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Let’s go to the Zoo!
Animal Adaptations
Investigation at Point
Defiance Zoo and
Aquarium
What is an Adaptation?
• Adaptations are
characteristics that have
developed to allow an
organism to be
successful in its
environment.
• They are a result of an
evolutionary process
called Natural Selection.
• This process takes place
over many generations.
Different types of Adaptations
• Although most adaptations are
interrelated, there are four main types that
can be identified.
• Structural
• Behavioural
• Physiological
• Reproductive
Structural Adaptations
Physical characteristics that allow an animal to be successful in their environment.
A Giraffe has the same
number of vertebrae
(seven) as a human. Why
has it evolved to have such
a long neck?
The Thorny Devil lives in a
dry desert environment. It
has spikes covering its entire
body. Why is this an
advantage?
Behavioural Adaptations
Adaptations of individual and group behaviours of animals; eg. feeding,
communication and social behaviours, that increase their ability to survive in their
habitat.
Wolves live in packs
varying in number from
two to thirty. What
advantage is there to
living as a group?
Arctic Terns fly over
40,000km each year
during their migration from
the breeding shores of the
Arctic to their feeding
grounds in the southern
hemisphere. Why?
Physiological Adaptations
An animals ability to control and regulate mechanical, biochemical and physical
functions of the body. It also describes their ability to detect and respond to
changes in their surrounding environment.
Llamas live at high altitudes
where oxygen pressure is low.
Their blood is unique because
they have more red blood cells
per unit of blood then any other
mammal. Their haemoglobin, a
type of red blood cell which
carries oxygen, reacts quickly
with oxygen and allows them to
move it quickly and in sufficient
quantities around their body to
ensure the body functions
optimally.
Physiological Adaptations
The Pit Viper has tubular pits
between its nostrils and each
eye on the sides of its head.
These pits contain sensitive
membranes that detect
infrared radiation. The pit viper
prefers to hunt in the cool of
the night. What do pit vipers
use the tubular pits for? How is
this adaptation an advantage?
Can you think of another physiological adaptation that most snakes have?
Reproductive Adaptations
Animals use different systems and strategies to optimise their reproductive
success in their specific environments.
Female kangaroos
enter into heat,
mate and
conceive within a
few days after
giving birth. In
other words, a
female kangaroo
is always
pregnant. How is
this an
advantage?
After one week of
development the
embryo enters a
dormant state that
lasts until the
previous young
leaves the pouch.
Harsh environmental
conditions can also
cause the embryo to
remain dormant until
more optimal
conditions arrive.
How does this benefit
the kangaroo?
Reproductive Adaptations
The female Emperor Penguin
lays one egg and then returns to
sea to feed. The male is then in
charge of incubating the egg
until hatching and is also
responsible for feeding the chick
its first meal. Why does the male
of this species take on the
“motherly” role of incubation?
Animal Adaptation Comparisons