Adaptation To Daily & Seasonal Changes

D. Crowley, 2008

Adaptation To Daily & Seasonal Changes To know how organisms can adapt to suit daily and seasonal changes

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Animal Adaptation

Complete the animal adaptation worksheet – cut out the animal and write down how it is adapted to its environment

Animal Adaptation

Elephant (dry grassland) – trunk to suck up water to drink and cool itself down; tusks for protection / mating / knocking over trees to eat; large ears to help it cool down; little hair so as to not overheat; large size aiding protection; large feet to support body

Animal Adaptation

Dolphin (sea) – fins to swim; streamlined; air hole on top of head allowing it to breathe

Animal Adaptation

Frog (pond) – long tongue to catch flies; camouflage; strong hind legs for leaping

Animal Adaptation

Polar bear (Arctic) – white fur for camouflage; thick hair to keep warm; sharp claws for catching prey & gripping ice; large feet to stop it sinking into the snow

Animal Adaptation

Zebra (grassland) – tall to spot predation; stripes for camouflage; strong legs for running quickly

Daily Changes

Many habitats do not stay the same all the time

Daily changes to the environment include: - Changes in the amount of light (between day and night) Changes in the temperature Changes in the amount of water (i.e. rainfall / tidal variations)

Seasonal Changes

Many habitats do not stay the same all the time

Seasonal changes to the environment include: - Changes in temperature between the seasons (warm in summer,

cold in winter) Changes in the amount of light (between long daylight hours in

the summer to shorter days in the winter) Changes in vegetation due to conditions (lots of vegetation in

summer, to bare trees and snow-covered grown in winter)

Daily Changes - AdaptationsHow are plants and animals adapted for daily changes?

Most flowers open their petals during the day (for pollination), but close them at night for protection

Some animals avoid predation by being nocturnal (come out at night) – however some predators specialise at hunting during the night!

Factors such as the tide (in or out) also affect the distribution of organisms

Seasonal Changes - AdaptationsHow are plants and animals adapted for seasonal changes?

Some organisms hibernate during the cold winter months when food is scarce

Different sized coats are grown by animals, e.g. a summer and winter coat

Insects spend the winter as pupae Animals store food during plentiful times in preparation for when

food becomes scarce Some organisms migrate Flowers die off in winter as there are fewer birds or insects to

pollinate them Deciduous trees lose their leaves (in case of permafrost)

Blue Planet

Watch the deep episode of The Blue Planet

How are these organisms adapted to their environment?!

Hibernation

What is hibernation? How does this help some organisms?

Hibernation occurs in some organisms, whereby they slow their body functions (e.g. breathing; metabolism; heart rate)

This saves the organism a great deal of energy (but they must store a great amount of energy during the summer when food is plentiful)

E.g. bats; tortoises; hedgehogs

*Bears are not true hibernators, they only slow down (slow heart rate) but their body temperature remains the same

Adaptations

Complete the adaptations worksheet

Adaptations

Complete the adaptations worksheet

Population Change

Complete the population change worksheet

Population Change

Producers – green plants; primary consumers – mice; secondary consumers - owls

Number of mice depends on amount of food (i.e. producers) Number of owls linked to amount of mice – as season changes availably of food

varies, allowing for either more individuals (summer) or fewer individuals (winter) As mouse numbers increases, more owls can predate them, in turn reducing the

mouse number leading to a decline in owl population size