Unit 10 Plant and Animal Adaptations Goal I

Unit 10 Plant and Animal Adaptations

Goal I will understand the different adaptations of plants and animals that enable them to survive in different environments.

What is Adaptation? • http: //studyjams. scholastic. com/studyj ams/jams/science/animals/animaladaptations. htm

A Place to Call Home • Habitat- the place where a living organism lives. If one place has several different types of habitats we know a variety of life exist there. – A habitat can be: • • Cold Hot Dry Wet Deep under the ocean If varieties of grasses, pine trees, oak trees, and palmetto trees live in an area, for these plants this area is considered their habitat. All of a living thing’s needs must be met within its habitat. (shelter, food, protection) Are all habitats for everyone?

A Place to Call Home 1. What are some ways in which habitats can differ? 2. Why aren’t living things found in outer space? 3. If scientist were to find life in space, where is it likely to be? 4. Examine the illustrations on pages 422 and 423. – With your group name two different habitats from the picture on page 422 -423 and describe how they are the same and how they are different. Then name one animal from each habitat and describe how that animal’s needs are met there. – Now complete the interactivity on the top of page 423, then draw another animal that you think would be found in each habitat.

Adaptations • Adaptation - characteristic that allows an animal to survive. • Sequence on how an adaptation occur: 1. An offspring of an animal is born with a new characteristic. 2. The characteristic allows the animal to survive. 3. That offspring with the new characteristic has more offspring with the same new characteristic. 4. The habitat stays the same. 5. Overtime the adaptation becomes more common with that species.

Adaptations • Compare and contrast the features of the two rabbits below and on page 424. Now brainstorm how their difference features help them survive in their habitat. • What is a physical adaptation you have that helps you stay warm in the winter?

Adaptations 1. Ostriches, rheas, and emus live in grasslands. What are some adaptations they have to survive in a grassy habitat? 2. Why don’t all animals have the same adaptations? 3. What does it tell you if two animals that live in different places have very similar adaptations? 4. Which kind of habitat do you think most vines are adapted to live in? Explain

Physical Fitness • Physical adaptations are differences in the bodies of plants and animals. • Physical adaptations help the animal from being eaten. – Example: • Roses have thorns to protect the rose from getting eaten. • Camouflage helps to hide animals for protection. • An eagles sharp eyes, claws, and ability to fly allow an eagle to catch its prey.

Physical Fitness • Relate the caterpillar on page 421 and the hoverfly on page 427. – This type of adaptation is called mimicry. • Name the physical adaptation of the plants or animals that follow: – Snake – Giraffe – Chameleons – Brightly colored flower – Cactus

On Your Best Behavior • Instincts - behaviors that do NOT have to be learned. – Examples: • baby crying • spider spinning a web • fish swimming • A learned behavior must be taught. – Examples: • lion hunting • baby learning to read • dog sitting • With your partner name one animal and its instincts and then list its learned behaviors.

On Your Best Behavior • Nocturnal – when animals are active at night and sleep during the day. • Migration – when animals move to different locations during certain periods of the year to find food, reproduce, or escape cold weather, this is an instinctive behavior.

On Your Best Behavior • hibernation - a long period of inactivity. – When an animal hibernates, its body processes slows down. • social behavior - the way animals act toward other animals of the same type. – Example: honeybees waggle dance

On Your Best Behavior 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. How is a behavioral adaptation different from a physical adaptation? In your own words, define the term “behavior”. Look at the graph on page 429 what does the show? How do you think an animal can gain mass? What is hibernation? Do you think animals are able to eat while they are hibernating? Explain your response. Where do you think an animal gets its energy from while it is hibernating? Look at the graph on page 429 what does the show? Do you think an animal would weigh more before hibernation or after hibernation? Explain your response.

The Circle of Life • All living organisms have a life cycle, and it is directly related to its habitat. – Because of this, differences in life cycles are a type of adaptation. – Example: • A caterpillar lives on leaves of plants and eats the plant for nutrition, it then turns into a butterfly and sips that plant’s nectar. • Let’s consider a frog’s life cycle…

The Circle of Life • Frogs are adapted to live near water. • A frog’s life cycle starts off as an egg, which is laid in the water. • The egg hatches, and tadpoles live in the water. • While in the water tadpoles grow lungs and legs. • They are then ready to move to land.

