adaptations

• animals are adapted to their environment to aid survival
• adaptation = characteristics that increase an organism's chance survival and reproduction to their enviroment
• anatomical adaptations = physical features e.g thick fur
• behavioural adapaptations = behaviour actions e.g. migration
• physiological = processes an organism carries out e.g. sweating
• wisdom teeth : extra set of molars at the back of the mouth, wisdom teeth have no function now as our diets have changed
• inscisors = biting & cutting food, at the front of your mouth, 8 inscisors
• premolars and molars are larger and wider than canines & inscisors
• premolars = help hold & crush food, have a flat surface
• molars = bigger than premolars, found at the very back of the mouth, and are used to chew + grind food
• canines = pointed & sharp, used for ripping + tearing food, 4 canines, on either side of your inscisors
• distema = gap between inscisors and molars which provides space for the tongue to move around during chewing
• horny pads = completely replaces the inscisors and canines on the upper jaw
• how does surface area to volume ratio affect loss of body heat ?

  even if two things are the same volume if one is more stretched out it has a larger surface area, it will lose more heat through the fact there's a larger surface area and less volume to retain it. a circular animal with the same volume has a smaller surface area so will lose less heat / lose heat slower
• larger object = small SA:VOL ratio

  rate of heat loss = slow
• smaller object = large SA:VOL ratio

  rate of heat loss = fast
• carnassial teeth = slide past one another like blades of a pair of scissors to cut and tear meat away from the body
• how are the teeth adapted to nutrition and feeding style of carnivores :

  • big, sharp, pointed canines for gripping and tearing meat and for holding prey
  • joint between lower jaw and skull only allows up + down movement
  • small chisel-shaped incisors for cutting and tearing meat apart
  • large carnassial teeth for breaking bones and tearing meat off bones
  • canines have ability to apply great pressure to pierce flesh of prey
• how are the teeth adapted to the nutrition and feeding style of herbivores :

  • horny pad
  • distema provides space for the tongue to move around during chewing
  • joint between lower jaw and skull allow sideways chewing movements
  • no canines and incisors in upper jaw as these arent needed for their omnivorous diet
  • teeth are generally flat and wide as sharper teeth arent necessary
  • cement ridges reinforce molars