The textbook complies with the Federal State educational standard secondary (complete) general education, recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and included in the Federal List of Textbooks.

The textbook is addressed to 11th grade students and is designed to teach the subject 1 or 2 hours a week.

Modern design, multi-level questions and assignments, additional information and the ability to work in parallel with an electronic application contribute to the effective assimilation of educational material.

Rice. 33. Winter coloring of a hare

So, as a result of the action of the driving forces of evolution, organisms develop and improve adaptations to conditions environment. The consolidation of various adaptations in isolated populations can ultimately lead to the formation of new species.

Review questions and assignments

1. Give examples of the adaptation of organisms to living conditions.

2. Why do some animals have bright, unmasking colors, while others, on the contrary, have protective colors?

3. What is the essence of mimicry?

4. Does natural selection apply to animal behavior? Give examples.

5. What are the biological mechanisms for the emergence of adaptive (hiding and warning) coloration in animals?

6. Are physiological adaptations factors that determine the level of fitness of the organism as a whole?

7. What is the essence of the relativity of any adaptation to living conditions? Give examples.

Think! Do it!

1. Why is there no absolute adaptation to living conditions? Give examples that prove the relative nature of any device.

2. Boar cubs have a characteristic striped coloring, which disappears with age. Give similar examples of color changes in adults compared to offspring. Can this pattern be considered common to the entire animal world? If not, then for which animals and why is it characteristic?

3. Gather information about animals with warning colors that live in your area. Explain why knowledge of this material is important for everyone. Make an information stand about these animals. Give a presentation on this topic to primary school students.

Work with computer

Refer to the electronic application. Study the material and complete the assignments.

Repeat and remember!

Human

Behavioral adaptations are innate, unconditional reflex behavior. Innate abilities exist in all animals, including humans. A newborn baby can suck, swallow and digest food, blink and sneeze, react to light, sound and pain. These are examples unconditioned reflexes. Such forms of behavior arose in the process of evolution as a result of adaptation to certain, relatively constant environmental conditions. Unconditioned reflexes are inherited, so all animals are born with a ready-made complex of such reflexes.

Each unconditioned reflex occurs in response to a strictly defined stimulus (reinforcement): some - for food, others - for pain, others - for the appearance of new information, etc. The reflex arcs of unconditioned reflexes are constant and pass through the spinal cord or brain stem.

One of the most complete classifications of unconditioned reflexes is the classification proposed by Academician P. V. Simonov. The scientist proposed dividing all unconditioned reflexes into three groups, differing in the characteristics of the interaction of individuals with each other and with the environment. Vital reflexes(from Latin vita - life) are aimed at preserving the life of the individual. Failure to comply with them leads to the death of the individual, and implementation does not require the participation of another individual of the same species. This group includes food and drinking reflexes, homeostatic reflexes (maintaining a constant body temperature, optimal breathing rate, heart rate, etc.), defensive ones, which, in turn, are divided into passive-defensive (running away, hiding) and active ones. defensive (attack on a threatening object) and some others.

TO zoosocial, or role-playing reflexes include those variants of innate behavior that arise during interaction with other individuals of their own species. These are sexual, child-parent, territorial, hierarchical reflexes.

The third group is self-development reflexes. They are not related to adaptation to a specific situation, but seem to be directed to the future. These include exploratory, imitative and playful behavior.

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The grandiose inventions of the human mind never cease to amaze, there are no limits to imagination. But what nature has created for many centuries surpasses the most creative ideas and plans. Nature has created more than one and a half million species of living individuals, each of which is individual and unique in its forms, physiology, and adaptability to life. Examples of adaptation of organisms to constantly changing living conditions on the planet are examples of the wisdom of the creator and a constant source of problems for biologists to solve.

Adaptation means adaptability or habituation. This is the process of gradual degeneration of the physiological, morphological or psychological functions of a creature in a changed environment. Both individuals and entire populations undergo changes.

A striking example of direct and indirect adaptation is the survival of flora and fauna in the zone of increased radiation around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Direct adaptability is characteristic of those individuals that managed to survive, get used to it and begin to reproduce; some did not survive the test and died (indirect adaptation).

Since the conditions of existence on Earth are constantly changing, the processes of evolution and adaptation in living nature are also a continuous process.

A recent example of adaptation is a change in the habitat of a colony of green Mexican aratinga parrots. WITH recently they changed their usual habitat and settled in the very mouth of the Masaya volcano, in an environment constantly saturated with highly concentrated sulfur gas. Scientists have not yet provided an explanation for this phenomenon.

Types of adaptation

A change in the entire form of existence of an organism is a functional adaptation. An example of adaptation, when a change in conditions leads to mutual adaptation of living organisms to each other, is a correlative adaptation or co-adaptation.

Adaptation can be passive, when the functions or structure of the subject occur without his participation, or active, when he consciously changes his habits to match the environment (examples of people adapting to natural conditions or society). There are cases when a subject adapts the environment to suit his needs - this is objective adaptation.

Biologists divide types of adaptation according to three criteria:

• Morphological.
• Physiological.
• Behavioral or psychological.

Examples of adaptation of animals or plants in their pure form are rare; most cases of adaptation to new conditions occur in mixed species.

Morphological adaptations: examples

Morphological changes are changes in the shape of the body, individual organs, or the entire structure of a living organism that occurred during the process of evolution.

Below are morphological adaptations, examples from animal and flora, which we consider as a matter of course:

• Degeneration of leaves into spines in cacti and other plants of arid regions.
• Turtle shell.
• Streamlined body shapes of inhabitants of reservoirs.

Physiological adaptations: examples

A physiological adaptation is a change in a number of chemical processes occurring inside the body.

• The release of a strong odor by flowers to attract insects contributes to dust.
• The state of suspended animation that simple organisms are capable of entering allows them to maintain vital activity after many years. The oldest bacteria capable of reproducing is 250 years old.
• Accumulation of subcutaneous fat, which is converted into water, in camels.

Behavioral (psychological) adaptations

WITH psychological factor more related examples of human adaptation. Behavioral characteristics are common to flora and fauna. Thus, in the process of evolution, changes in temperature conditions cause some animals to hibernate, birds to fly south to return in the spring, trees to shed their leaves and slow down the movement of sap. The instinct to choose the most suitable partner for procreation drives the behavior of animals during the mating season. Some northern frogs and turtles freeze completely during the winter and thaw and come to life when the weather gets warmer.

Factors driving the need for change

Any adaptation process is a response to environmental factors that lead to environmental change. Such factors are divided into biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic.

Biotic factors are the influence of living organisms on each other, when, for example, one species disappears, which serves as food for another.

Abiotic factors are changes in the environment inanimate nature when the climate, soil composition, water availability, and solar activity cycles change. Physiological adaptations, examples of the influence of abiotic factors - equatorial fish that can breathe both in water and on land. They have adapted well to conditions where drying up of rivers is a common occurrence.

Anthropogenic factors are the influence of human activity that changes the environment.

Adaptations to the environment

• Illumination. In plants, these are separate groups that differ in their need for sunlight. On open spaces Light-loving heliophytes live well. In contrast to them are sciophytes: plants of forest thickets that feel good in shaded places. Among the animals there are also individuals that are designed for an active lifestyle at night or underground.
• Air temperature. On average, for all living things, including humans, the optimal temperature environment is considered to be from 0 to 50 o C. However, life exists in almost all climatic regions of the Earth.

Contrasting examples of adaptation to abnormal temperatures are described below.

Arctic fish do not freeze thanks to the production of a unique antifreeze protein in the blood, which prevents the blood from freezing.

The simplest microorganisms have been found in hydrothermal vents, where the water temperature exceeds boiling degrees.

Hydrophyte plants, that is, those that live in or near water, die even with a slight loss of moisture. Xerophytes, on the contrary, are adapted to live in arid regions and die in high humidity. Among animals, nature has also worked to adapt to aquatic and non-aquatic environments.

Human adaptation

Man's ability to adapt is truly enormous. The secrets of human thinking are far from fully revealed, and the secrets of people's adaptive ability will remain a mysterious topic for scientists for a long time. The superiority of Homo sapiens over other living beings lies in the ability to consciously change their behavior to suit the demands of the environment or, conversely, the world to suit your needs.

