CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE

All living things change to fit

their environment

ADAPTATIONS!!!!!!!!
 Inherited Characteristics
Why do tigers have stripes?
Why are bullfrogs green on the back and white
on the belly?
Why do giraffes have such a long neck?
Why do geese fly south for the winter?
Why do waterlilies float?
Why do some plants bear fruit?

All of these questions deal with

adaptations!!!
 What are adaptations?
Adaptations – an inherited characteristic that helps
an organism to survive long enough to reproduce
more successfully in its changing environment and
can either be structural or behavioral.
 Structural Adaptations
Definition: Actual body parts or coloration that
help an organism survive in their
environment.

EX: camouflage, mimicry, bent hind legs, sharp

teeth and claws, body structures.
 Behavioral Adaptations
• Definition: Ways an organism act to
help them survive in their environment.
• EX: Migration, hibernation, warning calls,
mating dances, hunting in packs.
We have been looking at structural adaptations
of animals. ADAPTATIONS ON THE BODY,
but animals can also have behavioral
adaptations. This type of adaptation cannot be
seen on the body. It is the way an animal
reacts
or behaves in certain situations. In
other words: INSTINCTS
In simple animals, behavior is governed almost
entirely by instinct, meaning that it is pre-
programmed by an animal's genes. In more
complex animals, instinctive behavior is often
modified by learning, producing more-flexible
responses to the outside world.
Adaptations to seasons in European woodland
and African grassland

EUROPEAN SEASONS
Summer Autumn

Winter Spring
Snow drops

Blue bells blooming

AFRICAN GRASSLAND

seems like an endless ocean of grass.

Contributes to subsistence of more herbivores

 MIGRATION IN SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

Most dramatic migration,

with giant herds of millions
of animals—some 750,000
zebras and 1.2 million
wildebeests as well as
gazelles traveling to
Southern region

in search of good grazing, safe places to

breed, and give birth.

Cultivate grassland with their hooves, teeth &

dung
Adaptation of Elephants in Grasslands

Elephants instinctively know

that baobabs store water
and especially in the dry
season when water is scarce
they will look for baobab
trees to quench their thirst

Baobabs
ADAPTATIONS OF HABITAT

PLANTS ADAPTATION
MANGROVE SWAMPS
ADAPTATION OF ROOTS
ADAPTATION OF LEAVES
 ADAPTATION TO REPRODUCTION

Seedling stay vertical until it find the soil and put out the roots
TROPICAL RAINFOREST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrAvMukHlec
Fig trees (Ficus) are often ecologically significant keystone
species because they sustain populations of the many seed-dispersing
animals that feed on their fruits.
• provides an important niche
and food source to many
rainforest creatures.

• hollow trunk, with an

abundance of nooks and
crannies, provides an
important home to
invertebrates, rodents, bats,
reptiles, amphibians, and
birds.

• Many other species are

attracted to the fig tree
because of its production of
large amounts of good-tasting
fig fruits.
ADAPTATIONS OF HABITAT

ANIMALS ADAPTATION
FAST FLOWING RIVER

• Flowing water that is mostly unidirectional

• A state of continuous physical change

many different (and changing)
microhabitats

• Variability in the flow rates of water

• Plants and animals that have adapted to

live within water flow conditions.
TREE TOPS

Arboreal is the name given to any

monkeys who live in trees.
 EXTREME ADAPTATIONS
“Unusual modifications in the basic body plan of
organisms that increased individual’s chances of
survival in its habitat”
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The Tumbleweed disperses, or scatters its seeds as it rolls around the desert.
These seeds are unusual because they have no protective coating.
Flying fish are ray-finned fish with highly modified
pectoral fins.

They propel themselves out of the water at speeds of

more than 35 miles (56 kilometers) an hour.

Once in the air, their rigid “wings” allow them to glide for
up to 200 meters.

The wing-like pectoral fins are primarily for gliding—the

fish hold the fins flat at their sides when swimming.

Its unevenly forked tail, which has a top lobe that’s

shorter than the bottom lobe.