ADAPTATION

Presented By :Teachers of Std. V

&

AIIT

Living Things

EvolutionWhat is Evolution?

Living things have to adjust to their surroundings. For this some changes take place in the bodies of living things.These changes take place over very long periods of time and are permanent.

What is adaptation ?

The ability of living things to adjust to their surroundings in order to live is called their ability for adaptation.

Adaptation on :

•Land

•Water

•Air

Adaptation on land

in

Plants & Animals

• Desert

• Cold

On the plains we find both Evergreen trees and Deciduous trees which adapt themselves in the following way:-

•These trees bear flat leaves to help Evaporation.

•They have huge canopy to provide Cool shade .

•They have long Spreading roots thus they are widespread.

•In winter Deciduous trees shed their leaves.

In the spring, leaf buds emerge at the joints and tips of tree branches and are coaxed open by warm sunlight. As the buds shed their protective covers the leaves unfurl. The leaves are arranged so that they each receive adequate sunlight.

Cactus

Cactus are desert plants.

• Cactus are able to store water in their stems. These stems are thick and have very tough skins. Some can grow as big as tree trunks but inside they are soft and moist not hard and woody.

• A plant looses water through its leaves hence the Cactus has leaves shaped like needles. They are called prickles and no water is lost through them. The flowers on a Cactus can be large and very beautiful.

Camel

The desert animal.

Camel AdaptationThe hump of a camel is an important adaptation for desert survival. A percentage of the water drunk is chemically bound to the fat in the hump, and upon fat metabolism, the water is released. During periods of prolonged drought, the camel depends on water stored in the blood cells, fat in the hump, and body tissues. In this way, a camel is able to produce and conserve water for extended periods of time.

Hump

•A camel's head has built-in sun-visors to help keep the bright sunlight out of its eyes.

• There are broad ridges of bone above each eye. These stick out far enough to shield the eyes when the sun is overhead.

•The ears of camel are small to make it harder for sand to get in them.

Head

•To keep sand from blowing into their noses, camels can shut their nostrils.

•When there is no sand blowing in the wind, a camel can open its nostrils (A) and breathe through its nose.

•When the wind starts to whip up the sand, the camel just closes its nose (B).

Nostrils

• The huge feet of camels help them to walk on sand without sinking into it.

•It has two toes on each foot. The camel walks on a broad pad that connects its two toes. This cushion like pad spreads when the camel places its foot on the ground.

• The pad supports the animal on loose sand.

• The pad enables the animal to firmly grasp the earth.

Feet

•The camel has three eyelids and two layers of eyelashes to protect itself from dust and sun. To protect their eyes, camels have long eyelashes that catch most of the sand when desert winds blow sand on to their eyes.

•If sand gets into an eye a camel has a third eyelid to get it out. The extra eyelid moves from side to side and wipes the sand away.

EyeLids

The Bactrian camels have two humps. They also have very tough feet for crossing the rocky deserts of Asia. Temperatures can range from a low of minus 20 degrees in the winter to more than 100 degrees in the summer months.

Double Hump Camel

Pine Trees

Cold region plants.

I am a Pine Tree. I grow on Mountains and have:-

•Needle-shaped leaves to prevent water loss.

•Sloping branches to slide off the snow

•Growing thin and tall due to lack of space

•Bears cones and not flowers because the latter is unable to withstand the severe cold.

Special adaptations of the Yak: The yak has a number of special adaptations that enable it to live in the extreme cold of the Himalayan mountains. Body: The yak has a short, compact body and thick, shaggy fur that keeps it warm in the severely cold climate. Legs: Short and powerful giving the yak balance and agility on the steep, icy mountain slopes. The yaks cleft or split hooves help it grip the often icy and rocky ground.

Yak : The animal of cold region.

A polar bear lives in the cold, snowy Arctic lands. It is white. This helps it blend in with the snow and ice that are found there. It has a layer of fat under its skin. This helps it stay warm. It has very wide, large paws. Wide, large paws help it walk in the snow. These are three adaptations a polar bear has to its Arctic environment.

Adaptation in Polar bear

Adaptation in Amphibians

Most frogs have a sticky tongue. To catch an insect, the frog flips out its tongue rapidly, get the insect and retracts its tongue. Frogs will swallow their prey in one piece because they only have teeth in the upper jaw.

The orbits surrounding a frog's eyes do not have bottoms. So when a frog swallows large prey, it can close its eyelids and drop its eyeballs down into its mouth. Then the eyeballs help push the prey down the throat of the frog.

Frogs have webbed feet for swimming.

Some have suction disks on the tip of their toes to help them climb.

The back feet of the frog has a special fur to make it easier for burrowing.

Some have large webs to assist them in gliding in the air almost like flying.

Adaptation in Water Plants & Animals

• Lotus has broad floating leaves.The upper surface of leaf has a thin layer of waxy covering so water does not spread on the leaf.

• The under surface of the leaf is slimy which prevents the lotus leaf from rotting away in water.

• The leaves and flowers float and have long stems that contain air spaces.

Lotus is an aquatic plant.

•A fish , too lives in water. It has fins to help it move. The fins enable the fish to swim .

• Its body tapers off towards both the ends, making it easier for the fish to swim .

• Its skin secretes a slimy substance which helps it to live in water .

Fish is an aquatic animal.

How do fish obtain oxygen for respiration in water?

Fish have gills for this purpose .With the help of these gills , they take in the oxygen dissolved in the water. This is an adaptation in a fish’s body that enables it to live in water.

Adaptation in Air

in

Plants & Animals

Epiphytes

Epiphyte or Air plant,any plant that does not normally root in the soil but grows upon another living plant while remaining independent of it except for support (thus differing from a parasite). An epiphyte manufactures its own food, but obtains its moisture from the air or from moisture-laden pockets of the host plant, rather than from the soil. Epiphytes may grow upon the trunk, branches, or leaves of the host plant. They are most abundant in the moist tropics.

Bromeliads

Asplenum nidus

Camouflage

The ability to change

Each species of chameleon is capable of undergoing a particular range of colour change. Some chameleons can assume green, yellow, cream, or dark brown, frequently with lighter or darker spots on the background colour.

In the light and shadow of the dense jungle and tall grass which it inhabits, the tiger’s camouflage is perfect. Its tawny to orange-red coat blends amazingly well with its surroundings, and the pattern of black stripes breaks and confuses its outline, making the animal all but invisible even from close range.

Their colour helps them hide on leaves if the grasshopper is green, or on rocks or on the ground if the grasshopper is brown.

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