The flexibility of human behavior manifests itself every day. If you give the task: “give examples of people’s adaptation,” the majority begins to remember exceptional cases of survival in these rare cases, and in new circumstances it is typical for a person every day. We try on a new environment at the moment of birth, in kindergarten, school, in a team, when moving to another country. It is this state of acceptance of new sensations by the body that is called stress. Stress is a psychological factor, but nevertheless, many physiological functions change under its influence. In the case when a person accepts a new environment as positive for himself, the new state becomes habitual, otherwise stress threatens to become protracted and lead to a number of serious diseases.

Human coping mechanisms

There are three types of human adaptation:

• Physiological. The simplest examples are acclimatization and adaptation to changes in time zones or daily work patterns. In the process of evolution, they formed Various types people, depending on their territorial place of residence. Arctic, alpine, continental, desert, equatorial types differ significantly in physiological indicators.
• Psychological adaptation. This is a person’s ability to find moments of understanding with people of different psychotypes, in a country with a different level of mentality. Homo sapiens tend to change their established stereotypes under the influence of new information, special occasions, and stress.
• Social adaptation. A type of addiction that is unique to humans.

All adaptive types are closely related to each other; as a rule, any change in habitual existence causes in a person the need for social and psychological adaptation. Under their influence, mechanisms of physiological changes come into play, which also adapt to new conditions.

This mobilization of all body reactions is called adaptation syndrome. New reactions of the body appear in response to sudden changes in the environment. At the first stage - anxiety - there is a change in physiological functions, changes in the functioning of metabolism and systems. Next, protective functions and organs (including the brain) are activated and begin to turn on their protective functions and hidden capabilities. The third stage of adaptation depends on individual characteristics: a person either becomes involved in new life and goes back to normal (in medicine, recovery occurs during this period), or the body does not accept stress, and the consequences take on a negative form.

Phenomena of the human body

A person has a huge reserve of safety inherent in nature, which is used in everyday life only to a small extent. It manifests itself in extreme situations and is perceived as a miracle. In fact, the miracle lies within us. Example of adaptation: the ability of people to adapt to normal life after the removal of a significant part of their internal organs.

Natural innate immunity throughout life can be strengthened by a number of factors or, conversely, weakened due to an incorrect lifestyle. Unfortunately, passion bad habits- This is also the difference between humans and other living organisms.

Behavioral adaptations - these are behaviors developed in the process of evolution of individuals that allow them to adapt and survive in specific environmental conditions.

Typical example- a bear's winter sleep.

Examples can also be 1)creation of shelters, 2)movement for the purpose of selecting temperature conditions, especially in extreme t conditions. 3) the process of tracking and pursuing prey in predators, and in victims - in operational responses (for example, hiding).

Common for animals way of adapting to unfavorable periods- migration (saiga antelopes annually go for the winter to the southern semi-deserts with little snow, where winter grasses are more nutritious and accessible due to the dry climate. However, in the summer, semi-desert grass stands quickly burn out, so for the breeding season saigas move to the wetter northern steppes).

Examples: 4) behavior when searching for food and a sexual partner, 5) mating, 6) feeding offspring, 7) avoiding danger and protecting life in the event of a threat, 8) aggression and threatening postures, 9) caring for offspring, which increases the likelihood of survival of the cubs, 10) uniting in packs, 11) imitation of injury or death in the event of a threat of attack.

21.Life forms as a result of the adaptation of organisms to the action of a complex of environmental factors. Classification of life forms of plants according to K. Raunkier, I.G. Serebryakov, animals according to D.N. Kashkarov.

The term “life form” was introduced in the 80s by E. Warming. He understood life form as “the form in which the vegetative body of the plant (individual) is in harmony with external environment throughout his entire life, from the cradle to the grave, from seed to death.” This is a very deep definition.

Life forms as types of adaptive structures demonstrate 1) a variety of ways of adaptation of different plant species even to the same conditions,

2) the possibility of similarity of these pathways in completely unrelated plants belonging to different types, genera, families.

->The classification of life forms is based on the structure of vegetative organs and reflects the convergent paths of ecological evolution.

