Animal Unit Chapters 1 & 2

Features of Animals Simple Animals: animals that have bodies made up of only a few types of cells Example: Sponges (an animal with a bag-shaped body that lives in water and has pores) Complex Animals: animals that have bodies made up of many parts Two Types: Vertebrates and Invertebrates

Body Support Vertebrates: animals with a backbone and an internal skeleton Examples: birds, snakes, bats, and humans Invertebrates: animals that do not have a backbone, but often have an outer covering like a shell Examples: worms, snails, and insects Arthropods: the largest group of invertebrates Examples: ants, spiders, and crabs

Where Animals Meet Their Needs Environment: everything that surrounds or affects an animal Your environment includes both living and nonliving things like rocks, soil, air, water, plants, and other animals. Climate: the average temperature and rainfall of an area over many years The basic needs for all living things: food, water, shelter, oxygen, and reproduction

The Need For Oxygen Many land animals get oxygen by breathing air into their lungs. Ocean mammals, such as whales and dolphins, come to the water’s surface to breathe air into their lungs. Most fish get oxygen from the water around them through their gills.

The Need For Food An animal needs food to give them the energy to live and grow. Herbivores: animals that only eat plants Carnivores: animals that only eat meat (other animals) Omnivores: animals that eat both plants and animals

The Need For Water Animals lose water by sweating and panting. That water needs to be replaced. Most animals get water by drinking from ponds, lakes, streams, and puddles. Some animals, like desert animals, produce water in their bodies as their food is digested and used.

The Need for Shelter A shelter is a place where an animal is protected from other animals or from the weather Rocks, logs, leaves, trees, tunnels – almost anything in an environment – can be a shelter for an animal.

Animals And Their Young Animals of all species need to have young. Without having young, all of a species would soon die and disappear. Metamorphosis: The process of change from an egg to an adult butterfly Almost all insects, many invertebrates that live in water, and amphibians go through some kind of metamorphosis (process of change).

Animal Adaptations: Body Parts Adaptations: a body part or behavior that helps an animal meet its needs in its environment Examples in birds: thick, heavy beaks allow birds to eat seeds; short, stubby beaks allow birds to eat fruit; sharp, pointed beaks allow birds to eat insects; feathers keep birds warm and dry which helps them fly.

Body Coverings Every animal’s body covering is an adaption that helps the animal survive. For example: feathers protect birds and help them fly; fur or hair that covers most mammals helps keep them warm; whiskers function as sense organs; scales help protect fish from disease; and a reptile’s scales protect it from injury and from drying out.

Color and Shape Camouflage: an animal’s color or pattern that helps it blend in with its surroundings. It is an adaptation that helps an animal hide. Example: A tiger’s fur is striped. The stripes help the tiger blend in with the light and shadows of the tall grass in its environment. Mimicry: an adaptation in which an animal looks very much like another animal. Example: The viceroy butterfly looks like a monarch butterfly, which tastes bad to birds. Because the viceroy butterfly looks like the monarch butterfly, birds often leave it alone.

Animal Adaptations: Behaviors Instinct: a behavior that an animal begins life with. They are adaptations that help animals meet their needs. Migration: the movement of a group of one type of animal from one region to another and back again. It is a behavioral adaptation. Animals that migrate: Atlantic green turtles, birds, Gray whales, and salmon. Hibernation: a period when an animal goes into a long, deep “sleep”. An animal prepares to hibernate by eating extra food and finding shelter. During hibernation the animal’s temperature drops and its breathing rate and heartbeat fall. As a result, the animal needs little or no food. The energy it does need comes from the fat stored in its body. Animals that hibernate: ground squirrels, North American bats, and bears

Learned Behaviors Some animal behaviors are not instincts; they are learned. For example: Tigers are excellent hunters, but tigers aren’t born knowing how to hunt. Tiger cubs learn to hunt by watching their mothers hunt and by playing with other tiger cubs. Chimpanzees use sounds to communicate with one another. A loud call is a warning. A soft grunt is a happy sound. Young chimps learn the meaning of these sounds by observing the adults in their environment.