CHAPTER 3

ADAPTING TO A HABITAT

 Every living things has certain body parts

Examples: Flowering plants have - Roots, stem, leaves, flower

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Birds – head with beak, body with two wings, 2 legs, a tail and
……………………………………………………………………………………………….

 Adaptation – features that help an organism to live in its surroundings

Examples: 1) Short stem of flowering plants in windy area

2)

3) Heron bird with long legs and pointed spear shaped beak

4)

 Adaptation to the seasons

- Few habitat’s environment remains same like caves, polar regions etc
- Most habitats have periods in year called seasons
- In seasons weather has particular features
- Examples of seasons are dry, wet, cold, warm season etc
 Seasons in our locality
- Winter
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
 Character of weather in each season
Write the character of each season in the term of
- Flowering
- Nest activities
- Migration
- Hibernation
- Insect life cycle
 Seasons in European woodlands
- Seasons are winter, spring, summer and autumn
 Winter

Deciduous trees Adapted to cold

and icy weather

Have large and flat Ground is frozen No water for leaves

leaves

If don’t, will lose Shed leaf to

More transpiration
water and die prevent water loss
- Insects have egg/ pupa stage so that don’t have to move
- Animals feeding on like bats, hedgehogs etc go for hibernation
 Spring
- Ground warms up, woodland plants like snowdrops and blue bells grown from the bulb
and produce leaves
- Early hatching insects are used as pollinator
- Deciduous trees put leaves and flowers
- Hibernating organism wake up and search for food
- Woodland birds make nest and rear young ones
 Summer
- Trees form shady canopy
- It is formed over woodland floor
- Few plants are in flowering stage
- Birds lay second or third clutches of eggs
- Caterpillar feed on the leaves
 Autumn
- Weather becomes cooler
- Trees start fruiting like nuts, berries and are eaten by mammals and birds
- Trees looses chlorophyll and brown and yellow pigments give colours
- Trees releases waste inside the leaves and these finally fall off
- Hibernated organisms gorge themselves on food to build fat. This fat is used in winters
to stay alive
 Seasons in African seasons
- 2 seasons only : wet and dry season
 Wet season
- Plains covered by long grasses eaten by herbivores
- Zebra, wildebeest (gnu) like herbivores eat succulent and tough leaves with flower
- Gazelles like animals eat young shoots and seeds on ground
- In wet seasons animals migrate to drier places
 Dry season
- In beginning animals move to places with little rain as these places have green and thick
grasses for food
- In middle of season move to region with fertile soil
 Adaptation to habitat
- Each habitat has a set of environmental conditions and species living in that are adapted
to it.
 Plants : Mangroves swamp
- Occurs along coast of many countries in tropical climates
- Mud in which plants grow is moved by raising and falling of tides
- So trees have many roots from trunk spread in large area
- Seeds of mangrove trees Fruits remain attached Seeds germinate using
form fruits to trees moisture in air

Falls vertical and holds Seedling grow around

in soil 25cms before falling
 Tropical rainforest
- Thick forest because of canopy of branches and leaves shade the ground below
- Seeds fall , germinate to form seedling and struggle for light (Many die )
- Strangler fig develop greatly in these forest
 Strangler fig
-
Its seed are capable to grow in compost developed in forks of trees branches

It further grows by developing roots to reach soil

Forms basket like support around the plants

Over grows and over shade the tree on which it was growing

Roots become rigid and crush xylem & phloem beneath bark and plant dies

Takes place of originally occupying tree

 keystone species
- Species that help the survival of a large number of other species
- Other species are adapted to take benefit from its presence
- Benefits like ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
- Example

Strangler fig

Fruits provided for Fruits are

produces when
1) Hornbills
other plants are
2) Monkeys
not producing
3) Parrots
fruits
4) Pigeons
5) Insects
Maintains
constant supply
Removal of
of food for
………………………….
herbivores
makes other
species extinct

So we must not use strangler fig for timber

 Animals : adaptation to fast flowing water

- Tiny remains of plants and animals washed down by flowing water act as food for these
animals
- Main problem is Invertebrate Holding river bed
water current solve by

Presenting small
surface as possible

- Leeches have suckers to hold them on rocks

- Freshwater limpet has foot as suckers and streamlined body
-
Mayfly and Have legs adapted Bodies are flat and
stonefly nymph for gripping rocks held near to rock
 Adaptation to tree tops
-
Monkeys

Small and light Opposable thumb Both eyes

Tail
weight bodies and big toe are forward

Allows climbing Helps griping For precise Helps in

tree tops branches firmly jumping keeping
balance
during
Field of vision running and
overlaps jumping

- Spider monkeys of American continent have a prehensile tail

- Prehensile tail act as fifth limb and used to grip
-

-
 Extreme adaptations
- Increases chances of survival in habitat
- These ranges from great reduction in organ to great developments
- It also includes unusual method of movement, seed dispersal, communication etc
 Pebble plant
- Grows in desert of southern Africa
- Protects itself from browsing animals by camouflaging themselves to look like stones
- These only have 2 leaves and these are small and close to ground
- Leaves are special shaped for large volume for storage of water

 Pit vipers
- Has a pit in Area detected on each Like field of vision of
front of eyes side of head overlaps monkeys eyes

It is packed Helps in judging

with receptors distance for strike of
fangs and poison

These are
sensitive to heat

Can detect change Helps in finding food

of 0.0002 degree like birds and mammals
Celsius in dark places
-
- Mammals and birds are wrongly described as warm blooded
- On hot days coldblooded animals can be warm
- Mammals regulate body temperature to stay constant and these makes them suitable
pray for vipers
 -
 Tumble weed
- Woody plants cannot grow tall in some grassland because wind blow them over
- So seeds cannot be dispersed to long distance
- It breaks off its shoot full of seeds
- Dead shoot is blown over the grassland by wind and seeds are dispersed

 Flying fish
- These swim faster and
Found in tropical Travels up to 200m
seas faster at the speed of
in a single flight
around 60Km/Hr

Feeds on planktons
on surface Breaks through sea
And gives extra
surface and glide by its
thrust for flight
long wide front fins
At surface are pray
for dolphins

Lower part of tail fin is

Lower fin repeatedly
Jump out of waters long and wave 50times
push against water
 Chimpanzees
- First entry in forest, these ran away
- Repeated entry these stopped running and them allowed to approach them
- Understand names given to them
- Opposable big toe
- Long arm with strong muscles
- Teeth to show aggression, eat meat and hunt (monkeys)
- Communication by facial expression (begging of food)
- Uses tools – tools like leaves to catch termites