Grade 7 IBHabitat & Adaptation

Habitat

The environment in which a specific species lives in.

Example :Canadian beavers live in the wetlands and lakes of North America.

Habitat

Characteristics that define a habitat:

Geographical locationFloraFaunaProximity of man-made constructions

Why are habitats important?

4 major reasons:

1) Needed to meet other animals of the same species in order to reproduce

2) Shelter

3) Food and water

4) To be in a climate to which they are adapted to

Ecological niche

Ecological niche describes the relational position of a species or population in an ecosystem.

Characteristics that define an ecological niche:

Habitat Diet Daily rhythms

Ecological niche

The ecological niche describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (for example, by growing when resources are abundant, and when predators, parasites and pathogens are scarce)

Species

• Living organisms that share similar physical characteristics belong to the same species.

• Members of the same species must also have natural, viable and fertile reproduction.

Adaptation

An adaptation is a way an animal's body helps it survive, or live, in its environment

Species must be adapted to their habitat

Animals depend on their physical features to help them obtain food, keep safe, build homes, withstand weather, and attract mates.

These physical features are called physical adaptations. They makes it possible for the animal to live in a particular place and in a particular way.

Each adaptation has been produced by evolution. This means that the adaptations have developed over many generations.

Examples of the basic adaptations that help creatures survive:

shape of a bird's beak, the number of fingers, colour of the fur, the thickness or thinness of the fur, the shape of the nose or ears

What is a mimicry adaptation?

Mimicry is adapting to look like something else. An example would be the hawkmoth as it looks just like a dead leaf, tattered and veined.

Example of Adaptations to Climate

Red fox vs. Arctic fox

PENGUINS!

Penguins have webbed feet for powerful swimming. Their bodies are streamlined to reduce drag in water. Their wings, shaped like flippers, also help them "fly" underwater at speeds up to 15 mph.

Penguins have to keep high body temperatures to remain active. They have thick skin and lots of fat (blubber) under their skin to keep warm in cold weather.

They also huddle together with their friends to keep warm. Emperor penguins have developed a social behaviour that when it gets cold, they huddle together in groups that may comprise several thousand penguins.

The dark coloured feathers of a penguin's back surface absorb heat from the sun, so helping them to warm up too.

Adaptation and movement

Animal movement is adapted to specific habitats.

Example:Smooth green snake: has

no legs (it slithers) lives in fields where plants provide shelter

Adaptation and eating

Every animal species has physical adaptations that helps it eat.

Teeth and diet

Canine teeth (tear) carnivoresMolars (grind, crush) herbivoresIncisor (shred, cut) herbivores (bark)Premolar (grind, crush)

Humans all four types omnivores

Beaks and diet

Short, hooked, powerful carnivorous (falcon)

Short, wide base, powerful herbivorous-granivorous (cardinal)

Short and slender Insectivorous – herbivorous (Tree swallow)

Big, long, powerful Omnivorous (Crow)

Long and slender Nectarivorous – invertivorous (humming bird)

Plants and adapting for food

Plants will also adapt to their habitat in order to obtain food

Example:

Lichen : Algae and fungi live in symbiosis. The algae produces the food for the fungi and the fungi protects the algae from drought and temperature variations.

Adaptation and communication

Communicating through visual signs : Fireflies

(light)

Communicating through Smells : skunks (spray)

Communicating throughSound : dolphins (whistle)

Behavioural adaptation

Enables animals and plants to improve their chances of survival

Example: moving in groups and phototropism.

Adapting through reproduction

Flowering plants cannot move and so over millions of years they have adapted with the aid of insects that carry the pollen (Honey bees)