Name _________________________________
Date ____________
Period _______
Animals and Adaptation
(from Learning Haven.com)
In order for animals to survive, they need to be able to adapt or change. In a perfect world,
animals would not need to adapt. However, with constant changes to their environment, food
availability, and climate, animals must adapt or die. Individual animals dying off may not affect the
ecosystem, but the loss of an entire species (extinction) could have global impact.
Adaptation
An adaptation is a trait that makes an animal suited to its environment. There are three types of
animal adaptations: behavioral adaptation, structural adaptation, or physiological adaption.
Type of
Adaptation
Behavioral
Structural
Physiological
What is
involved
Things an
animal does
Parts of an
animal
Processes
within an animal
Examples
migration, hibernation, moving within a herd,
puffing up to look larger, mating dance
shapes of bird beaks, coloration, having wings,
fins, gills, third eyelid, shapes of teeth, long necks
metamorphosis, cellular respiration
It is interesting to note that there may be some traits that are more than one type of adaptation.
For example, when an animal goes into hibernation
(behavioral), its body processes slow way down
(physiological).
Additionally, when a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis
(physiological) and changes into a butterfly, the insect now has
wings (structural).
Adaptation happens over a long period of time. An animal with a behavior that enables that
animal to live longer (and therefore reproduce) may teach the behavior to its offspring. Behavioral
adaptations can be passed through teaching. Over time, these behaviors may become instinctual.
Physiological and structural adaptations happen in the form of changing an animal’s genetic
traits.
The Best Adaptations
Adaptation can work in two ways. The best example of this is camouflage. A chameleon can
change its color according to its surroundings. Not only does it help protect the chameleon, it also
helps it survive in another way. Insects are less likely to see or notice the chameleon because it
blends in so well with its surroundings. Blending in also makes the chameleon a better hunter. It
can hunt without being seen. The chameleon just blends in and patiently sits waiting for an insect
to happen along. Then, flick, out goes the tongue and there is one less insect and one less hungry
chameleon. The more ways a single adaptation helps an animal to survive, the better it is.
Consider an arctic fox and its fur coat; how can that coat help the fox in more than one way? The
answer lies in the color of the coat. Obviously in a landscape covered in snow, a thick, white coat
is very useful. This adaptation works in three ways. It protects the fox from the cold and provides
camouflage. The camouflage allows it to hunt more efficiently and hide from would-be predators.
Animal Adaptations Foldable
1. Fold your paper lengthwise in half (like a hotdog).
2. Make a three-door foldable. Cut the FRONT sections to make three
flaps.
3. Hold your foldable vertically and label the flaps:
Behavioral Adaptations
Structural Adaptations
Physiological Adaptations
4. Open the flaps and draw the lines across the page to separate the
different types of adaptations.
5. PUT YOUR NAME ON THE BACK OF YOUR FOLDABLE.
6. Cut out the pictures below and glue them into the foldable in the
appropriate section for each type of adaptation. Under each picture,
write a caption identifying the type of animal and how the animal is
using that type of adaptation.