Relating to the Environment

Adaptations and the Environment

• What is an adaptation?

• What is the role of genes in adaptation?

Adaptations• An adaptation is a trait that enables an

organism to survive and reproduce in its environment.– Examples: mimicry and camouflage

Mimicry

• Monarch Butterfly • Viceroy Butterfly

• Mimicry will allow for the survival of the mimic because predators will confuse the two animals. This will only work as long as the mimic’s population stays well below the numbers of the model. – Remember the chocolate bugs!

Camouflage• Camouflage allows

for the survival of a particular species because they will blend into the background making it harder for predators to find them.

Reproductive AdaptationsOrganisms have many adaptations that help ensure that reproduction will take place. For example, many flowers have brightly colored petals or strong scents that attract insects. The insects pick up pollen, which contains sperm cells and carry it to other flowers. This enables the sperm in the pollen to fertilize an egg in the second flower.

Inherited Traits and Survival• Most adaptations are traits or

characteristics that offspring inherit from their parents.

Pasque flower (see pg 599)Porcupine

Adaptation and Environmental Change

• If an organism’s environment changes, the characteristics that it has inherited help determine whether it can adapt to the changed environment. For example, if an organism has adapted a very specialized diet in which it can eat only one thing, then that organism will not adapt to change easily.

• This is what has happened to the Giant Panda. The forests that grow bamboo, the panda’s only food, have partially been destroyed. Since their food supply

has been reduced the numbers of

Giant Panda have drastically decreased.

Animal Behavior• What are the functions of most of an

animal’s behaviors?

• How does instinctive behavior compare with learned behavior?

Animal Behavior• Most behaviors are characteristics that

help an animal survive or reproduce.• Behaviors are caused by internal or

external stimuli. • A stimulus is a signal that causes an

organism to react in some way. The organism’s reaction to the stimulus is called a response.

Sea Star Example from bookPage 601

• The sea star is hungry (internal stimulus.)• The sea star finds a clam.• It pries the shell open and then it eats the clam.• This feeding behavior helps the sea star to

survive in the ocean environment.

Instinctive Behavior• An instinct is a behavior pattern or

response that is inborn. For example, a newborn kangaroo instinctively crawls into its mother’s pouch and attaches itself to a nipple.

• Like learned behaviors, instinctive behaviors are responses to stimuli.

• Earthworms, for example, instinctively crawl away from a bright light. The light is the stimulus, and the earthworms respond by moving away.

Learning• Learning is the process that leads to

changes in behavior based on practice or experience.

• Unlike instincts, learned behaviors result from an animal’s experience and are not usually perfect the first time.

• There are three main types of learning.– Conditioning, trial and error learning, and

insight learning.

Conditioning• Learning to connect some kind of

stimulus with a good or bad event is called conditioning.Example: A dog sees its owner pick up a

leash and gets excited because he knows that he will be going for a walk.

What do these stimuli mean to you? 1. a brief tone heard through the

overhead speaker2. Ms. Kasem quietly raises her hand

Trial and Error Learning

• Trial and error learning occurs when an animal, through repeated practice, learns to perform a behavior more and more skillfully.

Insight Learning• When you solve a

problem or learn how to do something new by applying what you already know, without a period of trial and error, you are using insight learning.

Imprinting• In imprinting, certain newly hatched

birds and newborn mammals learn to recognize and follow the first moving object they see, which is usually their mother.

• Imprinting involves both instinctive behavior and learning. The young animal has an instinct to follow a moving object, but it does not know what its mother looks like.

• The newly born animal must learn from experience what object to follow.

• Imprinting helps keep young close to their mother for protection and food.

• Imprinting also enables animals to learn what other animals of their own species look like.

• Explain what functions behavior has for animals

• Contrast instinctive behavior with learned behavior.

• How is trial and error learning different from insight learning?