1.

The Need to Adapt

Living conditions vary in different places. Temperature, climate, availability of food and presence of predators are different in different parts of the world. All living things must adapt to their environments. If they are unable to adapt, they will either move away to another place or eventually die. Adaptations may be structural or behavioural. Structural adaptations refer to features which help an organism to survive. These include the structure of plants and characteristics that animals were born with. Behavioural adaptations refer to changes in the behaviour of animals in response to their surroundings.

2. Adaptations in Plants
Plants have adaptations that can help them to get sunlight, water and nutrients. Flowering plants also have adaptations to get their flowers pollinated and disperse seeds. These adaptations have been discussed in the chapter on Reproduction in Plants (Unit 1 of Book 1).

a) Getting Sunlight The leaves of plants are always spread out to reduce overlapping. This ensures that each leaf can receive the maximum amount of sunlight. Plants with weak stems have adaptations to support the plant and help it to grow towards the sun.

Climbing plants may be supported by tendrils, thorns or clasping roots.

Tendrils are spirally-coiled structures growing from the stem. They coil around a support to help the plant to climb. Examples of plants with tendrils include the cucumber and pumpkin plants. The bougainvillea has thorns which hook on to the support to help it climb. Clasping roots give out a sticky substance which helps them cling to a support. Examples of plants with clasping roots include the money plant and pepper plant.
Creeping plants such as the sweet potato plant have long, thin stems which creep along the surface of the ground to help spread out the leaves.

They have fibrous roots which anchor them to the ground.

Floating aquatic plants have adaptations to help them float and keep their leaves above water to get sunlight. Small aquatic plants such as the water moss fern are light so that they can float. Larger aquatic plants such as the water lettuce and water hyacinth have air spaces in their leaves and stems to help them float.
The leaves of floating plants are covered by a waxy or

hairy layer to prevent water from collecting on the leaves.

Submerged plants, such as the fanwort and hydrilla have tiny bubbles trapped between their leaves. These bubbles help the plant to stay upright and keep them near the water surface to get sunlight.

b) Getting and Retaining water

Desert plants, such as cacti live in a very dry environment.

They have long roots which grow over a wide area to absorb as much water from the ground as possible. When it rains, the cactus takes in a large amount of water and stores it in the stem. The stored water enables the cactus to survive long periods without rain. To reduce water loss through its leaves, cacti often have small or no leaves. Cacti photosynthesize using the chlorophyll found in their stems instead. The spines (thorns) on cacti are actually modified leaves.

Plants in temperate climates have adaptations to help them survive during winter, when the water sources are frozen. Some trees shed their leaves in autumn to reduce water loss during winter. N e w l e a ve s g r o w a g a i n i n s p r in g . Trees which do not shed their leaves during winter include the pine tree. They have needle-like leaves to reduce water loss and to prevent snow from collecting on the leaves.

c) Getting nutrients Carnivorous plants live in areas where the soil is poor in nutrients. To get the nutrients that they need, plants like the pitcher plant and venus fly trap have adaptations to trap insects. The pitcher plant has deep and slippery sides, making it difficult for insects to climb out once they have fallen in. The venus fly trap has modified leaves which can snap close and trap insects.

These plants secrete digestive juices to kill and digest the trapped insects.

3. Adaptations in Animals
Animals have adaptations to help them move, breathe, hunt, protect themselves, survive harsh climates and attract mates.

a) Adaptations for Flying Birds like eagles, seagulls and mynahs have streamline bodies and strong wings to enable them to fly. They have hollow but strong bones which lighten their weight. thus making it easier for them to fly. Their wings are also covered with feathers which keep their muscles warm during flight.

Flightless birds, such as the penguin and ostrich, cannot f y

because they are too heavy and have underdeveloped wings.

2)

Adaptations for Swimming Fishes have fins and a tail to help them maintain balance in the water and swim.
Ducks, frogs and seagulls have webbed feet to help them to push water backwards as they swim forward.

