Monday, February 10, 2014

ANIMALS - ADAPTATIONS



Adaptations help organisms survive in their habitat; adaptation can be:
  • ANATOMICAL
    • physical features such as animals shape
  • BEHAVIORAL
    • inherited or learned & include tool use, language & swarming behaviors
  • PHYSIOLOGICAL
    • ablitiy to make venom, but also more general functions such as temperature regulation
EXAMPLES

Animal intelligence

Animal intelligence covers behavior that's considered above the norm for an animal.  Some species may be unusally adept at learning new skills or using tools.
Others have highly developed social & even emotional skills & may even have developed a distinct culture, in a similar way to human beings.
*****************************************************

Behavioral pattern

Behavioral pattern describes an animal's dominant 

 way of life. Arboreal animals, for example, live in 

 trees and nocturnal animals are active at night.

Communication and Senses

Communication & senses are how an organism perceives the world - for instance through scent or sight - & how it sends messages or warnings to other
.

Ecosystem role

Ecosystem roles are about the part an animal or 

 plant plays in sustaining or maintaining the habitat 

 around them. Bees, for example, pollinate flowers, 

 without which those plants would not produce 

 fruits or seeds. Other species, such as dung

 beetles, play a vital role in keeping grasslands 

 clear of animal waste and recycling valuable 

 resources.


Feeding habits

Feeding habits describe the dominant diet of a 

 particular species or group of species, and how 

 they go about obtaining it.

Life cycle

Life cycle describes all the different stages 

 through which an animal, plant or other organism

 passes from conception, through adulthood to 

 death. Encompassed here are not only the major 

 physiological stages of growth and development, 

 but also temporary occurrences such as moulting 

 and experiential phases such as courtship and 

 parenthood.



Locomotion

Locomotion is how an animal gets around - for 

 instance by swimming, flying or climbing.


Morphology

Morphology is anything to do with what a plant or 

 animal looks like - its size, shape, color or 

 structure.


Predation strategy

Predation is catching and killing an animal in order 

 to eat it and different species have evolved a 

 range of strategies for doing this efficiently. The 

 most frequently used methods are variations on 

 chasing and capturing if the predator is a fast 

 runner, ambushing to conserve energy, or using a 

 trapping mechanism such as a spider's web.


Reproductive strategy

Reproduction covers all the tactics and behaviors 

 involved in obtaining a mate, conceiving the next 

 generation and successfully raising them. It 

 includes everything from plants being pollinated, 

 to stags fighting over hinds, to lionesses 

 babysitting their sisters' cubs.


Social behaviour

Social behavior is all about how an animal 

 interacts with members of its own species. For 

 instance, does it live in a colony or on its own, 

 does it fight to be top of the pecking order, or does 

 it try to keep strangers away from its home?


Survival strategy

Survival strategies enable organisms to cope with 

 particular stresses, from temporary 

 environmental changes in the weather to the 

 constant threat of predation. So, for instance, to 

 avoid the cold of winter animals may migrate 

 away or hibernate, while trees may shed their 

 leaves. To avoid predation, plants may be 

 poisonous or covered with defensive spikes and 

 animals may use camouflage or travel in great 

 numbers.
ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS - VIDEO

 10 ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS

 ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS - VIDEO

 ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS

ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE

MIGRATIONS - CLICK ON ELEPHANT VIDEO
Posted by at
Labels: