Who is this guy? Why are we talking about him today?

Adaptation and SurvivalWhat does this have to do with our DNA?

Charles Darwin- a scientist that proposed the theory of Survival of the Fittest- This is the idea that individuals with more successful traits would be more likely to reproduce and pass those traits to their offspring

Plant and Animal SurvivalFor animals, survival means finding food, escaping

predators, and adjusting to environmental changes

For plants, survival means getting enough water, nutrients, and sunlight

SOME ORGANISMS ARE BETTER EQUIPPED FOR SURVIVAL BECAUSE THEY HAVE TRAITS THAT IMPROVE AN ORGANISM’S CHANCE OF SURVIVAL

This is called their adaptations

How do adaptations help an organism?

• It makes an organism moreFIT

• This characteristic can then be passed on to its OFFSPRING and then the offspring will be better

FIT for their environment and now can have more OFFSPRING with the

same characteristicsBUT THOSE THAT ARE NOT FIT DIE AND WON’T HAVE OFFSPRING• This is called NATURAL SELECTION

Prey Adaptations

• How do organisms avoid being killed by such effective predators?DEFENSE STRATEGIES

1. Mimicry - when one organism imitates another organism for an advantage

Pterophylla camellifolia“Katydid”

2. Protective Covering

- “armor” that protects the organism

Pangolins –

3. Camouflage

- to “blend in” with surroundings

- Paradoxophyla palmata, a narrow-headed frog native to Madagascar. The frog's brown and yellow coloring, as well as its rough texture, allow it to blend in with the mud and tree trunks

in its environment

• 4. Warning Color

- used to warn predators not to eat it

MantellasBy having the bright colors of the toxic species, the frogs are avoided by predators

Predator Adaptations

Through the process of natural selection, animals and plants have evolved on Earth

What does evolved (EVOLUTION) mean?- it means to change over time

There is a difference between variation vs. evolutionary changeEx: Giraffe’s long neckEvolution begins with variationMeans that sometimes, by accident an animal is born that issomehow different from the others of its species and this trait allowed the animal to be better fit to its environment

Since the trait made the animal more “fit” it will have more offsprings meaning their genes will be passed on and stay within the population

The others that do not have that trait, will most likely not survive no or fewer offspring