Animal Adaptations EQ: “How do animals adapt to survive?”

What is adaptation? • An adaptation is any special characteristic or skill that helps an animal to survive in its habitat. ▫ Examples: The shape of a bird’s beak, number of fingers and toes, or the color of an animal’s fur.

• Physical adaptations do not develop during one lifetime, but over many generations. • All species have experienced adaptation and will continue to slowly adapt as the next generations are born.

Adaptation v. Evolution Adaptation • Animal adjusts to survive in its environment • Example: The brumby is a horse that adapted to survive in the harsh deserts of Australia. It learned how to dig for water!

Evolution • Animal gradually changes into a new animal over a very long period of time • Example: Birds evolving from dinosaurs over millions and millions of years.

God the Creator—Read, Discover, and Decide for yourself! Genesis: 1:20-25 •

20 And

God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. • 24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible? •

Job 40:15-19—Behemoth

•

Job 41—Leviathan

Adaptations: Ears • A mammal’s ear size is an example of adaptation. • Mammals lose heat through their ears. ▫ The arctic fox has small ears to retain heat. (It lives in the Arctic.) ▫ The fennec fox has large ears to expel heat. (It lives in deserts.)

Adaptations: Feet • A bird’s feet are an example of adaptation. • Depending on what the bird eats, its feet design will reflect its habitat and diet. ▫ Ducks have webbed feet to swim for underwater food. ▫ Hawks have talons for catching prey. ▫ Parrots have zygodactyl feet for picking up nuts and food and hanging in trees.

Adaptation: Teeth • The shape of an animal’s teeth is related to its diet. ▫ Herbivores, such as deer, have many molars for chewing tough grass and plants. ▫ Carnivores, such as lions, have sharp canines to kill and tear meat.

Animal Adaptation: Defense • Some animals use these methods of defense to protect themselves:

▫ Bright Colors

▫ Camouflage—blending in with one’s surroundings

▫ “Hair” Projections ▫ Mimicry—looking/sounding like another living organism

Camouflage—Can you find the animals?

Octopus Camouflage

Cuttlefish Hunting

Mimicry—Which is which? The Viceroy butterfly uses mimicry to look like the Monarch butterfly. The Monarch butterfly is poisonous to eat and tastes bad. The Viceroy does not taste bad. Can you tell them apart?

I’m the Monarch!

I’m the Viceroy!

Mimicry—Which is Which? Fun Saying: “Red on Yellow, Kill a Fellow. Red on Black, Friend of Jack.”

I’m the Coral Snake! (Venomous)

I’m the King Snake! (Non-venomous)

Adaptation Applications: Fish • Why do fish swim in schools? • Being in a group helps the fish protect each other. It’s harder to just grab one fish, and they look like a larger creature when they gather together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=_t GOKngtkt4&vq=small

Adaptation Applications: Lions • What is the purpose of the mane on a male lion? • A thick mane helps the male to appear larger and serves as protection for the throat.

Animal Applications: Zebras • How do zebras defend themselves from predators? • There is safety in numbers. Also, when all the zebras get bundled up together, it is harder for a predator to single out a single zebra from the herd.