Adaptations

Adaptation types

  • anatomical

    • internal or external physical features

  • behavioural

    • inherent or learnt actions

  • physiological/biochemical

    • processes that take place inside an organism

leaves adaptations

Behavioural adaptations

  • innate

    • instinctive

    • controlled by genes and do not have to be learnt or practiced

    • generally involve basic life functions - important to be performed correctly

    • all member of the species behave in the same way

    • eg web spinning in spiders

  • learnt

    • experience or observation

    • eg tool use in chimpanzees

Physiological adaptations

  • production of poisons to kill prey or for protection

    • frogs and scorpions

    • ricin from castor oil plant seeds

  • production of antibiotics

    • bacteria

  • maintaining water

    • cacti

  • reflexes

  • homeostasis

Convergent evolution

  • occurs when unrelated species share similar traits

  • due to organisms adapting to similar environments or other similar selection pressures

  • anatomical adaptations provide evidence for convergent evolution

    • eg birds and moths - both have wings but genetically unrelated

  • convergent evolution

Analogous structures

  • structures that are adapted to perform the same function but have a different genetic origin and therefore different structures

  • analogous vs homologous structures