Adaptation

Adaptation
The Rules
• Each lab group will be one team.
• There are two parts to each question:
– First you must answer the question
correctly for 5 points.
– Then you must say WHY for 5 additional
points.
• There are 10 questions for a possible
total of 100 points!
The Rules
• The answers will be posted after each
question, and you will tally your scores
as you go.
• May the best team win!
Adaptation Review
• An adaptation is
a feature that is
common in a
population
because it
provides some
improved
function.
Adaptation Review
• Adaptations must be heritable, or
passed on to their offspring.
• They must be functional, or perform the
task they are adapting for.
• They must be adaptive, or increase the
fitness of the organisms that have it.
Example: Bird Feathers
• Are bird feathers an adaptation for bird
flight?
• First, are feathers heritable?
– Yes, baby birds have feathers like their
parents
Bird Feathers
• Are bird feathers functional (do
feathers function to enable flight?)
– Yes, birds without feathers are not able to
fly
Bird Feathers
• Are bird feathers
adaptive?
– Yes, birds without
feathers aren’t going to
leave as many offspring
as those with feathers
Conclusion: Bird
feathers are an
adaptation for flight!
Adaptation Review
• Adaptations can take many forms.
• It can be a behavior that allows better
evasion from predators,
• an anatomical feature,
• or something that is not easily seen,
like a protein in the blood that
functions better at a certain body
temperature.
Example Question
• Does this fawn
In the forest?
live
Or in the
desert?
Answer:
• It lives here
in the forest!
• What adaptation
helps it to live
here?
How do you know?
• Fawns need
camouflage from
predators. A fawn's
spots blend with the
dappled sunlight that
comes through the
trees in the forest,
hiding the fawn as
long as it lies still.
Question #1
• Does this bat
Day?
hunt during the
Or at night?
Answer:
• This bat hunts at
night!
• What adaptation do
you see that helps
it?
How do you Know?
• Bats use echolocation to find food in
the dark. They make noises that
bounce off prey and go back to the
bats. The bats have large ears to hear
the echoes!
Question #2
• Which frogs are more likely to be
poisonous?
The colored
frogs?
Or the green
frogs?
Answer:
• The colored frogs, called poison dart
frogs, are the poisonous ones!
What adaptation do you see that shows
they are poisonous?
How do you know?
• The bright colors of a poison frog serve
as a warning sign to predators that they
are dangerous to eat.
• In fact, there are several species of
non-poisonous frogs that mimic the
poison frog’s coloration for protection!
Question # 3:
• Does this zebra live
In the
grasslands?
Or in the forest?
Answer:
• The zebra
lives in the
grasslands!
• What
adaptation
helps it
survive
here?
How do you know?
• The zebra's black and white stripes
provide a form of camouflage known as
disruptive coloration. This camouflage
pattern breaks up the outline of the
animal's body.
• Although the pattern is visible during
the daytime, zebras look indistinct and
confuse predators by distorting true
distance.
Question #4
• Which animal most likely lives in a
tree?
The sloth?
Or the capybara?
Answer:
• The sloth
spends its
whole life in a
tree!
• What
adaptations
help it live
here?
How do you know?
• Their specialized hands and feet have
long, curved claws to allow them to
hang upside-down from branches
without effort. They have extra long
powerful arms to hang upside down for
a long time.
• Sloths usually eat, sleep and even give
birth hanging from limbs!
Question #5
• Which type of leaf probably receives
more rainfall?
Broad leaves?
Or Needle
leaves?
Answer:
• The broad
leaves receive
more rain!
• What clues
tell you this?
How do you know?
• The leaves have a shiny, waxy surface
with channels to help the rainwater run
off quickly.
• Plus, the tips of the leaves end in a
narrow downward point so that the last
drops of water drip off.
Question #6
• Does this owl
hunt during the
Day?
Or at night?
Answer:
• This owl is nocturnal, and it hunts at
night!
• What adaptation helps it do this?
How do you know?
• The eyes of this owl has very large
pupils and corneas, an adaptation for
gathering more light when it hunts at
night.
• Owls are actually believed to have the
best night vision in the animal
kingdom!
Question #7
• Which animal probably lives in the
desert?
The Fennec Fox?
Or this ocelot?
Answer:
• The Fennec
Fox lives in
the desert!
• What
adaptations
help it live
here?
How do you know?
• First, the Fennec Fox has a light, sand
colored coat to blend into its habitat.
• Second, it has large ears, up to seven
inches long, to get rid of excess body
heat in the hot, dry desert.
Question #8
• Which type of teeth most likely belongs
to a predator?
Teeth #1?
Or Teeth #2?
Answer:
• Teeth #2 belong
to a predator!
• How can you
tell?
How do you know?
• Most carnivores have large, pointy
canines in front to seize and kill their
prey, and jagged teeth in the back to
tear and shred meat off their prey.
• In this case, these teeth belong to a
tiger!
Question #9
• What organism
most likely
pollinates this
flower?
Hummingbird?
Or bee?
Answer:
• If you said
hummingbird,
you are correct!
• How can you
tell?
How do you know?
• This flower has a long floral tube
corresponding to a hummingbird’s long
beak.
• It is also not easily accessible to
insects, who use petals as landing
pads while hummingbirds can hover in
the air.
Question #10
• Which set of eyes most likely belongs
to prey?
Set #1?
Or Set #2?
Answer:
• Set of eyes #2
belongs to prey,
in this case a
deer!
• How can you tell?
How do you know?
• The deer, or prey, has eyes on the
sides of its head to let it see more of
the world at any given moment.
• It is important for it to be able to see a
predator before it gets close. It doesn't
need to see it clearly, just to know the
minute it comes into vision.
The End!
• Tally up your scores and see who
mastered the concept of adaptation!
Other Interesting Adaptations!
• These cypress trees
have “knees”, which
are woody projections
sent above the water
level, with a sharp
bend taking them
roughly vertically
downward into soil.
These trees grow in
muddy swamps, and
the “knees” help them
stay upright!
Other Interesting Adaptations
• This shark is light on its belly to be
camouflaged from organisms looking up into
the lighter water. It is dark on the top for
organisms looking down into the water, it will
blend with the darker ocean floor!
Other Interesting Adaptations
• This walking stick
mimics its
surroundings by
appearing to look
like a twig. It is in the
order Phasmatodea,
which is Greek for
phantom!
Other Interesting Adaptations
• Camels do not store
water in the humps!
Their humps are a
reservoir of fatty tissue.
However, when this fat is
broken down it yields
through reaction with
oxygen from the air
water for use! This
allows them to survive
without water for about
two weeks!
Other Interesting Adaptations
• Polar bears have large,
spread out paws that act
like snowshoes when
they walk in deep snow.
Stiff hairs also grow on
the soles of its paws to
provide traction on the
slippery ice.