Life Science Adaptations Guided Notes

Adaptations Guided Notes

• How did the tiger get its stripes?
• How did the anteater get such a long tongue?
• Why are there so many cypress trees in the swamp?
• These questions can be answered by understanding ___________________
• Adaptations are traits that help an organism __________________ and reproduce.
• Adaptations explain why polar bears are successful in the cold, icy climates and cacti are successful in the dry, warm climates.

Structural vs. Behavioral Adaptations

• Structural
• _________________ features of an organism
• Ex:  fur on a bear, beak of a bird
• Behavioral
• Things organisms do to ______________________
• Ex:  bird calls, migration

How does an organism “get” an adaptation?

·        An organism does not “get” an adaptation—they are __________________________.

·        Adaptations come from variations in the ________________.

How an adaptation gradually changes a species

• Imagine a bird species.
• A bird is born that has a longer beak than the other birds in the species.
• Longer beak helps bird capture more food.
• Bird is able to live longer and breed more food.
• Bird passes gene for longer beak to offspring and they live longer & have more offspring & gene continues to be inherited.
• Can take thousands of years for the mutation to be found in the entire species.

Biogeography

• The study of where organisms ____________________ is called biogeography.
• Animals living in various biomes must possess characteristics and adaptations to survive the ___________________________________ of the biome.
• Example:  Tundra is very cold and dry therefore animals that live there such as wolves, caribou, and foxes grow _____________________ in the winter to keep warm.

Natural Selection

• Natural Selection is the process by which individuals are ______________________ to their environment are more likely to survive and __________________________ than others of the same species.
• Charles Darwin explained that _________________________ occurs by means of natural selection.
• Darwin studied finches on the Galapagos Islands; he noticed that each species of finch was well suited for its life; finches that ate insects had _______________ beaks; finches that ate seeds had _______________, _______________ beaks.