According to Raunkier: applied his system to elucidate the relationship between plant life forms and climate.

He identified an important feature that characterizes the adaptation of plants to endure unfavorable seasons - cold or dry.

This sign is the position of renewal buds on the plant in relation to the level of the substrate and snow cover. Raunkier linked this to protecting the kidneys during unfavorable times of the year.

1)phanerophytes- the buds overwinter or endure the dry period “openly”, high above the ground (trees, shrubs, woody vines, epiphytes).

-> they are usually protected by special bud scales, which have a number of devices for preserving the growth cone and young leaf primordia enclosed in them from loss of moisture.

2)chamephytes- buds are located almost at the soil level or no higher than 20-30 cm above it (shrubs, subshrubs, creeping plants). In cold and cold climates, these buds very often receive additional protection in winter, in addition to their own bud scales: they overwinter under the snow.

3)cryptophytes- 1) geophytes - buds are located in the ground at a certain depth (they are divided into rhizomatous, tuberous, bulbous),

2) hydrophytes - buds overwinter under water.

4)hemicryptophytes- usually herbaceous plants; their renewal buds are at the soil level or are buried very shallowly, in the litter formed by leaf litter - another additional “cover” for the buds. Among the hemicryptophytes, Raunkier distinguishes “ irotogeiicryptophytes» with elongated shoots that die annually to the base, where renewal buds are located, and rosette hemicryptophytes, in which shortened shoots can overwinter entirely at the soil level.

5)therophytes- special group; these are annuals in which all vegetative parts die off by the end of the season and there are no overwintering buds left - these plants are renewed the next year from seeds that overwinter or survive a dry period on or in the soil.

According to Serebryakov:

Having used and generalized the classifications proposed at different times, he proposed calling a unique habitus a life form - (characteristic form, appearance org-ma) specific groups of plants that arise as a result of growth and development in specific conditions - as an expression of adaptability to these conditions.

The basis of its classification is a sign of the life span of the entire plant and its skeletal axes.

A. Woody plants

1.Trees

2.Shrubs

3. Shrubs

B. Semi-woody plants

1.Subshrubs

2.Subshrubs

B. Terrestrial herbs

1.Polycarpic herbs (perennial herbs, bloom many times)

2.Monocarpic herbs (live for several years, bloom once and die)

G. Aquatic herbs

1.Amphibian grasses

2.Floating and underwater grasses

The life form of a tree turns out to be an adaptation to the most favorable conditions for growth.

IN forests of the humid tropics- most tree species (up to 88% in the Amazon region of Brazil), and in the tundra and highlands there are no real trees. In area taiga forests trees are represented by only a few species. No more than 10–12% of total number species are trees and in the flora of the temperate forest zone of Europe.

According to Kashkarov:

I. Floating forms.

1. Purely aquatic: a) nekton; b) plankton; c) benthos.

2. Semi-aquatic:

a) diving; b) not diving; c) only those that extract food from water.

II. Burrowing forms.

1. Absolute diggers (spending their entire lives underground).

2.Relative excavators (coming to the surface).

III. Ground forms.

1. Those who do not make holes: a) running; b) jumping; c) crawling.

2. Making holes: a) running; b) jumping; c) crawling.

3. Animals of the rocks.

IV. Woody climbing forms.

1. Not coming down from trees.

2.Only those who climb trees.

V. Air forms.

1. Foraging for food in the air.

2.Looking for food from the air.

In appearance In birds, their association with specific types of habitats and the nature of their movement when obtaining food are manifested.

1) woody vegetation;

2) open spaces of land;

3) swamps and shallows;

4) water spaces.

In each of these groups, specific forms are distinguished:

a) obtain food by climbing (pigeons, parrots, woodpeckers, passerines)

b) foraging for food in flight (long-winged birds, in forests - owls, nightjars, over water - tubenoses);

c) feeding while moving on the ground (in open spaces - cranes, ostriches; forest - most chickens; in swamps and shallows - some passerines, flamingos);

d) obtaining food by swimming and diving (loons, copepods, geese, penguins).

22. The main environments of life and their characteristics: ground-air and water.

Ground-air- most animals and plants live there.
It is characterized by 7 main abiotic factors:

1.Low air density makes it difficult to maintain the shape of the body and provokes an image of the support system.

