Adaptations of organisms

Adaptation determines where a particular

species can live and how successful it will
be.
Well adapted species will be competitive

Different types of adaptation

Anatomical: the physical form and shape
of the organism assists survival
Physiological: the internal biochemistry
and the way the body works assists
survival
Behavioural: the way the organism reacts
to the environment and other organisms
assists survival

Analyse some examples

For each example
decide if the adaptation is anatomical, physiological
or behavioural
Use bullet points to explain biological points of the
adaptation
The next three slides show an example: the polar
bear

POLAR BEAR
Look at the picture
of the polar bears.
What kind of habitat
do they live in?
What features help
them survive in this
environment.
Some are quite
obvious, others are
more complicated
see how many you
can come up with.

Thick coat to help insulate

the bear in cold conditions.

HUGE feet help ensure a

large area and therefore
less pressure on the ice.

White colour of coat helps

give camouflage when
hunting
Small ears help reduce heat
loss
Very little exposed surface
area even eyes seem
quite well covered.
Soles of paws are well
covered with fur.
very small surface
area:volume ratio to
minimise heat loss

Fat stores, lots of brown fat, insulation and

reserves for hibernation

Dark skin absorbs

as much of the heat
from the sun as
possible.
Translucent hair also
helps this

Hibernation as well as all the

features mentioned already. Polar
bears also hibernate in very cold
conditions to preserve energy.

Coping with hot, arid environments

Problems:
Water loss/finding water
Over heating by day/chilling by night

Ferocactus (Flowering plant in family Cactaceae)

Euphorbia (Flowering plant in family Euphorbiaceae)

Dipodomys (Mammal in order rodentia)

Oryx (Mammal in order artiodactyla)

Dromedary (Mammal in order artiodactyla)

Shovel snouted lizard (Vertebrate in class reptilia)

Pancake tortoise (Vertebrate in class reptilia)

Silver sword plant (Flowering plant in family

Asteraceae )

Espostoa (Flowering plant in family Cactaceae)

Moving around by flying and gliding

Problems:
speed
resistance of air medium
aerodymanics

Flying fish

Flying squirrel

Peregrine falcon

Vampire bat

Monarch butterfly

Living underground
Problems:
Being able to burrow
Finding your way around

Common placental mole

Marsupial mole

Mole rat

seeing
Problems:
Focusing light
Detecting light

Vertebrate eyes

Cuttlefish eyes

Compound eyes

Owl

Gecko

Cuttlefish

Butterfly

Wolf spider

zebra

lion