r i ve r habit at pack
KEY QUESTION 9
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‘ How have river animals adapted to cope
with the conditions in the river?’
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Objectives
Pupils should be able to understand that the creatures that they found in the river
have special adaptations that enable them to live in this habitat. Pupils should be
aware of a variety of adaptations in river creatures but in particular should become
familiar with the adaptations that help river animals to stay in one place in the fastflowing water. They should be able to use this knowledge to design a ‘super
creature’ which is extremely skilled at resisting the flow of the water.
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Resources
Per class:
9a: OHP acetate - “What do animals living in the river need to be able to do to survive?”
9b: OHP acetate - “How does a water snail survive in the river?”
Per pair/three:
9c: Pupil reference - “Staying in one place!”
Per pupil:
• Plain paper
• Pencil
Suggested Activities
1. Introduce the concept of adaptation by discussing the ‘short term adaptations’ made by the pupils
in different situations. For example, they breathe more quickly when they exercise, they put on
more clothes to go outside on a cold day, they may eat things they don’t really like when they are
hungry and so on.
2. Explain that creatures living in the river need to be able to adapt to the conditions that they face
every day so that they can survive. Remind the pupils of the conditions that exist in the shallower,
faster sections of the river. Showing them the relevant photograph from Key Question 2 will help.
3. Show the OHP acetate (9a) listing the things that river creatures need to be able to do to survive
in the water. Discuss them one at a time relating them back to the conditions that exist in the
river. Make sure the pupils understand why they need to be able to do these things to stay alive.
Photocopies of the OHP acetate could be displayed around the room as a reminder.
4. Show the class the OHP acetate (9b) of the snail. Point out the ways in which the snail has
adapted to life in the river (see notes overleaf). Photocopies of the OHP acetate could be displayed
around the room as a reminder.
5. Distribute pupil reference 9c “Staying in one place!” to each pair/three. These sheets show some
of the adaptations river creatures have made in order to resist the fast flowing water. Discuss each
of these features with the pupils adding explanations where necessary.
6. Ask the pupils to design and name their own ‘super creature’ which is really skilled at staying in
one place in the river. They should be encouraged to make their designs as weird and wonderful
as they like. The important thing is that they remember some of the adaptation features.
9
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Notes:
Adaptations of a snail
Eating - A nail file can be used to demonstrate the action of the snail’s radula.
Moving - By standing on one foot and ‘shuffling’ along the floor, the movement of the snail’s ‘foot’
can be demonstrated.
Staying in one place - The snail’s muscular ‘foot’ acts like a big sucker which attaches it to surfaces.
Breathing - Discuss scuba diving with the pupils. People who need to breathe under water carry their
air in a chamber. Snails will need to visit the surface regularly to collect more air.
Protection - Snails only have a soft body so grow this outer ‘skeleton’. Discuss people on construction
sites who have to wear ‘hard hats’.
9a
What do animals living in the river
need to be able to do to survive?
They need to be able to find
a place to live.
They need to be able to breathe
under water.
They have to be skilled at finding
and catching food.
They have to be able to protect
themselves from predators.
They need to be able to move
around easily in the fast water
or
they need to make sure that
they can hold on to the
slippery rocks and stones so
that they don’t get washed
9b
9c
‘Staying in one place!’
How do the animals living in the fast flowing water of the river
manage to stay in one place instead of getting washed away?
Some use their strong
claws to cling on tightly.
e.g. stonefly nymph
Some use
suckers which help to attach them to slippery rocks and stones.
e.g. water snail
Some use
weight to hold them down at the bottom of the river.
e.g. cased caddis fly larva
Some have body shapes that allow the water to flow smoothly and easily
over them. Imagine yourself on a windy day - if you lie down rather than stand
up, the wind is much less likely to knock you over.
e.g. flattened mayfly nymph
Some have developed certain types of behaviour which help them to deal with
the fast flowing water.
e.g. swimming mayfly nymph
e.g. freshwater shrimp