Adaptation and Survival: of Organisms in The Changing World
Adaptation and Survival: of Organisms in The Changing World
OF ORGANISMS IN THE
CHANGING WORLD----
Habitat
What do you need to survive? Food, water, shelter? Animals need the same things and
they live in places that can provide them. The place that supplies the things an organism
needs to survive is its habitat.
Every organism has a unique habitat that provides for its needs. Animals and plants that
live in a particular area and share the resources form a community. Within a community,
organisms all have a unique niche, or role they fill to keep the community healthy.
There are lots of different habitat types in North America. They all provide for the needs
of a wide variety of organisms
Ecosystems
An ecosystem is an area where all the living and non-living things interact with and depend
on each other.
... lead sinkers used in fishing can kill loons and other aquatic
animals.
... that the common loon migrates from an ocean habitat to a lake habitat.
An animal's environment consists of many different things.
The climate, the kinds of food plants that grow in it, other
animals that may be predators or competitors- the animal
must learn to adapt to each of these factors in order to
survive. With increasing population growth and human
activity that disturbs the natural habitat, animals must learn
to adapt to these kind of threats as well.
Animal Adaptations
An adaptation is something about an animal that makes it possible for it to live in a particular
place and in a particular way. It may be a physical adaptation, like the size or shape of the
animal's body, or the way in which its body works. Or it may be the way the animal behaves.
Each adaptation has been produced by evolution.
As the environment changes, animals that cannot adapt die out, and only the adapted ones
survive to produce babies. Because babies are usually more or less like their parents, the
whole species soon contains only animals that are adapted to the new environment.
An animal's environment consists of many different things. The climate is important. Whether
it is hot, cold, dry, or wet will have an effect on all the creatures that live in a particular place.
Another important part of an animal's environment is what kinds of food plants grow in it.
The other animals that live there also have an effect. If there are predators around, the prey
animals will have to learn to defend themselves or run fast to escape.
These adaptations make it possible for a great variety of creatures to live and thrive on earth.
animals adapt to the natural world.
Animals in the wild can only live in places they are adapted to. They must have the right kind
of habitat where they can find the food and space they need.