Description of content
A diversity of life exists on Earth. Earth consists of many different biomes, or environments, that are defined by the physical environment and plants and animals that are found in each region. Examples of these environments include ocean, desert, tundra, forest, wetlands, and grasslands.
Each environment holds unique challenges for the organisms that inhabit it. Every organism is adapted to live in their environment. They have structures, functions, and behaviors that make it possible for them to survive. Any structure or behavior that improves an organism's chance of survival in an environment is an adaptation. Different environments encourage different kinds of organisms, and within environments, different kids of organisms compete for resources, like food and shelter, needed for survival.
Students are introduced to adaptations in Investigation 3: Meet the Crayfish, Part 2. An adaptation is any structure or behavior of an organism that helps it survive or reproduce in its environment. Organisms have many different adaptations that help them survive and reproduce. They include:
* Adaptations for movement
* Adaptations for getting food
* Adaptations for protection or defense
* Adaptations for raising young
For example, a fish's streamlined shape, muscular body, articulated fins, spherical eye lenses, and gills for extracting oxygen from the water are a few of its adaptations for life in water. The same set of adaptations is useless in the grasslands. Students will focus on the structure and function–a feature of an organism, such as the fish's streamline shape, and how that feature enhances the fish's chances of survival.
This instruction includes three session which are discussed in detail in the following sections.
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