Adaptations for survival…
 Structural: involves
part of an organism’s
body
 e.g. The horns of a
mountain goat enable
it to fight off predators
and compete for a
mate
Adaptations for survival…
 Physiological:
involves processes
occurring inside
organisms
 e.g. A snake
produces poisonous
venom to immobilise
its prey
Adaptations for survival…
 Behavioural: an individual or group activity
 e.g. Sheep move into the shade to prevent
overheating in the sun
Adaptations for survival…
 Life history: involves stages in the life cycle of an
organism which benefit the species.
 e.g. Juvenile frogs exist as tadpoles feeding in ponds
whilst the adults feed on insects on land.
Exercise
 Draw up the following table (you will need about 10 rows of three
lines each):
Organism Adaptation Type of
adaptation
e.g.
Sheep
Move into
shade
How it
helps the
organism
survive
Behavioural Prevents
overheating
Tarsier
Big eyes
Archer fish
Spits a stream of
water at an
insect on a
branch
Antlion
Builds a
sandy slope
with steep
sides
pincers
Giraffe
Long neck
Chimpanzee
Stone tool
as nut
cracker
Leafy seadragon
Bombardier beetle
Mixes chemicals
which form an
explosive, corrosive
mixture
Kangaroo
Long legs
Flying squirrel
Flaps of
skin
between
arms and
legs
Beaver
Razor sharp
teeth
Builds a dam
Diving bell spider
Builds an air bubble
under the water
where it eats its prey
and lays its eggs
Aye aye
Long pointed
middle finger