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Affordances

Bright visuals, videos, and simple language make complex science ideas easy to understand.

Interactive features like quizzes help students check their comprehension immediately.

Limitations

Students may get distracted by ads or unrelated links if not properly guided.

Some articles are short and may require additional teacher-provided materials for deeper learning.

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An adaptation is any heritable trait that helps an organism, such as a plant or animal, survive and reproduce in its environment.

Image

Koalas Climb a Eucalyptus Tree

Picture of a koala with baby koala

Photograph by Anne Keiser

Any number of characteristics can vary among individuals of a given species - some may be larger, hairier, fight off infections better, or have smaller ears. These characteristics are largely determined by their genes, which are passed down from their parents and subsequently passed down to their own offspring. Some of these characteristics, or traits, provide competitive advantages like speed, strength, or attractiveness. If those traits are particularly helpful, individuals with those traits will produce more offspring than those without. Over generations, the number of individuals with that advantageous trait, or adaptation, will increase until it becomes a general attribute of the species.

Structural and Behavioral Adaptations

An adaptation can be structural, meaning it is a physical part of the organism. An adaptation can also be behavioral, affecting the way an organism responds to its environment.

An example of a structural adaptation is the way some plants have adapted to life in dry, hot deserts. Plants called succulents have adapted to this climate by storing water in their short, thick stems and leaves.

Seasonal migration is an example of a behavioral adaptation. Gray whales ( Eschrichtius robustus) migrate thousands of kilometers every year as they swim from the cold Arctic Ocean in summer to the warm waters off the coast of Mexico to winter. Grey whale calves are born in the warm southern water, and then travel in groups called pods to the nutrient-rich waters of the Arctic.

Adaptations that develop in response to one challenge sometimes help with or become co-opted for another. Feathers were probably first adaptations for tactile sense or regulating temperature. Later, feathers became longer and stiffer, allowing for gliding and then for flight. Such traits are called exaptations.

Some traits, on the other hand, lose their function when other adaptations become more important or when the environment changes. Evidence of these traits remain in a vestigial form - reduced or functionless. Whales and dolphins have vestigial leg bones, the remains of an adaptation (legs) that their ancestors used to walk.

Adaptations often develop in response to a change in the organisms' habitat.

A famous example of an animal adapting to a change in its environment is England's peppered moth ( Biston betularia). Prior to the 19th century, the most common type of this moth was cream-colored with darker spots. Few peppered moths were gray or black. Habitat

As the Industrial Revolution changed the environment, the appearance of the peppered moth changed. The darker-colored moths, which were rare, began to thrive in the urban atmosphere. Their sooty color blended in with the trees, which were stained by industrial pollution. Birds couldn't see the dark moths as well, so they ate the cream-colored moths instead. The cream-colored moths began to make a comeback after the United Kingdom passed laws that limited air pollution.

Sometimes, an adaptation or set of adaptations develops that splits one species into two. This process is known as speciation.

Speciation Marsupials in Oceania are an example of adaptive radiation, a type of speciation in which species develop to fill a variety of empty ecological niches. Marsupials, mammals that carry their developing young in pouches after a short pregnancy, arrived in Oceania before the land split from Asia. Placental mammals, animals that carry their young to term in the mother's womb, came to dominate every other continent, but not Oceania. Koalas ( Phascolarctos cinereus), for instance, adapted to feed on eucalyptus trees, which are native to Australia. The extinct Tasmanian tiger ( Thylacinus cynocephalus) was a carnivorous marsupial and adapted to the niche filled by big cats, like tigers, on other continents.

The cichlid fish found in many of Africa's lakes exhibit another type of speciation, sympatric speciation. Sympatric speciation is the opposite of physical isolation. It happens when species share the same habitat. Adaptations have allowed hundreds of varieties of cichlids to live in Lake Malawi. Each species of cichlid has a unique, specialized diet: One type of cichlid may eat only insects, another may eat only algae, another may feed only on other fish.

Organisms sometimes adapt with and to other organisms. This is called coadaptation. Certain flowers produce nectar to appeal to hummingbirds. Hummingbirds, in turn, have adapted long, thin beaks to extract the nectar from certain flowers. When a hummingbird goes to feed, it inadvertently picks up pollen from the anthers of the flowers, which is deposited on the stigma of the next flowers it visits. In this relationship, the hummingbird gets food, while the plant's pollen is distributed. The coadaptation is beneficial to both organisms.

Mimicry is another type of coadaptation. In mimicry, one organism has adapted to resemble another. The harmless king snake (sometimes called a milk snake) has adapted a color pattern that resembles the deadly coral snake. This mimicry keeps predators away from the king snake.

The mimic octopus ( Thaumoctopus mimicus) has behavioral as well as structural adaptations. This species of octopus can copy the look and movements of other animals, such as sea snakes, flatfish, jellyfish, and shrimp.

