Tuesday March 20th Visit!
Animal Adaptation
Habitats:
Grasslands: (Africa, but all over)
Definition: Land where mainly grass or grasslike vegetation grows, such as a prairie or a
meadow
Context: Some of the biggest animals living in the grasslands are grazers, or grass eaters,
such as bison.
● A grassland is a grassy, windy, partly-dry biome, a sea of grass. Almost one-fourth
of the Earth's land area is grassland. In many areas, grasslands separate forests
from deserts. Deep-rooted grasses dominate the flora in a grassland; there are very
few trees and shrubs in a grassland, less than one tree per acre. There are many
different words for grassland environments around the world, including savannas,
pampas, campos, plains, steppes, prairies and veldts.
● The animals that live in grasslands have adapted to dry, windy conditions. There are
grazing animals (that eat the grass), burrowing animals, and their predators; insects
are abundant. A moderate of level species diversity exists on a grassland.
● Many animals live in grasslands, from invertebrates (like grasshoppers and beetles)
to large mammals (like antelopes and bison). The different grasslands of the world
support different populations of animals. (lions, cheetahs, giraffes, antelopes, zebras
etc)
Desert: (Australia, but all around the world)
Definition: A dry, often sandy region that has little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and
sparse vegetation
Context: Because the desert gets so little rainfall, very few plants can grow there.
● Deserts cover about one fifth (20 percent) of the earth's land area. The desert is a
harsh environment with very little rainfall and extreme temperatures; a desert is
defined as a region that gets less than ten inches of precipitation per year. Because
of these dry conditions, there is limited plant and animal life in deserts. Desert
plants (like cacti) are not abundant; neither is animal life.
● Some deserts get both very hot (during the day) and very cold (during the night,
when temperatures can drop well below freezing). Some deserts, however, are
always cold (for example, the Gobi Desert in Asia, and the desert on the continent of
Antarctica).
● Different animals live in the different types of deserts. Animals that live in the desert
have adaptations to cope with the lack of water, the extreme temperatures, and the
shortage of food. To avoid daytime heat, many desert animals are nocturnal; they
burrow beneath the surface or hide in the shade during the day, emerging at night to
eat. Many desert animals do not have to drink at all; they get all the water they need
from their food. Most desert animals are small.
● Examples: lizards, tortoises, desert owls, small coyotes and foxs, rabbits,
rattlesnakes (foxes, and hawks eat snakes and lizards, snakes eat lizards and small
rodents)
Temperate Forests: (north America, washington)
●
Temperate deciduous forests are forests in cool, rainy areas; they have trees that
lose their leaves in Fall and regrow them in Spring. Temperate deciduous forests
are found in the middle latitudes around the globe and have four distinct seasons:
Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, these forests are
found in North America, Europe, and Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, there are
smaller areas of these forests, in South America, Africa, and Australia. The growing
season in these forests is about 6 months long.
● The average temperature in temperate deciduous forests is roughly 75°F (24°C) but
gets as high as 86°F (30°C), depending on the altitude of the forest. Forests higher in
the mountains are colder. Deciduous forests receive from 2 to 5 feet (0.5-1.5 m) of
precipitation (both rain and snow) each year. Humidity in these forests is high, from
60% to 80%.
● In the Fall, the number of hours of daylight decreases. This causes some plants
and trees (called deciduous) to stop producing chlorophyll (a green pigment that
converts sunlight into chemical energy) and eventually lose their leaves. During
this time, these leaves turn brilliant colors, ranging from red to orange to yellow to
brown. soil in the deciduous forests is quite fertile, since it is often enriched with
falling leaves, twigs, logs, and dead organisms.
● Animals: bald eagle, beaver, black bear, deer, rabbit, fox, raccoon, squirrels
Tropical Rain Forest: (south America, but all around band of the equator)
Rainforests are very dense, warm, wet forests. They are havens for millions of plants
and animals. Rainforests are extremely important in the ecology of the Earth. The
plants of the rainforest generate much of the Earth's oxygen. These plants are also
very important to people in other ways; many are used in new drugs that fight
disease and illness.
● Ridiculously huge numbers of animals live in rainforests, including microscopic
animals, invertebrates (like insects and worms), fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds,
and mammals. The different rainforests of the world support different populations
of animals.
● Iguanas, boas, bats, poisonous frogs, monkeys, butterflies, spiders etc
Artic Tundra:
●
The tundra is a cold, treeless area; it is the coldest biome. The tundra is
characterized by very low temperatures, very little precipitation (rain or snow), a
short growing season, few nutrients, and low biological diversity.
● frozen, windy, desert-like plains in the Arctic that are dotted with bogs and ponds.
Permafrost (a layer of frozen subsoil) covers the ground, so there is very little
drainage of water. The short growing season lasts for only 50 to 60 days.
● Animals: artic foxes, polar bears, artic hares, snowy owls etc
Discussion:
●
Continent
Climate
Habitat
Predator/prey
Camoflauge
Mimicry
Adaptations
Activity:
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give out pictures of habitats to each group ad have them think of animals that live
in there, how they interact (predator and prey, if they live in groups, etc) how they
camouflage what adaptations they need to get their resources etc
guessing game , Karl’s pictures
draw their own animal for their habitat, think about necessary adaptations to get
food, avoid predators etc