whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitats. b. . Adaptedness is the state of being adapted: the degree to which an organism is able to live and reproduce in a given set of habitats
Polar ecology is the relationship between plants and animals in
a polar environment. Polar environments are in the Arcticand Antarctic regions. Arctic regions are in the Northern Hemisphere, and it contains land and the islands that surrounds it.Antarctica is in the Southern Hemisphere and it also contains the land mass, surrounding islands and the ocean. Polar regions also contain the subantarctic and subarctic zone which separate the polar regions from the temperate regions. Antarctica and the Arctic lie in the polar circles. The polar circles are not visible on the earth but it is shown on maps to be the areas that receives less sunlight due to less radiation. These areas either receive sunlight (midnight sun) or shade (polar night) 24 hours a day because of the earth's tilt. Plants and animals in the polar regions are able to withstand living in harsh weather conditions but are facing environmental threats that limit their survival.
The two main
adaptations that desert animals must make are how to deal with lack of water and how to deal with extremes in temperature. Many desert animals avoid the heat of the desert by simply staying out of it as much as possible. Where do animals in the desert get their water from? Since water is so scarce, most desert animals get their water from the food they eat: succulent plants, seeds, or the blood and body tissues of their prey. How do desert animals prevent water from leaving their bodies? Desert animals prevent water leaving their bodies in a number of different ways. Some, like kangaroo rats and lizards, live in burrows which do not get too hot or too cold and have more humid (damp) air inside. These animals stay in their burrows during the hot days and emerge at night to feed. Other animals have bodies designed to save water. Scorpions and wolf spiders have a thick outer covering which reduces moisture loss. The kidneys of desert animals concentrate urine, so that they excrete less water.
Several animal groups have undergone aquatic
adaptation, going from being purely terrestrial animals to living at least part of the time in water. The adaptations in early speciation tend to develop as the animal ventures into water in order to find available food. As successive generations spend more time in the water, natural selection causes the acquisition of more adaptations. Animals of later generations may spend the majority of their life in the water, coming ashore for mating. Finally, fully adapted animals may take to mating and birthing in water.