Adaptations By: Cammie Goodman

A squirrel cannot live in a pond, but a frog can. Frogs have features that help them live under water. For example, they have webbed feet that help them swim. Squirrels have bushy tails that help them balance on tree branches. Webbed feet and bushy tails are adaptations. An adaptation is a feature that helps a living thing in the place where it lives.

Body parts that are adaptations  Look at the giraffe and the cheetah. These animals live in a savannah. A savannah is an open area with grasses and a few trees.  The giraffe’s long neck lets it feed on the leaves of the trees.  Its long legs help it outrun predators like the cheetah’s strong legs help it run very fast over the open land. It must run fast to catch fast prey like the giraffe.

Polar bears live in cold arctic regions. Polar bears have a thick coat of fur over their skin and a thick layer of fat under it. The fur and fat keep their bodies from losing heat on snowy land and in icy water. Living things in other places have different adaptations

Fish, such as Georgia’s lake sturgeon and grass carp, have adaptations for living in water.  Their gills let them breathe underwater.  Their fins help them swim to find food.  Birds have adaptations for life in the air. They have wings and feathers.  They have hollow bones that make their bodies light enough for flight.

Did you know? Alligators live in swamps. Alligators’ nostrils are on the top of their snouts, so alligators can lie mostly underwater and still breathe. Their bumpy scales look like bumps on a log. These adaptations help alligators hide from their prey.

Animals also have adaptations for the kinds of foods they eat.  Some birds, such as the northern cardinal, have short, strong beaks for crushing seeds.  Bald eagles have sharp, curved beaks for catching and eating prey.  Cheetahs and giraffes both have spotted coats that help them blend in with the colors of the savannah.  The white fur of an arctic fox makes it hard to see in places where the ground is covered with snow.  These adaptations are called camouflage. Camouflage is a pattern of coloring that helps a living thing blend in with its surroundings.  Camouflage helps an animal hide form its predators or prey.

Animals have adaptations for defense, or protection  Skunks have scent glands that let them spray bad-smelling chemicals when they feel threatened.  Porcupines 'sharp quills protect them from predators.  Antelopes use their horns for defense.

Behaviors That Are Adaptations  As winter gets near, animals have a harder time finding food. Then some animals migrate, or move from one place to another in a pattern.  Geese, monarch butterflies, and Georgia’s sea turtles are some animals that migrate.  In fall, many animals travel long distances to warmer places, where they can find food.  In spring, they migrate back to their warm- weather homes.

 Some animals migrate to lay their eggs in a certain place. This behavior helps them reproduce. When living things reproduce, they make new living things of the same kind

Millions of red crabs living on Australia's Christmas Island make their way to the sea to mate and, eventually, lay their eggs

As the weather gets colder, other animals eat a lot and then hibernate.  To hibernate is to go into a deep sleep-like state during winter.  When an animal hibernates, its heart beats much more slowly. Its body temperature falls.  A hibernating animal uses so little energy that it does not need to eat. It can live off the fat stored in its body until spring.  Some animals that hibernate are gophers, bats, frogs, snakes, and ladybugs.

Just like animals, plants have adaptations.  For example, the sharp spines of a cactus keep animals from eating it.  Cactus plants live in deserts, where there is very little rainfall.  The plants’ roots spread out near the surface of the ground.  When rain does fall, the roots take in water quickly before it dries up.  Cactus plants store the water in their fat stems. The stored water keeps the plants alive until the next rain.

Plants that live in shady rainforests have plenty of water. But little sunlight reaches the ground.  Plants in a rainforest tend to have large, wide leaves.  Big leaves gather more sunlight than small leaves.  Plants cannot move from place to place. But they can grow toward sunlight, and their roots can grow toward water.  Plants that live in cold places have ways to survive winter. They stop growing.  Many drop their leaves.  The plants save water and energy until spring.

Some adaptations help plants to reproduce.  Some plants have seeds or fruit with fluffy or winged parts.  These parts get carried by the wind, which helps the plants spread their seeds.  Examples of these plants in Georgia include dandelions, cattails, milkweeds, and maple trees.

Dandelion

Milkweeds

Cattails

Maple Tree leaves

Discussion Question: A giraffe has long legs. How does this adaptation help it survive in the savannah? Do you think long legs would help it survive in a thick forest? Explain your answer.