Adaptation

Adaptation

• Adaptation is a special characteristic that

allows an organism to survive in a

particular environment.

• Adaptations may be:

• physical appearance (morphology)

• internal systems (physiology)

• something an organism does (behaviour)

• Organisms that live in only one habitat or

particular environment usually show many

adaptations to that environment.

• e.g.

• Organisms that live in a variety of different

habitats usually do not have as many

adaptations.

• e.g.

How many different types of habitat

can you think of?

Make a list.

• Marine

• Arctic

• Desert: hot & cold

• Woodland / forest

• River / lake

• Tropical rainforest

• Grasslands

• Rocky

• Bogs / marshes

• Urban (gardens / parks) / farmland

Marine Habitat

• Seas and oceans

• Salty water

• Warm and cold water

What are a shark’s general adaptations to life in an aquatic

environment?

A Shark’s General Adaptations

streamlined shape

to reduce friction

when moving

through water

gills have a large

surface area so

that oxygen can be

extracted from the

surrounding water

fins provide

stability, power

and control

(morphology)

(morphology)(morphology)

What are a shark’s specific adaptations to life as an aquatic

predator?

A Shark’s Specific Adaptations

highly sensitive

sense of smell that

can detect drops of

blood from miles

away

lots of very sharp

teeth that are

constantly replaced

silver colouring

underneath acts as

camouflage

specialised sense organs can

detect the sound, movement and

electrical fields of other organisms(physiology)

(physiology)

(morphology)

(morphology)

Cold climatesTemperatures:

• arctic winter can dip to -51oC

• warmest month is between 10oC and 0oC

• Often permanent snow & ice

Animals in Cold Climates

• Arctic animals must keep themselves

warm to survive.

• You lose body heat through your

body surface, mainly your skin.

• Arctic animals have developed many

adaptations to help them survive…

What do these

animals have

in common?

List as many adaptations to the

cold climate as you can:

• Thick oily fur coats

• Layers of blubber under the skin

• May change colour in the summer

• Small ears

• Large furry feet

• Often longer snout

• Rounded body shape

Body Shape

Have fat, round body

shapes with short legs.

Why is this important?

Surface Area to Volume Ratio

• Animals lose heat from the body surfaces

that are in contact with the surrounding

air/water.

• Reducing the contact surface reduces

heat loss

• Increasing the surface increases heat loss

Surface Area to Volume Ratio

Hidden surfaces

are exposed

Small SA: Vol

Larger SA: Vol

(cold climates)

(hot climates)

Hot Desert Climates

Temperatures:

• Can reach 45 – 50oC during the day

• Can fall below 0oC at night

• Less than 25cm rain a year

Animals in Dry Climates

• Animals in dry climates have to keep

themselves cool to survive.

• They also have to cope with a lack of

water.

• This means they are unable to lose heat

through sweating – why?

What do these

animals have in

common?

List as many adaptations to the

desert climate that you can:

• Large thin ears

• Little body fat

• Thin silky fur

• Long limbs to help spread the heat

• They often are only active at night

• More elongated body shape

Have more

elongated

body

shapes and

long legs

Which shows an animal from a hot

climate and which from a cold climate?

cold hot

Question:

• If a polar bear lived in a desert:

• What colour would the polar bear be so it

was camouflage?

• Would it still have thick fir?

• What would it eat?

Compare these two animals…

Desert Fox Arctic Fox

Draw a table to compare their adaptations to

their environments.

Plants in Cold Climates

• ‘land of the midnight sun’

Cold all year except for short period over

the summer

No trees

• temperature range = - 54 to 21° C

Alaska, Siberia, Scandinavia

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/learningzone/clips/5506/

• Plants are small - usually less than 12

inches tall to avoid wind

• Plants are dark - helps them absorb solar

heat.

• Small waxy leaves / needles

• Some plants are covered with hair

• Some plants grow in clumps for protection

• Some plants have dish-like flowers that

follow the sun

Saxifrage Arctic Willow

Bearberry Arctic flower

Trees

• many trees are evergreen

• many trees have needle-like leaves to lose

less water

• waxy coating on needles

• needles are dark in colour

• trees have branches that droop downward

Plants in Dry ClimatesAdaptations:

Can you think of any?

Make a list.

• Some plants store water in their stems or leaves = succulents

• Some plants have no leaves

• Long root systems spread out wide or go deep into the ground to absorb water

• Spines to protect from being eaten

• Plants slower growing so require less

energy

• Flowers that open at night lure pollinators

who tend to be active during the night

• Hair help shade the plant, reducing water

loss

Question:

• Scientists investigated two types of violet plants. One was found more frequently in shade, the

shade violet. The other was found more frequently in sunny places, the sun violet.

A B

a) Which violet is which? Give a reason for your choice. [4]

A = _____________________________________________________________________________

B = _____________________________________________________________________________

The number of violets in an area of woodland were counted before and after a large number of trees

were removed. The results are shown below.

i) State how light conditions would have changed when the trees were removed. [1]

___________________________________________________________________________________

(ii) Which of the plants survived better before the trees were removed? [1]

___________________________________________________________________________________

(iii) What happened to the number of these plants after the trees were removed? [1]

___________________________________________________________________________________

Violet type Before trees removed2 years after trees

removed

5 years after trees

removed

Shade 190 50 30

Sun 20 60 120

(c) (i) From the table, make a bar chart to show the information for sun violets. [4]

(ii) How would you expect the number of sun violets to change in future if more trees were removed?

[1]

__________________________________________________________________________________

Total: 12 marks