagine a bird species. One day a bird is born with a beak that is longer than the beak of other birds in the species.
The longer beak helps the bird catch more food. Because the bird can catch more food, it is healthier than the other birds, lives longer and breeds more. The bird passes the gene for a longer beak on to its offspring. They also live longer and have more offspring and the gene continues to be inherited generation after generation.
They can get by from the water in the leaves they eat, which they can reach because of their super-long necks. Meerkats live in areas that are almost like deserts — hot, dry and not much vegetation.
Meerkats live in big colonies where they share out jobs like minding babies, keeping watch for any danger and hunting for food.
Lions talk to each other through their loud roar — it also sounds scary so any other predators know to steer clear. Lions mostly sleep in the day to stay cool, and they hunt at night. When they do catch prey, they use their long claws as weapons and then eat their fresh meal by licking off skin and meat with their rough tongue. Ways animals adapt in marine habitats : Stingrays have flat bodies and swim along the ocean floor.
Ways animals adapt in polar habitats : Polar bears in the Arctic have white fur that helps them blend into the snowy background. They also have a thick layer of fat around their body to keep warm, and big paws with long hair that keeps them from slipping on ice. They only lay one egg that they can sit on while they wait for it to hatch, and mum and dad take turns sitting on the egg and going to get food to make sure their little one has all the warmth they need.
The snowy owl , like the polar bear, is white all over which helps it blend in with the snow. The snowy owl has feathers everywhere — even on its toes! Ways animals adapt in rainforest habitats : Toucans have very long beaks that are actually about one-third of their entire body length.
But, these beaks are also lightweight, and mean that toucans can pick up large pieces of fruit, which they toss in the air and catch in the back of their beaks to eat.
Toucans keep balanced on trees in the rainforest by using their claws — two on the front and two on the back — to get a good grip that keeps them from falling down.
Howler monkeys are one of the loudest animals on earth, which is how they get their name! They live up in the rainforest canopy, where it can be difficult to see very far around because there are lots of leaves and branches in the way. So, they use their loud voice to call out to other howler monkeys, and to make sure other animals know where their territory is.
Howler monkeys also wrap their tails around tree branches to keep from falling down. Tapirs are larger rainforest animals that live on the forest floor. They have sloped shoulders that allow them to move around under bushes and shrubs, and small eyes deep in sockets that protect them from insects and bits of trees getting in.
Tapirs have a long, flexible nose that can root into trees and bushes to grab food. They can go into shallow water, and use their noses as a snorkel to breathe! The jaguar's spots help it blend in with the small patches of sun that reach the shady rainforest floor, while the snow leopard, who lives in snowy, wooded mountains, has spotted fur that helps it hide among the trees and snow.
Some green insects can look just like leaves on a tree. Brown rattlesnakes blend in with the rocks, soil and dry grass where they live. Bright-colored tropical fish can blend in with coral reefs. Cuttlefish and leaf frogs can change their appearance to match their surroundings. The chameleon is a lizard that can change its skin color for camouflage. The snowshoe hare's fur color shifts with the season: it is brown in the summer and white in the winter to blend in with the snow.
Learn more about camouflage. Sometimes coloring is an adaptation with a different purpose than camouflage. For example, the male peacock's colorful tail display is used to attract a mate. Some poisonous frogs and butterflies have bright, vivid colors that make them stand out from their surroundings and serve as a warning to predators to stay away. For some animals, their appearance mimics a non-food object, or they resemble a harmful or distasteful animal that predators avoid.
This adaptation to imitate something else to fool predators is called mimicry. For example, some butterflies have big spots that mimic the eyes of a large animal such as an owl. Some insects, such as the walking stick, resemble a twig, while the hawkmoth looks just like a tattered dead leaf. These disguises help them survive, as predators do not attack twigs or leaves. The nonpoisonous king snake has coloring that makes it look like the venomous coral snake, so predators leave the king snake alone.
The harmless viceroy butterfly resembles the bitter-tasting monarch butterfly, so predators avoid the viceroy butterfly too. Physiological adaptions are different from body parts and coloring because they cannot be seen from an animal's outer appearance, but they are important adaptations within the animal's body. For example, many desert animals do not have sweat glands, which lets them retain moisture so they don't have to drink much. Some animals don't need to drink water at all, as they get all the water they need from the insects, plants and seeds that they eat.
Some rodents have special kidneys that return water to the bloodstream instead of losing it through urination. Crocodiles have internal glands that get rid of the salt they consume when they swallow their saltwater prey.
