Adaptations
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| adaptation/ˌædæpˈteɪʃn/ | A characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment. |
| structural/ˈstrʌktʃərəl/ | Relating to the physical arrangement, shape or organisation of parts, such as an organism's body features. |
| behavioural/bɪˈheɪvjərəl/ | behavioural |
| physiological/ˌfɪzɪəˈlɒdʒɪkl/ | physiological |
Built to survive
- A polar bear has thick fur; a cactus stores water; a bird flies south for winter.
- Each of these features helps the organism survive where it lives.
- Such helpful, inherited features are called adaptations.
- They come in three main kinds.
Structural adaptations
- An adaptation 适应 is an inherited feature that helps survival.
- A structural 结构的 adaptation is a physical body feature.
- A polar bear's thick fur, a camel's fat-storing hump, a cactus's spines.
- These are shapes and structures you can see.
A camel's adaptations suit it to a hot, dry desert
An adaptation is…
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An adaptation is an inherited feature that helps an organism survive and reproduce.
Behavioural adaptations
- A behavioural 行为的 adaptation is an action or habit that aids survival.
- Birds migrating south to escape winter cold.
- Animals hibernating to survive a season of scarcity.
- These are things the organism does, not just how it is built.
A thick fur coat is which type of adaptation?
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A fur coat is a structural adaptation — a physical body feature.
Birds flying south for winter is a ____ adaptation.
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Migration is a behavioural adaptation — an action that helps survival.
Physiological adaptations
- A physiological 生理的 adaptation is an internal body process.
- A snake making venom, or a body making antifreeze proteins for cold.
- These work inside the organism, out of sight.
- All three types arise slowly, through natural selection.
What kind of adaptation?
Sort each adaptation by its type - a body structure, a behaviour, or an internal process.
Adaptations arise over many generations through natural selection.
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Helpful features are favoured by natural selection and spread through a population over time.
Select all true statements about adaptations.
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Adaptations arise over generations, not instantly. The other three are correct.
Adaptations do not appear in a single lifetime because an animal "tries". They arise over many generations through natural selection — helpful inherited features spread because their owners survive and reproduce more. An animal cannot simply grow the adaptation it needs on demand.
A camel, adapted for the desert:
- Structural: a fatty hump stores energy, and long lashes keep out sand.
- Behavioural: it rests in shade during the hottest hours.
- Physiological: it can go days without water by concentrating its urine. Three kinds of adaptation in one animal.
An adaptation is an inherited feature that helps an organism survive. There are three types: structural (body features), behavioural (actions), and physiological (internal processes). All arise over many generations through natural selection, not within a single lifetime.