Habitat and Adaptation - Introduction, Types & Details

What Are Adaptations?

In biology, adaptations mean any modifications in the form and structure, in the behaviour, and the physiological processes of plants and animals about their environments including temperature, light intensity, water status, type of soil, and atmosphere of the habitats.

Habitats, therefore, are the particular places where organisms exist, with a particular composite of abiotic and biotic factors. It is quite relevant because adaptations help increase an organism’s fitness which is the organism’s capacity to survive and reproduce in its environment. They allow organisms to get the most out of any available resources, avoid predation, deal with stress factors and outcompete other members of the same species for reproductive opportunities and food. Knowledge of adaptations is vital in the quest to unravel the complexity of ecological processes hence allowing one to grasp the dynamics of how and why certain species continue to exist and even adapt in the face of changing pressures in their respective environment.

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This Story also Contains

1. What Are Adaptations?
2. Adaptations In Organisms
3. Types Of Habitats

Adaptations In Organisms

The different types of adaptations are:

Structural Adaptations

• Structural adaptations are changes in an organism’s body or morphology, which increase the survivability and ability of the organism to reproduce in the habitat.

• Camouflage: Body features that make the organism have a low visibility ratio with the environment such as the stick insects which resemble twigs or the peppered moths whose skin resembles the colour of the environment.

• Mimicry: the appearance of one species that makes it favourable for them to resemble the other, such as insects that resemble venomous snakes or birds to avoid being picked by other birds, such as the viceroy butterfly resembling the toxic monarch butterfly.

Physiological Adaptations

The physiological adaptations are explained below:

• Physiological adaptations are those changes that are exhibited internally to help an organism regulate its functions and optimally adapt to the environment it exists.

• Thermoregulation: Protection of vital physiologic processes from thermal damage that includes thermoregulation e. g. sweating in human beings or countercurrent heat exchange in whales.

• Osmoregulation: Maintenance of the fluid and electrolyte composition for alterations in response to water availability or the challenges that come with living in freshwater or saltwater as in aquatic species.

Behavioural Adaptations

• Behavioural adaptations are the outlets or behaviours that an organism displays to maximize its existence and breeding.

• Migration: Following the availability of resources or change of seasons for breeding, animals move from one geographical location to another, for instance, birds that fly to the southern part of the country during winter.

• Hibernation: Its ability to become less active during times when the external environment seems rather unfavourable to animals and therefore saves energy.

Types Of Habitats

The different types of habitats are:

Terrestrial Habitats

Description of major terrestrial biomes

• Terrestrial biomes are major geographical units of the earth’s surface depicting specific climatic conditions, and plant, and animal distribution. Major biomes include:

• Forests: Most of the areas had high densities of shrubs and trees that favour certain climatic conditions.

• Some of these are the tropical rainforest biome, which is characterized by a high density of species; coniferous biome, which features evergreen forests adapting to cold environments.

• Deserts: Deserts that had limited vegetation to cope with the availability of water along with features such as volatile temperatures and special types of plants and animals for example cacti and camel respectively.

• Grasslands: Grassy and herbaceous lands that occur in the tropical and temperate regions of the world. Grasslands sustain grazing wildlife and avian species that feed on plants depending on the availability of the rains.

Aquatic Habitats

• Aquatic habitats include freshwater and marine environments, each with unique characteristics and organisms adapted to aquatic life:

• Freshwater Habitats: Low saline waters: This may include lakes, rivers, ponds, streams and any other water bodies which have low saline concentrations. That is because they accommodate a wide range of aquatic plants, fish, amphibians, as well as invertebrates that are suitable for different water flow and oxygen concentrations.

• Marine Habitats: Areas with high salinity like oceans, seas, and estuaries. Marine ecosystems may be categorized into different zones that stretch from the shallow interfaces of the sea, which is also known as the coastal zone, down to the abyssal zone of the ocean depths. Marine plants include fish, marine mammals, coral polyps, and phytoplankton that thrive in saline water and ocean currents.

Examples Of Adaptations In Different Habitats

Here are a few examples of adaptations in different habitats:

Desert Adaptations

Plants:

Cacti: A type of plants which possess a thick stem and large, succulent leaves which store water in larger quantities for a longer period and check the progress of evaporation.

Succulents: Some plants such as agave and desert rose that has modified tissues that help store water and leaves with waxy cuticles to minimize water loss.

Animals:

Camels: Famed for their capability to live in extremely dry environments with special features including; small compact kidneys that conserve water, nasal septa that do not allow much evaporation, and fat layers that are insulated.

Kangaroo Rat: Semi-aquatic nocturnal rodent with well-developed kidneys that keep water concentrations in urine low and a flexible behavioural regime that allows it to find enough water in seeds and avoid open heat during the hottest periods of the day.

Aquatic Adaptations

Gills: Present in fish and certain can be traced in some invertebrates, gills are structures used for respiration in water; they facilitate the extraction of oxygen from water and the release of carbon dioxide.

Buoyancy Mechanisms:

Swim Bladder: Located in most bony fish, the swim bladder regulates the amount of gas that is let in or released to change buoyancy and thus position itself in the water column.

Air Sacs: With the help of which diving birds like penguins maintain the volume of the air chamber used to control the depth of diving and float.