Types of Adaptations

There are three main forms

Structural Adaptations

Physiological Adaptations

Behvioural Adaptations
What do they all have in common?
Enhancing survival

Structural Adaptations
Structural adaptations are physical
features of an organism like the bill on a
bird or the fur on a bear.

Physiological Adaptations
Physiological adaptationspermit the
organism to perform special functions (for
instance, making venom, secreting slime,
phototropism)
They involve different systems working
together.

Behavioural Adaptations
Behavioral adaptationsare the things
organisms do to survive. For example,
bird calls and migration arebehavioral
adaptations

Animal Behaviour
What do you think of when the words
animal behaviour are mentioned? Can
you think of any examples?

What do we define as
behaviour?
In biology,behaviourrefers to the
coordinated activities of an animal
produced in response to internal or
external stimuli.
Behaviour occurs when a stimuli
is detected by sensory organs,
which transmits the information
through the nervous system,
initiating a response.
E.g. touching a hot surface

Stimuli and responses

Source:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Here-is-what-happens-when-you-ac
cidentally-touch-a-hot-pot#

Innate vs Learned
Behaviour
Innate: Behaviour that is not
learned, but occurs instinctively.
There is no conscious decision, it
just happens.
Yawning

Learned: Modification of
behavioural response to a stimulus
based on previous experience.
Covering your mouth as you yawn.

Forms of Learning
Behaviour
Imprinting: occurs during a defined,
short learning period.
e.g. ducklings following their mother.

Habituation: gradual fading of a

response once stimulus is found to be safe
or irrelevant.
e.g. scarecrows

Associative Learning: e.g. classical

Associative Learning:
Operant Conditioning

https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnf8i_IRCcw

Forms of Learning
Behaviour
Trial and Error: Learning from
mistakes.
Observational Learning: Learning
from watching others
Insight Learning: Solving a problem
by thinking about it, not simply trial and
error.

Revision of Animal
Behaviour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hREwakXmAo#t=362

Work time...
Complete the table below. Try to look beyond
the textbook for examples of these types of
behaviour.
Individual Behaviour is defined as...
Social Behaviour is defined as ...

Form of Individual Behaviour

Definition

Stimuli that involved in this behaviour

Give an example of this behaviour in the

Animal Kingdom.

Innate (Inborn)

Instinctive

Imprinting

Habituation

Associative Learning:
Classical or Operant
Conditioning

Trial and Error

Learning

Observational
Learning

Insight Learning

What do all these different

types of behaviour have in
common?

Behaviour for
Maintenance
Animals carry out activities like
eating, drinking, regulating
temperature or finding/making
shelter. Why?
These adaptations allow them to
survive and maintain their wellbeing

Behaviour for
Maintenance
Rhythmic activities:
Circadian = 24 hour cycle. Endogenously
generated but can be influenced by
external cues.
Brain activity, cell repair, hormone production all linked to the 24
hour cycle..

Lunar Cycles = Tides are linked to the

lunar cycle, induces feeding or
reproductive activity.

Instead of watches or calendars, animals

have biological clocks, internal timers

Behaviour for
Maintenance
Movement: Assists in shelter, food,
finding mates.
Feeding Behaviour:
Knowing what to eat and how to eat it.

Behaviour for
Maintenance
Predator Avoidance:
Defence mechanisms such as a rattlesnakes
rattle to warn predators not to attack.
Feeding in a large school to lower the risk of
being eaten.

Behaviour for
Maintenance
Homeostatic behaviour: Control of internal environment.
Dogs panting, humans sweating.

Grooming and preening

Maintaining feathers helps with flight
Looking good can aid in finding a mate.

Home-building
Need to know how to build shelter if it is needed. E.g. nests, burrows, houses.

Territorial behaviour
Defending an area or resource, or a nest site to protect offspring. Takes energy but means it doesnt
have to share resources.

It is good to be social!
Communication between members of the same
species via:
Chemicals (Pheromones) that carry messages of danger or reproduction
Visual signals (Colours) differentiate sexes. Requires light to be seen.
Auditory (Sounds) can be transmitted long distances. Requires organs to send
and receive the sounds. e.g. human speech.
Touch: direct communication but have to be in close proximity
Body language

Communication can improve the defence of resources, ability to find

food, evade predators and raise their offspring (as life is easier with
help).
Can also be used to keep unwanted individuals away.

Fish Cleaning Station

Communication between members of different species. How can
this be taken advantage of?

Social Communication
Social communication can be
aggressive, defensive or cooperative.
Dominance: One individual gets the
best access to resources (food,
mates etc.)
Cultural: Info passed from
generation to generation nongenetically, such as tips for survival.