Adaptation
Animal Adaptations -- Vocabulary
Adaptation
A body part, body covering, or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment.
Behavior
The actions of an animal.
Camouflage
A color or shape in an animal's body covering that helps it blend into its environment.
Environment
Everything that surrounds and affects a living thing. The environment includes non-living things, such as water and air, as well as other living things.
Habitat
The place where an animal lives. The physical characteristics of an animal's surroundings.
Inborn Behavior (instinct)
A behavior an animal is born with and does not have to learn.
Mimicry
An adaptation in which an otherwise harmless animal looks like a harmful animal in order to protect itself. Predator
An animal that hunts and eats other animals for food.
Prey
An animal that is taken and eaten by another animal (predator) for food.
Survive/Survival
Using adaptations to continue to live.
Adaptations
Adaptations are any behavioral or physical characteristics of an animal that help it to survive in its environment. These characteristics fall into three main categories: body parts, body coverings, and behaviors. Any or all of these types of adaptations play a critical role in the survival of an animal.
Adaptations can be either physical or behavioral. A physical adaptation is some type of structural modification made to a part of the body. A behavioral adaptation is something an animal does - how it acts - usually in response to some type of external stimulus. When you look at an animal, you usually can see some of its adaptations -- like what it is able to eat, how it moves, or how it may protect itself. Different animals have many different ways of trying to stay alive. Their adaptations are matched to their way of surviving. Each group of animals has its own general adaptations. These groups are: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Some of these adaptations make it easy to
identify
Adaptation
A body part, body covering, or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment.
Behavior
The actions of an animal.
Camouflage
A color or shape in an animal's body covering that helps it blend into its environment.
Environment
Everything that surrounds and affects a living thing. The environment includes non-living things, such as water and air, as well as other living things.
Habitat
The place where an animal lives. The physical characteristics of an animal's surroundings.
Inborn Behavior (instinct)
A behavior an animal is born with and does not have to learn.
Mimicry
An adaptation in which an otherwise harmless animal looks like a harmful animal in order to protect itself. Predator
An animal that hunts and eats other animals for food.
Prey
An animal that is taken and eaten by another animal (predator) for food.
Survive/Survival
Using adaptations to continue to live.
Adaptations
Adaptations are any behavioral or physical characteristics of an animal that help it to survive in its environment. These characteristics fall into three main categories: body parts, body coverings, and behaviors. Any or all of these types of adaptations play a critical role in the survival of an animal.
Adaptations can be either physical or behavioral. A physical adaptation is some type of structural modification made to a part of the body. A behavioral adaptation is something an animal does - how it acts - usually in response to some type of external stimulus. When you look at an animal, you usually can see some of its adaptations -- like what it is able to eat, how it moves, or how it may protect itself. Different animals have many different ways of trying to stay alive. Their adaptations are matched to their way of surviving. Each group of animals has its own general adaptations. These groups are: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Some of these adaptations make it easy to
identify