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Adaptations
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- 1What are adaptations?They are special features or behaviour that make an organism particularly well suited to its environment, and better able to compete with other organisms for limited resources.
- 2What can an adaptation be thought of?It can be thought of as a biological solution to an environmental challenge. Evolution provides the solution and makes species fit their environments.
- 3How are polar bears adapted to a very cold environment?Small ears and large bulk both reduce the surface area to volume ratio to reduce heat loss.
Large amount of insulating fat (blubber).
Thick white fur for insulation and camouflage.
Large feet to spread its weight on snow and ice.
Fur on the soles of its paws gives insulation and grip.
Powerful legs so it is a good swimmer and runner, which enables it to catch its food
Sharp claws and teeth to capture prey. - 4As plants and animals become best adapted to their environment what can they increase?Their abundance and distribution can increase.
- 5How are lions adapted to be good predators?They are built for bursts of speed but are camouflaged. They have sharp teeth and claws to kill prey. The lion's eyes are positioned at the front of its head, providing three-dimensional vision and accurate perception of size and distance.
- 6What hunting strategies do wolves have?They hunt in packs so they can catch and kill large prey.
- 7What specialised breeding strategies do most owls have?Most owls time their breeding so that their young are bale to hunt at the time of their prey's breeding season.
- 8Why do prey tend to live in groups?Because it increases the opportunities for detecting and confusing predators and so reducing the chances of being caught.
- 9How are most prey adapted to be able to escape from predators?They have eyes positioned on the sides of their head for a wide field of view (binocular vision), and are built for speed so they can escape.
- 10What defence mechanisms do some prey have?Some have defence mechanisms such as stings or poisons to defend themselves against attack. e.g. bees and scorpions.
- 11What is it called when organisms can camouflage themselves from predators?Cryptic colouration which camouflages them from predators.
- 12What colouration do some organisms have, such as the hoverfly? what is this survival strategy called?Some organisms have warning colouration even though they are harmless. e.g. the hoverfly.
This survival strategy is called mimicry. - 13Why do some birds like the starling reproduce in a very short time? What is it called when they all produce offspring at the same time?To take advantage of the favourable conditions; they all produce offspring at the same time, a process called synchronous breeding.
- 14Why is giving birth to live young rather then laying eggs advantageous?Because, the offspring's development is more advanced when they are exposed to the environment, so they can fend for themselves earlier rather than be dependant on parents.
- 15How are some organisms adapted to cope with high temperatures?By having a large surface area to volume ratio.
- 16How does an elephant keep cool by using its ears?It has large thin ears to aid heat loss from the blood vessels that run through them.
- 17What do animals whose body temperature depends on the environment, like the crocodile do?They will bask in the sun in order to raise body temperature and become active.
- 18Where temperatures in a habitat will change dramatically, what do birds do?Birds such as the swallow will migrate.
- 19How do many mammals survive winter?By lowering their body temperature and hibernating, reducing their dependence on scarce food supplies.
- 20What do penguins do that means they can live in their climate? How does this system work?Penguins operate complex counter-current heat exchange systems to minimise heat loss. Warm blood entering the feet flows past cold blood leaving the feet , and warms it up. The warmed-up blood re-enters the body and doesn't affect the penguins core temperature.
- 21What is the biochemical adaptation, extremophiles?Extremophiles are organisms that can survive extreme environmental conditions, e.g. organisms that have optimum temperatures for enzymes that are lower or higher than 37 degrees Celsius.
- 22What do some organisms like icefish have that stops them from freezing?They have antifreeze chemicals in their bodies, which lower the freezing point of body fluids.
- 23The size of an organism can have a strong bearing on its ability to survive in extreme temperatures. How does this affect a large organism?Because they have a low surface area-to-volume ratio, so this means there is a proportionately greater amount of body tissue in a larger organism. This makes it easier for them to retain heat in their bodies, but harder to absorb it in the first place.
- 24Because it is harder for larger animals to absorb heat in the first place, what implications does this have on large 'cold-blooded' animals?Because they rely on heat from the environment to raise their body temperature.
- 25The size of an organism can have a strong bearing on its ability to survive in extreme temperatures. How does this affect a small organism?Small animals, have a large surface area-to-volume ratio, so they lose heat rapidly to the environment, but can gain it quickly.
For example a shrew living in a cold environment will lose heat rapidly, but will fare better than a small lizard, which cannot control its core body temperature internally. - 26How is the cactus adapted to a desert environment?Rounded shape reduces water loss by giving a small surface area to volume ratio.
Thick waxy cuticle reduces water loss.
Stores water in a spongy layer inside its stem to resist drought.
Leaves reduced to spines to reduce water loss and to protect the cactus from predators.
Green stem so that the plant can photosynthesise without leaves.
Long roots to reach water. - 27How is the camel adapted to a desert environment?Large surface area to volume ratio to increase heat loss.
Body fat stored in a hump so there is very little in the insulating layer beneath the skin.
Loses very little water in sweat or urine.
Able to tolerate changes in body temperature so it does not need to sweat so much.
Large feet to spread its weight on the sand.
Bushy eyelashes and hair-lined nostrils to stop sand from entering. - 28What behavioural methods of reducing heat gain have some desert lizards evolved?Many are nocturnal or come out at dusk or dawn, spending the day under the sand. Other alternately lift their legs so that only two feet are in contact with the hot sand at any one time.
- 29What methods have desert rats evolved to conserve water?Evolved methods of extracting water released from respiration when seeds and roots are consumed. They also have specialised kidneys which re-absorb most of the water in their urine. Some insects position themselves with their abdomens raised at night so that condensed water that has accumulated on their bodies runs into their mouths.
- 30Some organisms are specialists, what does this mean?This means that they are well suited to only certain habitats and niches. Should the niche disappear over time then such an organism is at a disadvantage and may become endangered or extinct.
- 31Give an example of a specialist organism.Panda, which has a very specialised diet of bamboo, and is now an endangered species.
- 32What is an organism with a generalist nature? Give an example.The horseshoe crab has survived millions of years due to its generalist nature. This means it has a wide variety of food types and can migrate to different parts of the ocean during its life cycle.
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- GCSE (B2) biology Fichas sobre Adaptations, creado por Rebecca Smith el 24/02/2017.
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