A Frog’s Life Cycle

The Circle of Life 1. Why might it be easier for young salmon to survive in a stream rather than in the ocean? 2. How do you think salmon know when they should migrate upstream in order to lay their eggs? 3. What is an example of a reproductive adaptation of sea turtles? 4. What might be an advantage of nesting on beaches for sea turtles?

The Circle of Life • How many offspring can a salmon have at one time? • How many offspring does an impala have at one time? • Which animal, a salmon or an impala, spends more time caring for their offspring? • Do you think offspring that are cared for by adults are more likely to survive? Explain • What does the sun’s energy cause water to do?

Why Do Bird Beaks Differ? Inquiry pg. 435 -436

Why Do Bird Beaks Differ? • Bird beaks have different purposes and it depends on the habitat that a bird lives in, and the type of food the bird eats. • Describe the type of beak the bird would need for the following situations: – Birds that live near water and eat fish from the water. – Birds that eat nuts with hard outer shells. – Birds that eat seeds, mice, and burrowing animals.

A Link to Some of the Most Common Bird Beaks. • http: //www. backyardnature. net/birdbea k. htm Following information was taken from: • http: //fsc. fernbank. edu/Birding/bird_b eaks. htm Hawks, owls, and other birds of prey which catch and kill live prey have sharp, "hooked" beaks. These are used to bite the skull or neck and also to tear the body into pieces small enough to swallow.

A cone shaped bill is found in many birds such as finches and grosbeaks. It is a strong beak used for cracking seeds Thin, slender, pointed beaks are found mainly in insect eaters. They are used to pick insects off leaves, twigs, and bark. This warbler is a good example Woodpeckers have strong beaks which taper to the tip, forming a chisel for pecking holes in trees for food or nests. Most feed on insects which live under the bark. Hummingbirds have long, tubular bills that resemble straws, which they use to sip nectar from flowers. Mergansers, specialized for eating fish, have sharp tooth-like structures on the edge of the bill to hold fish tightly.

The edges of a Mallard's bill are fringed to strain plants, seeds, and small animals from mud and water. Beaks which are flat and wide at the base are found in birds which catch insects in flight, such as flycatchers. These birds also often have "whiskers, " which are actually modified feathers, at the corners of the mouth, which effectively widens the mouth opening, allowing more effective capture of prey. Macaw birds have large, powerful beaks that can easily crack hard shelled nuts and seeds.

Take a Walk in the Woods • Temperate Forest – They have warm summers and cold winters. – Mostly have deciduous trees that live there, because they can survive the winter by losing their leaves which helps to prevent water loss. – Vines such as ivy climb the trees to reach light.

Take a Walk in the Woods • Animal adaptations in a temperate forest: – Clawed feet that help them climb or live in trees – Camouflaged to resemble forest floor – Insects special mouth parts to bore into wood – Woodpeckers hard pointy beaks to drill holes in trees to get the insects.

Take a Walk in the Woods 1. Why does spotted fur help camouflage a fawn? 2. Fungi decompose tree wood. What would happen in a forest without fungi? 3. What behavioral adaptations might temperate forest animals have in order to help them survive the cold winter? 4. How do fallen leaves affect soil nutrients

Rain, Rain Everyday • Tropical Rainforest - Also called jungles are warm and rainy which allows a wide variety of plants and animals to live there. • Layers of plants – – – Giant trees Another layer of trees below the giants Plants that live close to the ground • What adaptations do the plants that live in the lower layers have or should have? • Epiphytes – plants that have adapted to this habitat by having roots that attach to trees so that they can reach sunlight.

Rain, Rain Everyday • Soil is washed away daily by the rains, therefore there is a very thin layer of soil remaining. – The plants have to adapt to the thin layer of soil by: • Having roots that grow down from the branches, acting as a prop • Roots that make walls that spread out around the tree. – Buttress roots

Rain, Rain Everyday • Tropical Rainforest Animal adaptations: – Howler monkey’s calls are very loud to communicate – sharp claws to climb trees and hunt – long arms and strong claws that they use to hang from branches. – Bright colors warn predators that they are poisonous or to help them find their family – Jaguar • • claws, sharp teeth strong jaws spotted fur

Rain, Rain Everyday 1. How is a tropical rain forest different from a temperate forest? 2. Do you think tropical epiphytes could survive in a temperate forest? Explain 3. Can you name examples of temperate epiphytes?