Other animals such as dolphins and seals have flippers to help them paddle in water.
Penguins have both webbed feet and modified wings that act as flippers.

c) Adaptations for Breathing Some animals which live on land have lungs to take in oxygen from the air. Fishes, tadpoles and prawns have gills to absorb dissolved oxygen from the water. Marine mammals breathe through their lungs. Whales and dolphins come to the surface of the water regularly to take in air through their blowholes.

Other marine mammals like seals and dugongs have special muscles to shut their nostrils when they are under water. They will push their noses above the water surface when they want to breathe. Animals like crabs and mudskippers usually live in the water. However they can also move on land for short periods of time because they have gill chambers which contain water. Amphibians such as frogs breathe through lungs while they are on land and through moist skin when they are in the water. Tubiflex worms live in the water and breathe through moist skin. Insects such as the mosquito larva and pupa, and water stick insect live in the water. They have breathing tubes which are attached to the surface of the water to enable them to take in oxygen from the air above.

Water beetles and water spiders carry a bubble of air with them as they dive in the water.

Adaptations for Catching Prey

Predatory animals such as the lion, tiger, panther and leopard have sharp teeth and claws to help them kill and chew their prey. They also have a keen sense of sight and smell which help them to locate their prey.
Eagles have sharp beaks and c laws for hunting.

They have very good eyesight and can spot their prey from a distance. Once a prey is spotted, the eagle will swoop down very swiftly to catch it. Animals like the tiger and crocodile have camouflages to help blend in with their surroundings so that they are not easily visible to their prey. The tiger has stripes to blend in with the tall grass and shadows in the jungle. The crocodile stays very still in the water and looks like a floating log. It can snap suddenly when a prey approaches.

e) Adaptations for Protection Animals which are preys have adaptations to protect them from predators.

Animals such as deer and elephants live and move in groups as it is harder for predators to attack a group. The sick or weaker animals which are unable to keep up with the group are often attacked and killed by the predators. Some animals can blend in with their surroundings through the use of camouflage. The chameleon is able to change its skin colour to match the green or brown tone of the plant that it is on. The snow shoe rabbit has white fur to blend with the surrounding snow. The leaf insect and stick insect look like leaves and sticks respectively so that they are not easily spotted when they are on a plant.

Animals like the squid and skunk can secrete substances when they are attacked. The squid shoots out a black ink-like substance to make it harder for the predator to see it while it swims away. The skunk squirts a foul smelling substance to stun predators while it escapes.

Animals also have various body coverings to protect their soft body inside. Fishes have scal es. Hedgehogs and porcupines are protected by spines. Snails and crabs are protected by shells.

The millipede curls up when it is touched as it does not have a hard body covering to protect itself. It is harder to squash a

curled up millipede compared to one that is long and thin. This is a behavioural adaptation.

f )

Adaptations for Surviving Harsh Climates

The desert is very hot and dry, yet the camel is able to survive there. The camel is able to drink more than 100 litres of water at one time. This enables it to survive long periods without water.

It does not urinate or sweat very much. This reduces water loss from its body.
The camel stores food in its hump as food supplies may be scarce in the desert.

The arctic region is very cold. Animals living there have adaptations to keep warm. Although the polar bear has white fur to blend in with its surroundings, its skin beneath the fur is black to trap heat from the sun.

Its thick layer of fur and thick layer of fat beneath the skin also help to trap and retain heat.

Some animals have behavioural adaptations to help them to survive during winter. Some bears will hibernate, or go into a deep sleep. This helps them to conserve energy since food is scarce during winter. They will w ake up again i n spri n g.

Wild geese and ducks do not have structural adaptations to survive winter, so they will migrate to warmer places until the winter is over.

g) Adaptations for Attracting Mates

Some male animals have structural adaptations to make them look more attractive to female animals. The male guppy is colourful, compared with the plaincoloured female.

A male lion has a mane around its face, but a female does not. A male peacock has colourful feathers, whereas a peahen is dull and brown in colour.

Some animals also have behavioural adaptations to attract mates. The peacock fans out its tail feathers to show off its design and colours to the peahen. The male frigate bird puffs up its throat, vibrates it, claps its bill noisily and flaps its wings to attract a female frigate.