Adaptations Flashcards

All 7 cards in this deck

What is an adaptation?

A feature that enables an organism to survive in the conditions in which it normally lives.

What are the three types of adaptation?

Structural, behavioural and functional.

What is a behavioural adaptation?

e.g. a bird migrating in winter

An adaptation involving the way an organism acts; migrating avoids cold conditions and lack of food.

What is a functional adaptation?

e.g. a camel producing very concentrated urine

An adaptation involving processes inside the body, such as reproduction and metabolism; concentrated urine conserves water in the desert.

What are extremophiles?

Organisms that live in very extreme environments, such as high temperature, high pressure or high salt concentration.

Give the example of extremophiles named in the specification.

Bacteria living in deep sea vents, which tolerate high temperature and high pressure.

True or false? Thick fur on an Arctic fox is a structural adaptation.

True. It is a physical feature of the body, so it is structural.