Fields of Gold • Grasslands: – Have less rain than forests, so they have less plants. – The main plant life are grasses – Fires are common – Plants have long, narrow leaves keep them from losing water – Grasses have large root systems that store energy , which help them to grow back quickly after a fire or after they have been eaten.

Fields of Gold • Grassland animal adaptations: – Bison, elephants, zebras, giraffes, and gazelles have flat teeth to help them chew grass. – Gazelles and Cheetahs run very fast. – Grassland hunters have sharp teeth and claws, and powerful jaws to eat their prey. – A lions golden color and zebra vertical s strips for camouflage – Insect eating animals live in burrows. – Eagles and vultures fly to see their food source. – Rabbits and prairie dogs have strong front paws and live underground to flee from coyotes.

Fields of Gold 1. What do you think is the main type of plant growing in a grassland? 2. How does grass differ from trees? 3. Why do you think grass rather than trees would grow better in some types of environments? 4. How are the feet of many grassland animals different from the feet of many forest animals? 5. Which do you think would be a faster runner: a forest predator or grassland predator? Explain 6. What adaptations do you think grasses might have for surviving in a grassland? 7. Why do most small animals living in grasslands have camouflaged fur or skin and adaptations for burrowing in the ground?

Some Like it Dry • The Desert – Due to its extreme heat or cold, lack of water, the desert is a very hard place for animals to survive. • What adaptation does a cactus have to allow it to survive in the desert? • Why are many animals nocturnal in the desert? • List the adaptations of a camel and the purpose for them?

Some Like It Dry • Camel adaptations: – Can go long time without drinking water. – Wide feet to help walk in the sand – Long eyelashes help keep sand out of eyes – Humps to store fat so their bodies can cool efficiently

Some Like It Dry 1. Examine the pictures of desert plants on page 444. What adaptations to like in the desert can you see in these plants? 2. What adaptations do you think animals in the Sahara have that help them deal with the temperature range? 3. The trees in temperate and tropical forests have broad, thin leaves with many pores. Why are these leaves not welladapted for deserts?

Some Like it Cold • The Taiga – Have Conifer trees (pines, firs, spruces) that stay green all year long. • Grow seeds inside cones. • Can live in environments that have very cold winters and short summers. • Pointed tops and flexible branches to shed snow. • Dark green to help absorb sunlight. • Needlelike leaves

Some Like it Cold • – • – – Taiga Animals: Animals that live here have many cold weather adaptations. Name the adaptations of the animal that lives here from the text with your group. Wolverines and lynxes Birds Crossbill’s beak Moose

Some Like It Cold 1. The leaves of conifers have a waxy surface. How does this help conifers withstand the taiga’s climate? 2. How do taiga trees compare to temperate forest trees? 3. Why do you think there is no taiga in Southern Hemisphere?

Life on Ice • Polar/Tundra Habitat: – Near North and South Pole • Plants closest to the poles cannot survive with the exception of lichens which grows on rocks. • Plants further away from the poles, can spread seeds in the short months where the snow melts with a thin layer of soil, to grow plants.

Life on Ice • Polar/Tundra Animals: – Ptarmigans have white feathers for the winter and brown for the summer. This allows for survival depending on the season. – Penguins have a layer of fat and water-proof feathers that allow them to swim to catch their food. • What do polar bears and penguins have in common? Winter Summer

Life on Ice 1. What do polar bears hunt? 2. What do polar bears and seals have in common? 3. Polar plants are very short. Why do you think this is the case?

Goal I will understand some of the physical and behavioral adaptations that enable animals and plants to survive life in the water.

Life in Lakes and Ponds • They are examples of freshwater habitats. • They are wide bodies of water that do not flow very much. • These habitats are divided into three zones – Zone close to shore – Open-water zone – Deep-water zone

Life in Lakes and Ponds • Three Main Zones: 1. Zone close to the shore: • Where water plants grow because their roots can reach the soil while their long stems allow the plant to still receive sunlight. Water lilies and water hyacinth float near the shore. They do not root in soil, they get nutrients directly from the water through their trailing roots. • Animals include ducks, snails, and fish, they eat water plants 2. Open Water Zone • Where floating plants and plantlike organisms live. • Plants that need to have root system do NOT live here because the plants would not be able to reach the surface for sunlight. 3. Deep-water Zone • No plants grow here • Very little light reaches the bottom. • Catfish, worms, and bacteria found here and they feed on dead or decaying organisms. • Catfish whiskers are adapted to sense chemicals, which helps catfish find food in the dark.

