Chapter 7:Adaptation and Extinction Mrs. Walker 4th Grade

Adaptations For Survival Main Idea: To survive, plants and animals must be adapted to their environment. Their adaptations help organisms obtain food, hide from other animals, and generally survive the conditions of their environment.

Plant and Animal Adaptations Different plants and animals survive in different environments. The place where a plant and animal live is called its habitat. For example, the ocean is a dolphin’s habitat. The habitat of a toucan is its rainforest. Plants and animals have adaptations that help them survive. An adaptation can be a physical feature or a behavior that helps a plant or animal survive.

Plant and Animal Adaptations The role a plant or animal plays in its environment is called its niche. A niche includes the kind of food an organism uses for energy. It also includes the conditions the organism needs to survive. For example, part of an opossum’s niche is to eat berries. Many organisms can share a habitat, but each organism has its own niche.

Adaptations to Habitat Forest The aye aye has large eyes that help it see at night. The aye aye’s third finger is very long and thin. It uses it for digging food out of trees. Desert Light-colored fur helps the jackrabbit blend into its surroundings. Its large ears help it keep cool in the desert by giving off heat. Rain Forest Water that stays on leaves can cause disease. The leaves of many rainforest plants have pointed ends that allow rainwater to drip off. Tundra The musk ox’s habitat is covered with snow much of the year. How might the musk ox’s thick fur help it survive?

Camouflage Camouflage is the coloring, marking, or other physical appearance of an animal that helps it blend in with its surrounding. Animals use camouflage to hide from both predators and prey. The color and pattern of the young deer’s fur helps the deer blend in with its forest habitat. The young deer is protected because predators have a hard time seeing it.

Other Examples of Camouflage

Watch Tim and Moby explain why animals use camouflage ! http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/camouflage/

Color and Mimicry Some animals have bright colors that let other animals see them easily. This adaptation is called warning coloration. The bright colors of a bumble bee can warn of painful stings. Some animals protect themselves by using mimicry. Mimicry is an adaptation that allows an animal to protect itself by looking like another kind of animal or plant. The South American owl butterfly has large spots on its wing that look like the eyes of an owl. These spot scare away birds that might want to eat the butterfly.

Behavior In some environments, winter brings freezing temperatures and snow. Animals such as bats, frogs, and chipmunks have an adaptation that helps them survive the cold winter. They hibernate, or go into a deep sleep, during which they use very little energy and usually do not need to eat. During this deep sleep, the animal’s heartbeat and breathing rate slow down.

Hibernation In this movie, you’ll learn how some animals survive the cold winter by hibernating and going into a deep sleep. They prepare to hibernate by eating a lot and fattening up. When the temperature goes down and the days get shorter, they go into a deep sleep and live off their fat. Then, when it gets warmer in the spring, they wake up. You'll learn about different animals that hibernate through the winter, including ground squirrels and bats. But, do bears really hibernate? Watch the movie to find out! http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/animals/hibernation/preview.we ml

Migrating Some animals migrate or move to another region, when seasons change and food becomes scarce.

Review Questions: Complete the review questions in your packet. You may use page B60-B64 in your textbook to help you answer the questions.