EXAMPLE: 1. Aquatic plants do not have mechanical tissues: they appear only in terrestrial forms. 2. Animals necessarily have a skeleton: a hydroskeleton (in roundworms), or an external skeleton (in insects), or an internal skeleton (in mammals).

The low density of the environment facilitates the movement of animals. Many terrestrial species are capable of flight.(birds and insects, but there are also mammals, amphibians and reptiles). Flight is associated with searching for prey or settling. Land dwellers live only on the Earth, which serves as their support and attachment point. Due to active flight in such organisms modified forelimbs And pectoral muscles are developed.

2) Mobility air masses

*provides the essence of aeroplankton. It includes pollen, seeds and fruits of plants, small insects and arachnids, spores of fungi, bacteria and lower plants.

This ecological group of organisms adapted due to a large variety of wings, outgrowths, webs, or due to its very small size.

* way of pollinating plants by wind - anemophily- har-n for birch, spruce, pine, nettle, cereals and sedges.

*dispersal by wind: poplar, birch, ash, linden, dandelion, etc. The seeds of these plants have parachutes (dandelions) or wings (maple).

3) Low pressure, norm=760 mm. Pressure differences, compared with aquatic habitats, are very small; Thus, at h=5800 m it is only half of its normal value.

=>almost all land inhabitants are sensitive to strong pressure changes, i.e. they are stenobionts in relation to this factor.

The upper limit of life for most vertebrates is 6000 m, because pressure decreases with altitude, which means the solubility of o in the blood decreases. To maintain a constant concentration of O 2 in the blood, the respiratory rate must increase. However, we exhale not only CO 2, but also water vapor, so frequent breathing should invariably lead to dehydration of the body. This simple dependence is not typical only for rare species organisms: birds and some invertebrates, mites, spiders and springtails.

4) Gas composition It is characterized by a high content of O 2: it is more than 20 times higher than in the aquatic environment. This allows animals to have a very high metabolic rate. Therefore, only on land could it arise homeothermicity- the ability to maintain a constant t of the body due to internal energy. Thanks to homeothermy, birds and mammals can maintain vital activity in the harshest conditions

5) Soil and relief are very important, first of all, for plants. For animals, the structure of the soil is more important than its chemical composition.

*For ungulates that perform long migrations on dense ground, adaptation is a decrease in the number of fingers and a => decrease in the amount of support.

*Inhabitants of quicksand typically require an increase in the support surface (fan-toed gecko).

*Soil density is also important for burrowing animals: prairie dogs, marmots, gerbils and others; some of them develop digging limbs.

6) Significant water shortage on land provokes the development of various adaptations aimed to save water in the body:

Development of respiratory organs capable of absorbing O2 from the air of the integument (lungs, trachea, pulmonary sacs)

Development of waterproof covers

The change will highlight the system and metabolic products (urea and uric acid)

Internal fertilization.

In addition to providing water, precipitation also plays an ecological role.

*Snow reduces temperature fluctuations to a depth of 25 cm. Deep snow protects plant buds. For black grouse, hazel grouse and tundra partridges, snowdrifts are a place to spend the night, that is, at 20–30 o frost at a depth of 40 cm, it remains ~0 ° C.

7) Temperature more variable than aquatic. ->many land dwellers eurybiont to this factor, i.e., beings are capable of a wide range of t and demonstrate very various ways thermoregulation.

Many species of animals that live in areas with snowy winters molt in the fall, changing the color of their fur or feathers to white. Perhaps this seasonal molt birds and animals are also an adaptation - camouflage coloring, which is typical for the white hare, weasel, arctic fox, tundra partridge and others. However, not all white animals change color seasonally, which reminds us of the indefinability and impossibility of considering all properties of the body as beneficial or harmful.

Water. Water covers 71% of the earth's S or 1370 m3. The main mass of water is in the seas and oceans – 94-98%, in polar ice contains about 1.2% water and a very small proportion - less than 0.5%, in fresh waters of rivers, lakes and swamps.

The aquatic environment is home to about 150,000 species of animals and 10,000 plants, which is only 7 and 8% of the total number of species on Earth. Thus, evolution on land was much more intense than in water.

