Adaptation 4.3.8 Flashcards
What is adaptation?
Any features of an organism that make it well suited to survive in its environment.
- Any variation that helps the organism survive
What can a well adapted organism obtain?
- Enough nutrients
- Find enough water
- Defend against predators and disease
- Reproduce successfully
What are the 3 types of adaptation?
- Anatomical
- Behavioural
- Physiological
Describe anatomical adaptations
- Structural features
- Structures that we can see when we observe or dissect an organism
Give 3 anatomical examples
- Body covering (feathers, scales etc.)
- Colour (camouflage)
- Teeth (adapted to diet)
Give two examples of animals with anatomical adaptations
- Whales - thick blubber
- Otters - streamlined
What is mimicry?
It allows one animal to look like another animal, to fool predators into thinking it is poisonous or dangerous
Describe behavioural adaptation
The way that behaviour is modified for survival. What organisms do to survive.
Give 3 examples of behavioural adaptations
- Survival (playing dead)
- Seasonal (migration, hibernation)
- Bird calls
How are behavioural adaptations formed?
Innate - through genes
Learned - observing others
Give an example of a behavioural adaptation
Phototropism - plants grow towards the sun
What are physiological adaptations?
- Features of the internal workings of organisms which help them to survive or reproduce
Give 3 examples of physiological adaptations
- Venom production
- Antibiotic production
- Hibernation
Give an example of an organism with a physiological adaptation
Thermophilic bacteria - tolerate very high temperatures and can survive at 350 degrees celsius, as they have heat stable enzymes
What is a co-adaptation?
When two species are adapted so they come to depend on each other for their survival