Coadaptation can also limit an organism's ability to adapt to new changes in their habitat. This can lead to co-extinction. In southern England, the large blue butterfly adapted to eat red ants. When human development reduced the red ants' habitat, the local extinction of the red ant led to the local extinction of the large blue butterfly.

Coadaptation

Media Credits

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Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society

Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society, National Geographic Society

Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

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An adaptation is any heritable trait that helps an organism, such as a plant or animal, survive and reproduce in its environment.

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4th Grafe

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Science Standard – Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

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Science Standards- Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.

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Animal Adaptations

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Fiction ELA Standards- Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

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Fiction ELA Standards- Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

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Non Fiction ELA Standards - Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

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Non Fiction ELA Standards- Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text.

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The One and Only Ivan (Katherine Applegate)

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The One and Only Ivan (Katherine Applegate)

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Affordances

Strong emotional connection to an animal character helps students think about survival and adaptation from a personal point of view.

Rich descriptions of habitats and behavior offer examples for text-based evidence.

Limitations

Some students may struggle with the emotional content related to captivity and loss.

The story is more fictionalized than scientific, so additional nonfiction resources are needed for facts.

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Interactive Website ELA Standards- Integrate information from two texts on the same topic to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

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Fourth graders are naturally curious about animals and the environments they live in. Studying adaptations helps students understand how organisms survive in different habitats and connects directly to life science standards. It also builds observation, critical thinking, and classification skills.

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Interactive Website ELA Standards- Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text.

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What If You Had Animal Home!? ( Sandra Markle) 

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What If You Had Animal Home!? ( Sandra Markle) 

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Affordances

High-interest, colorful illustrations make adaptations easy to visualize and understand.

Fun, imaginative text connects real-world animal facts to students' lives, helping them retain information.

Limitations

The "what if" style might confuse younger readers about what is fantasy versus real animal science.

Not all adaptations are covered in depth; supplemental texts may be needed for thorough study.

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Affordances:

The novel highlights survival instincts and adaptation as Pax, a tame fox, learns to survive in the wild.

Rich character development and emotional themes build empathy and inference skills.

Limitations:

Emotional themes (war, separation) may be heavy for some students.

Less focus on factual animal adaptations; supplementary nonfiction needed.

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Affordances:

Story of a robot learning to adapt to nature is a unique way to explore survival and environmental change.

Accessible, easy language and short chapters suit many 4th-grade readers.

Limitations:

Fantasy elements (robot in nature) may blur real adaptation concepts.

Needs connection to real animal examples for science accuracy.

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Animal Adaptations for Survival ( Julie Murphy) 

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Animal Adaptations for Survival ( Julie Murphy) 

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Affordances:

Clear explanations of types of adaptations with real-world examples and photos.

Organized by type (physical, behavioral), which helps comprehension.

Limitations:

Some dense vocabulary may require teacher scaffolding.

Could be a bit text-heavy for struggling readers.

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Survival Secrets of Animals (Dian Dincin Buchman)

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Survival Secrets of Animals (Dian Dincin Buchman)

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Affordances:

Fascinating real stories of animal survival strategies.

Organized with headings and captions to support close reading skills.

Limitations:

Some older language and examples may feel outdated.

Not every adaptation is connected back to science concepts clearly.

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Affordances:

Simple, kid-friendly explanations and short animations explain adaptations clearly.

Organized into bite-sized lessons, ideal for independent learning.

Limitations:

Content is based on UK science standards, which might not fully match U.S. standards.

Some links may require teacher prep to guide focus.

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Adaptation

Living things are adapted to their habitats. This means that they have special features that help them to survive.

An African elephant, for example, lives in a hot habitat and has very large ears that it flaps to keep cool.

A polar bear, on the other hand, lives in a cold habitat and has thick fur to keep warm.

It's not just animals that are adapted to their environment, plants are too. A cactus is well adapted for survival in the desert. They have long roots to collect water from a large area and a stem that can store water for a long period of time.

The animals and plants in one habitat are suited to live there and may not be able to survive in other habitats. When a habitat changes, the animals and plants that live there are affected.

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Living things have adaptations that allow them to live successfully in their environment. See some examples in this Bitesize primary KS2 science guide.

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Affordances:

Bright photos, short texts, and videos keep students engaged while learning about how different animals survive.

Easy navigation, designed specifically for kids, helps students find information without frustration.

Limitations:

Some animal profiles are brief and may not give full details for research projects.

Students may need prompting to connect facts back to bigger science concepts like ecosystems or types of adaptations.

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(Grade 2) The Animal Adaptations curriculum focuses on plant and animal adaptations, and how they are connected to different habitats around the world. The in-classroom activities can be used in any sequence, as a complement to a self-guided field trip to the Zoo, or for review and extensions after a field trip. Topics explore such concepts as camouflage, seed dispersal, and predator-prey relationships.