In the seas and oceans, as in the mountains, it is expressed vertical zoning.

All inhabitants of the aquatic environment can be divided into three groups.

1) Plankton- countless accumulations of tiny organisms that cannot move on their own and are carried by currents in the upper layer of sea water.

It consists of plants and living organisms - copepods, eggs and larvae of fish and cephalopods, + unicellular algae.

2) Nekton- a large number of organizations floating freely in the depths of the world's oceans. The largest of them are blue whales and basking sharks, which feed on plankton. But among the inhabitants of the water column there are also dangerous predators.

3) Benthos- inhabitants of the bottom. Some deep-sea inhabitants lack vision, but most can see in dim light. Many inhabitants lead an attached lifestyle.

Adaptations of hydrobionts to high water density:

Water has high density (800 times the density of air) and viscosity.

1) Plants have very poorly developed or absent mechanical fabrics “The water itself is their support. Most are characterized by buoyancy. Har-no active vegetative propagation, the development of hydrochory - the removal of flower stalks above the water and the distribution of pollen, seeds and spores by surface currents.

2) The body has a streamlined shape and is lubricated with mucus, which reduces friction when moving. Developed devices to increase buoyancy: accumulations of fat in tissues, swim bladders in fish.

Passively swimming animals have outgrowths, spines, appendages; the body is flattened, and skeletal organs are reduced.

Different ways movement: bending of the body, with the help of flagella, cilia, reactive mode of movement (cephalomolluscs).

In benthic animals, the skeleton disappears or is poorly developed, body size increases, vision reduction is common, and tactile organs develop.

Adaptations of hydrobionts to water mobility:

Mobility is determined by ebbs and flows, sea currents, storms, and different elevation levels of river beds.

1) In flowing waters, plants and animals are firmly attached to stationary underwater objects. The bottom surface is primarily a substrate for them. These are green and diatom algae, water mosses. From animals - gastropods, barnacles + hide in crevices.

2) Different body shapes. Fish that live in flowing waters have a round body in diameter, while fish that live near the bottom have a flat body.

Adaptations of hydrobionts to water salinity:

Natural bodies of water have a certain chemical composition. (carbonates, sulfates, chlorides). In fresh water bodies, the salt concentration is not >0.5 g/, in the seas - from 12 to 35 g/l (ppm). With a salinity of more than 40 ppm, the reservoir is called g hyperhaline or oversalted.

1) *In fresh water (hypotonic environment), osmoregulation processes are well expressed. Hydrobionts are forced to constantly remove water that penetrates them, they homoiosmotic.

*In salt water (isotonic environment), the concentration of salts in the bodies and tissues of hydrobionts is the same as the concentration of salts dissolved in water - they poikiloosmotic. ->inhabitants of salt water bodies have not developed osmoregulatory functions, and they were unable to populate fresh water bodies.

2) Aquatic plants are able to absorb water and nutrients from water - “broth”, the entire surface Therefore, their leaves are strongly dissected and their conducting tissues and roots are poorly developed. The roots serve to attach to the underwater substrate.

Typically maritime and typically freshwater species – stenohaline, cannot tolerate changes in water salinity. Euryhaline species A little. They are common in brackish waters(pike, bream, mullet, coastal salmon).

Adaptation of hydrobionts to the composition of gases in water:

In water O2 is the most important environmental factor. Its source is the atmosphere and photosynthetic plants.

When stirring the water and decreasing t, the O2 content increases. *Some fish are very sensitive to O2 deficiency (trout, minnow, grayling) and therefore prefer cold mountain rivers and streams.

*Other fish (crucian carp, carp, roach) are unpretentious to O2 content and can live at the bottom of deep reservoirs.

*Many aquatic insects, mosquito larvae, and pulmonate mollusks are also tolerant of the O2 content in water, because from time to time they rise to the surface and swallow fresh air.

There is enough carbon dioxide in water - almost 700 times more than in air. It is used in plant photosynthesis and goes into the formation of calcareous skeletal structures of animals (mollusk shells).

