Adaptation
The structure and function
Vocab
A structure is the body part of an animal or plant.
EXAMPLE Stem is a structure
A function is what the body part DOES for the animal or plant.
EXAMPLE Stem function is it holds the plant up and water travels through it to the branches and leaves
Adaptation
special features which allow them to survive in a particular habitat.
Structure
•The structure of an organism refers to a part of its body.
•Examples include the fangs, rattle and skin of this snake
Function
•The function is the job or purpose of a structure
•The function of this shark’s fin is for stabilizing the shark or keeping the animal from turning or rolling as it speeds through the water
What are adaptations?
Many plants and animals have special features which allow them to survive in a particular habitat. A fish has gills to obtain oxygen from its watery environment. A frog has a slime coat to keep its skin from drying out. A cactus has special parts that allow it to store water for a period of time. Other plants have colorful, fragrant blossoms to attract insects. All these special parts are adaptations that help the organisms survive in their environments.
Youtube- Teacher log in needed
STUDY JAM- Animal Adaptation
BIRD ADAPTATIONS
A bird’s bones are hollow to reduce its weight. Feathers streamline the bird’s body shape to make flying easier. Birds’ beaks are also an adaptation that enables birds to survive in their particular habitat. Their beaks are adapted for the type of food they eat. For example, birds that eat meat have sharp, hooked beaks to tear apart their prey. Seed-eating birds have thick, short beaks for cracking open the seeds. Insect-eating birds have long, pointy beaks for spearing insects. Some birds that feed in water
Bird Claws
Bird Beaks
Look at the beaks again
EXAMPLE:
The beak acts like a hook to capture fish
Bird Beak Writing
Write the type of food you think the bird consumes based on the type of beak
Flamingo Adaptations
- Because flamingos have long legs, they can wade into much deeper water than most other birds. Webbed feet support them on soft mud.
- The majority of lakes where flamingos live have extremely high salt concentrations. The only source of fresh water for some of these birds comes from boiling geysers. Flamingos are capable of drinking water at temperatures that approach the boiling point.
- Flamingos excrete salt through salt glands in the nostrils.
- A flamingo filters its food out of the water and mud with a spiny, piston-like tongue that aids in sucking food-filled water past the lamellae inside the curved bill. The fringed lamellae filter out food, and the water is passed back out of the bill
Snake Adaptation
Snakes can live in many different types of habitats. They can be found in the woods, on the prairie, in the water, or even in the desert. Snakes have a dry, thick skin that is covered with scales. This thick skin protects the snake’s body and keeps it from drying out. Snakes eat other animals. Sharp teeth hold their prey (an animal caught and eaten by another animal). Some snakes make a special poison, called venom, to paralyze or kill their prey. Poisonous snakes have two special teeth called fangs. These fangs inject the poison into their prey.
INSECT ADAPTATION
A mosquito doesn’t really bite; it sticks its sharp mouth part into the victim’s skin to get its food—the victim’s blood! Butterflies, which drink nectar from flowers, have long, coiled tongues. To eat, they uncoil their tongue and reach deep into the flowers to get the nectar
. A grasshopper has really hard mouth parts so they can cut off and chew leaves. In some beetles, these hard mouth parts are adapted so they can be used as a weapon to protect the beetle.
Other Animal Adaptations
Alligator
- Eyes are on top of head to see when body is under water
- Ears are on top of head also
- Top body looks like a fallen tree log
- Aligators have eyes on top of their head to hide when they are swimming and sneak up on their prey
Whale
- Beluga whales deposit most of their body fat into a thick layer of blubber
- Beluga whales, like other marine mammals, have a slower heart rate while diving.
Beetle Adaptation
STUDY JAM- Plant Adaptation
Plants have specialized parts to help them survive in different habitats. Unlike animals, plants cannot move to a different environment.
Adaptations provide a way for plants to survive. Cactus plants have modified leaves to reduce the amount of water lost through the leaves. They have thick stems to store water so they can survive in dry climates. Flowering plants reproduce by producing seeds. Some plants need insects to spread pollen from one plant to another. Some flowers have colors, patterns, fragrances, or all three to guide the insects to the pollen. Many pollinators have fuzzy body parts to collect the pollen. When they visit another flower, some pollen brushes off on to the new plant.
SEED
The sharp spines of the bur
Dandelion Seeds
Shape of seed
Function of a flower and Pollen
Bee transfers pollen
Bird- Nectar
The hummingbird, as do many insects, sticks it's bill deep into the flower to get at the nectar, it's head and body rub against the pollen inside. Then, as the hummingbird flies off to visit other trees, the pollen that has stuck to it will be rubbed off onto other flowers and will fertilize them, so the tree will be able to reproduce.
Bee
Power Hour Questions
- Name two structures found on the body of an ant.
- What is the function of horns on a bull?
- How are animal feet adapted for swimming?
- How can a plant be adapted for its environment?
- What is the relationship between structure and function?
- What is the goal of adaptations in an organism?
- How can a plant be adapted for its environment?
- How is a lizard adapted to a desert environment?
- What happens when an animal or plant cannot adapt to its environment?
- What adaptations does a tiger have?
- What unique adaptations does a fish have to its aquatic home?