Adaptations are any feature that help an organism to survive
Types of adaptation - Behavioural adaptations
Actions that organisms choose to perform to aid survival:
playing dead
courtship behaviours to attract a mate
Types of adaptation - Physiological/biochemical adaptations
Adaptation that ensures correct functioning of cell processes or body organs:
E.g; hibernation of many mammals over winter
adjustment of urine concentration in the kangaroo rat
Types of adaptation - Anatomical adaptations
Structural features of an organism:
E.g. flagella in bacteria
E.g. whales have a thick layer of blubber under the skin
Cacti have spines to reduce leaf SA
Xerophytes: Plants specially adapted to living in dry areas e.g.; cacti
Convergent evolution
Convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related independently develop similarfeatures as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches.
These shared features are known as "analogous structures". E.g. wings in birds, bats.