In the process of evolution, as a result of natural selection and the struggle for existence, adaptations of organisms to certain living conditions arise. Evolution itself is essentially a continuous process of formation of adaptations, occurring according to the following scheme: intensity of reproduction -> struggle for existence -> selective death -> natural selection -> fitness.

Adaptations affect different aspects of the life processes of organisms and therefore can be of several types.

Morphological adaptations

They are associated with changes in body structure. For example, the appearance of membranes between the toes in waterfowl (amphibians, birds, etc.), thick fur in northern mammals, long legs and a long neck in wading birds, a flexible body in burrowing predators (for example, weasels), etc. In warm-blooded animals, when moving north, an increase in average body size is observed (Bergmann's rule), which reduces the relative surface area and heat transfer. In benthic fishes it is formed flat body(rays, flounder, etc.). In plants in northern latitudes and in high mountain areas, creeping and cushion-shaped forms are common, less damaged by strong winds and better warmed by the sun in the soil layer.

Protective coloration

Protective coloration is very important for animal species that do not have effective means protection from predators. Thanks to it, animals become less noticeable in the area. For example, female birds hatching eggs are almost indistinguishable from the background of the area. Bird eggs are also colored to match the color of the area. Bottom-dwelling fish, most insects and many other animal species have a protective coloration. In the north, white or light coloring is more common, helping to camouflage in the snow (polar bears, polar owls, arctic foxes, baby pinnipeds - squirrels, etc.). A number of animals have acquired a coloration formed by alternating light and dark stripes or spots, making them less noticeable in bushes and dense thickets (tigers, young wild boars, zebras, sika deer, etc.). Some animals are capable of changing color very quickly depending on conditions (chameleons, octopuses, flounder, etc.).

Disguise

The essence of camouflage is that the shape of the body and its color make animals look like leaves, twigs, branches, bark or thorns of plants. Often found in insects that live on plants.

Warning or threatening coloring

Some types of insects that have poisonous or odorous glands have bright warning colors. Therefore, predators that once encounter them remember this coloring for a long time and no longer attack such insects (for example, wasps, bumblebees, ladybugs, Colorado potato beetles and a number of others).

Mimicry

Mimicry is the coloring and body shape of harmless animals that imitate their poisonous counterparts. For example, some don't Poisonous snakes look like poisonous ones. Cicadas and crickets resemble large ants. Some butterflies have large spots on their wings that resemble the eyes of predators.

Physiological adaptations

This type of adaptation is associated with a restructuring of metabolism in organisms. For example, the appearance of warm-bloodedness and thermoregulation in birds and mammals. In simpler cases, this is an adaptation to certain forms of food, the salt composition of the environment, high or low temperatures, humidity or dryness of soil and air, etc.

Biochemical adaptations

Behavioral adaptations

This type of adaptation is associated with changes in behavior in certain conditions. For example, caring for offspring leads to better survival of young animals and increases the stability of their populations. During mating seasons, many animals form separate families, and in winter they unite in flocks, which makes it easier for them to feed or protect (wolves, many species of birds).

Adaptations to periodic environmental factors

These are adaptations to environmental factors that have a certain periodicity in their manifestation. This type includes daily alternations of periods of activity and rest, states of partial or complete anabiosis (shedding of leaves, winter or summer diapauses of animals, etc.), animal migrations caused by seasonal changes, etc.

Adaptations to extreme living conditions

Plants and animals living in deserts and polar regions also acquire a number of specific adaptations. In cacti, the leaves have been transformed into spines (reducing evaporation and protecting them from being eaten by animals), and the stem has turned into a photosynthetic organ and reservoir. Desert plants have long root systems that allow them to obtain water from great depths. Desert lizards can survive without water by eating insects and obtaining water by hydrolyzing their fats. In addition to thick fur, northern animals also have a large supply of subcutaneous fat, which reduces body cooling.

Relative nature of adaptations

All devices are appropriate only for certain conditions in which they were developed. If these conditions change, adaptations may lose their value or even cause harm to the organisms that have them. The white coloration of hares, which protects them well in the snow, becomes dangerous during winters with little snow or severe thaws.

Relative character adaptations are also well proven by paleontological data, which indicates the extinction of large groups of animals and plants that did not survive the change in living conditions.