Life in Lakes and Ponds 1. Why can ponds and lakes be divided into different zones? 2. Why do you think plants cannot grow in the deep-water zone? 3. Do you think a shallow pond would have a deep-water zone? Explain your answer. 4. What are the two main factors in dividing lakes and ponds into zones? 5. How might fertilizer runoff affect a lake or pond ecosystem 6. Snapping turtles have lungs to breathe air. They do not have gills like fish. Nonetheless, snapping turtles spend a large amount of time at the bottom of ponds. How is this possible. 7. In which zone do you think water lilies would most likely be found? 8. In which zone do you think catfish spend most of their time?

Go With the Flow • Rivers and Streams Habitat: – The faster the water moves the more difficult it is for plants and animals to survive but of this movement they are often clear. In places where they slow down more living things are found. • Mosses have hair like structures that cling to rocks allowing them to grow on the banks of rivers and streams. – Fish constantly have to swim upstream so they are not carried away by the current. • What adaptation does a river otter, stream dwelling fish, and tadpole have to allow it to survive in their habitat?

Go With the Flow 1. Where do you think you would most likely find fastmoving stream environments? Explain 2. Where do you think you would most likely find slowmoving stream environments? Explain your answer 3. How is a stream different from a river? 4. What would happen to an organism in a river that could not hold its position in the flowing water? 5. What are two adaptations algae has to life in stream? 6. Otters are excellent swimmers. But they are also able to waddle on the shore as well. How would this help an otter living in a stream environment?

Soggy Bogs • Wetlands Habitat: – Covered by a shallow layer of water most of the year. • Three types of wetlands: – Bogs -covered in a thick layer of mud – Swamps - forested wetlands, plants have roots above and below the water. – Marshes - have no trees but have grasses and reeds. • Special tissue to carry air to the roots. • Plants have an adaptation to get rid of excess salt when they are located near the ocean coast.

Soggy Bogs Wetlands - Bird Feet Adaptations http: //normanbirdsanctuary. org/feet_ad aptations. shtml

Soggy Bogs 1. Think about visiting the environmental center. What was it like while in the wetlands? 1. How do marshes differ from swamps?

Between a Rock and Hard Place • Intertidal Zone Habitat: – Where the ocean meets the coast. • High tide covered by water • Low tide exposed to air • Variety of animals live there. • Living things have adaptations that protect their bodies from being crushed, washed away, or dried out.

Between a Rock and Hard Place • Living organisms that call intertidal zone their home: – – – sea stars and sea urchins barnacles seaweed clams and oysters tube worms (serpulas) and anemones

Between a Rock and Hard Place 1. What are some adaptations that sea stars, serpulas, and seaweed have to live in the intertidal zone? 2. Why is the intertidal zone a difficult place to live? 3. During low tide, many bird feed on animals that burrow into the sand. What adaptations do you think these birds might have? 4. A sea star’s will regrow if it is broken off. How does this adaptation help it survive in the intertidal zone? 5. Look at the picture on page 461 of the serpula. Where does the worm go when the tide is out? 6. How does the body of seaweed compare to algae in streams. 7. How does flexibility help seaweed survive in the intertidal zone.

Out to Sea • Ocean Habitat: • The largest habitat on Earth – Divided into zones: • Photic – close to the shore, home to seaweed, coral, colorful fish, pygmy sea horses, tiny plantlike organisms, floating seaweed, jellyfish, squid, fish, sharks, dolphins and whales. • Aphotic – part of the ocean that the light does not reach. It is dark and cold. Animals move between photic and aphotic zone. • Ocean floor – covered with mountains, valleys, canyons, undersea volcanoes and hot springs called vents. Animal here have bodies adapted to extreme water pressure.

Out to Sea 1. What adaptation do jellyfish, deep-sea fish, and marine tube worms have? 2. How do plants and animals living in the ocean compare with plants and animals living in lakes, streams, and wetlands?

Oceans in Peril • Coral bleaching – coral that are losing their color and dying. – Possible reasons include rising water temperature and ocean pollution. • People taking too many fish out of the sea • Dumping of garbage into the ocean.

Oceans in Peril 1. What might happen if the Earth continues to get warmer? 2. Why is it difficult to regulate the use of ocean resources?