There are internal defensive adaptations such as snakes producing venom in their bodies, skunks producing bad-smelling spray, horned toads squirting blood from their eyes, and millipedes secreting toxins through their skin. Still other animals have bodies that secrete slime, like snails who use it to glide smoothly across the ground, or hagfish who choke their attackers with slime. Another adaptation is specially developed senses of hearing, smell, or sight that far surpass human abilities.
For example, the African elephant has 2, scent receptors in its nose, compared to humans' receptors. A peregrine falcon's eyesight is so acute that it can spot a mouse a mile away. Some animals utilize senses beyond the five senses humans have.
These sensory adaptations include echolocation which allows bats to locate their prey by sending out sounds that bounce off other objects, and infrared detection , which allows snakes to sense heat radiation from prey species at night. Most adaptations do not operate singly, but rather work together to ensure the animal's survival.
Most people know that the giraffe has a very long neck that helps it reach leaves in the tops of trees a body-part adaptation , but what may be less obvious is the giraffe's extra-large heart that pumps blood up that long neck to reach its brain a physiological adaptation.
In addition, it has a spotted coat for camouflage, an inch tongue that can wrap around branches, and the ability to drink 12 gallons of water at once when it comes upon a scarce water hole. All of these adaptations, working together, help the giraffe succeed in its environment. Like physical adaptations, behavioral adaptations improve animals' chances for survival. These are inherited behaviors that animals don't have to learn.
You may have heard these behaviors referred to as instinct. A bird building a nest or a lion preying on a zebra are examples of instinctive behaviors. One of the most important behavioral adaptations is living together in groups. These groups are often referred to as herds, families, colonies, flocks and packs, but there are many unique names for animal groups such as a pod of whales, a school of fish, or a pride of lions.
These groups may consist of hundreds of animals or just a few. Living in groups allows animals to help each other find food, defend against predators and care for young. When many zebras stand or move together in a group, the abundance of stripes makes it more difficult for a lion to pick out and hunt one individual zebra.
Although a fully grown bison is safe from most predators, bison live in herds and form circles to protect their young. Some predators such as wolves hunt as a group, working together to bring down larger prey.
And many animals huddle together in cold weather to share body warmth. Another behavioral adaptation is migration. Migrating animals travel from one place to another depending on seasonal conditions. Migration is an adaptation that helps some animals cope with the climate and find places to obtain food and have their young. Birds, whales, bats and monarch butterflies are well-known for their annual migration between northern and southern regions. Some animals migrate a short distance from high mountains to lower valleys, while others cover large parts of the globe with their migration routes.
For example, the Arctic tern travels 25, miles in its annual migration. Learn more about animal migration. Hibernation is another adaptation that allows some animals to successfully survive when weather conditions are harsh and resources are scarce. A hibernating animal goes to sleep or is dormant during cold weather. They remain safe by hiding in dens or burrows.
Their heartbeat and breathing slow down. They do not have to use up energy looking for food because their bodies live off their stored fat or food. Bears, bats, chipmunks, frogs, and many other animals hibernate during the winter. Some animals are referred to as nocturnal , which mean they are active at night. For desert animals, this adaptation allows them to search for food when temperatures are cooler. Other animals burrow into the ground during the day to avoid the harsh conditions during the day.
Many behavioral adaptations are defensive. These behaviors are designed to help animals protect themselves from danger. A blowfish right has the ability to puff up its body to twice its normal size to scare off attackers. Possums go stiff and "play dead" to make predators think they are not alive. The three-banded armadillo can curl itself into a ball where it is protected by its armor.
A porcupine turns its quills toward a threatening intruder. A nesting killdeer will pretend to be injured to lure a predator away from her young. A rattlesnake has a unique adaptation: at the end of its tail it grows interlocking, hollow segments. When threatened, the snake coils into a circle and shakes its tail, warning intruders to stay away. Still other behavioral adaptations have the purpose of courtship.
In order for the species to continue, animals must attract a mate and have young. The male sage grouse attracts a female by inflating his neck pouch and fanning his feathers. Some male penguins offer stones for nest-building as gifts to the females. Public Information Logo and Guidelines. Technical Services Org Chart. All animals live in habitats. Habitats provide food, water, and shelter which animals need to survive, but there is more to survival than just the habitat.
Animals also depend on their physical features and their behaviors to help them be successful in their natural habitats. Physical, bodily features that help animals survive are called physical adaptations.
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