Think about the way you dress in the winter.

You wear warm clothes, and maybe even a hat and mittens to protect yourself from the weather.

Think about the way you dress when you and your buddies play

paintball.

• Covers head, shoulders, upper arms & torso

• Fits over paint ball mask

• Designed to add natural vegetation

The way you dress in the winter, as well as the way you dress for paintball are both types of …

•Adaptations!

Animal Adaptations

• What is an adaptation?

• An adaptation is something that helps animals survive better.

We can separate adaptationsadaptations into two categories:

AADDAAPPTTAATTIIOONNSS

Physical Physical

And

BehavioralBehavioral

Physical Adaptationsare body structures that allow an animal to find & consume food, defend itself,

and to reproduce its species.

Physical adaptations

help an animal survive in its environment.

Hey! I’m a walking

stick. I look just like a

stick you’d find on the

ground.

Let’s begin w/Physical Adaptations

Some examples are:

• CamouflageCamouflage• MimicryMimicry

• Chemical defensesChemical defenses• Body coverings & partsBody coverings & parts

CamouflageCamouflage

Camouflage (use of color in a surrounding)

Camouflage • Have you ever

wondered why animals have spots, strips, or certain colors?

• Sometimes an animal’s colors can be a difference between life and death.

• Animals use their colors to blend into the environment.

The chameleon can change its ccoolloorr to match its surroundings.

Can YOU do that?

See if you can find the camouflaged animals in these pictures. The animals you are looking for are a deer, frog, and quail.

Find the critters!

Quail

Deer!

Look closely to find this animal!

Can you see the frog?

Mimicry• Animals may also try

to look like another animals.

• For example, non poisonous snakes will rattle their tale and flatten their head to look poisonous to a predator.

• This is called Mimicry, where an animal tries to mimic or copy another.

Which snake is poisonous?

Other forms of mimicry…• The monarch

butterfly is toxic and very nasty to eat.

• Its bright orange coloration is a warning to birds to leave it alone.

• The non-toxic viceroy butterfly has developed colors and wing patterns that are very similar to those of the monarch

• So most birds won’t take a chance by taste-testing it!

Which is the monarch andWhich is the viceroy?

Chemical defenses (like venom, ink, sprays)

Chemical defenses (like venom, ink, sprays)

Physical adaptationsBody coverings & parts

(claws, beaks, feet, armor plates, skulls, teeth)

The elephant’s trunk is a physical adaptation that helps it to clean itself, eat, drink, and to pick things up.

Now let’s learn about Behavioral Adaptations…

Behavioral Adaptations allow animals to respond to

life needs.

Behavioral Adaptations are animals’ actions.

Each organism has unique methods of adapting to its environment by

means of different actions.

We can divide Behavioral Adaptations into two groups:

These behaviors happen naturally & don’t have to be learned

•

These behaviors must be taught.

Instinctive Learned

Methods of gathering & storing food

Instinctive behaviors

Instinctive Behaviors

happen naturally & don’t need

to learned

=

Defending oneself Raising young

Hibernating

Finding shelter

Migrating Finding shelter

Obtained by interacting with the environment and cannot be passed

on to the next generation except

by teaching.

Obtained by interacting

with the environment

and cannot be passed

on to the next generation

except by teaching.

Learned Behaviors

In this lesson, we have learned about animal adaptations.

There are 2 ways to describe adaptations:

Physical Behaviorand