Adaptation of different habitats

Adaptation - The presence of specific features or certain habits, which enable a plant or an animal to live in its surroundings, is called adaptation.

Habitat - The surroundings where organisms live is called a habitat.

Terrestrial habitats - The plants and animals that live on land are said to live in terrestrial habitats. Some examples of terrestrial habitats are forests, grasslands, deserts, coastal and mountain regions.

Aquatic habitats- The habitats of plants and animals that live in water are called aquatic habitats. Ponds, swamps, lakes, rivers and oceans are some examples of aquatic habitats.

Biotic components - The living things such as plants and animals, in a habitat, are its biotic components.

Aboitic components- Various  natural non-living things such as rocks, soil, air and water in the habitat constitute its abiotic components. Sunlight and heat also form abiotic components of the habitat. Aboitic components are very important for life.

Some Terrestrial Habitats

Desert plants lose very little water through transpiration.

The leaves in desert plants are either absent, very small, or they are present in the shape of spines. This helps in reducing loss of water from the leaves through transpiration.

Photosynthesis in these plants is usually carried out by the stems.

The stem is also covered with a thick waxy layer, which helps to retain water.

Most desert plants have roots that go very deep into the soil for absorbing water.

There are desert animals like rats and snakes, which do not have the long legs that the camel has. To stay away from the intense heat during the day

Mountain regions

These habitats are normally very cold and windy. In some areas, snowfall may take place in winters.

These trees are normally cone shaped and have sloping branches. The leaves of some of these trees are needle-like. This helps the rainwater and snow to slide off easily.

Animal have thick skin or fur to protect them from cold. For example, yaks have long hair to keep them warm.

The mountain goat has strong hooves for running up the rocky slopes of the mountains.

Grasslands

The eyes in front of the face allow it to have a correct idea about the location of its prey.

It’s light brown colour helps it to hide in dry grasslands when it hunts for prey

A deer is another animal that lives in forests and grasslands. It has strong teeth for chewing hard plant stems of the forest.

A deer needs to know about the presence of predators. in order to run away from them and not become their prey. It has long ears to hear movements  predators.

The eyes on the side of its head allow it to look in all directions for danger.

The speed of the deer helps them to run away from the predators.

Oceans

sea animals have streamlined bodies to help them move easily in water.

There are some sea animals like squids and octopus, which do not have this streamlined shape. They stay deeper in the ocean, near the seabed and catch any prey that moves towards them.

These animals have gills to help them use oxygen dissolved in water.

There are some sea animals like deer dolphins and whales that do not have gills. They breathe in air through nostrils or blowholes that are located on the upper parts of their heads. This allows them to breathe in air when they swim near the surface of water.

They can stay inside the water for a long time without breathing. They come out to the surface from time to time, to breathe in air.

Ponds and lakes

In terrestrial plants, roots normally play a very important role in the absorption of nutrients and water from the soil. However, in aquatic plants, roots are much reduced in size and their main function is to hold the plant in place.

The stems of these plants are long, hollow and light. The stems grow up to the surface of water while the leaves and flowers, float on the surface of the water.

Some of these plants have narrow and thin ribbon-like leaves. These can bend in the flowing water.

In some submerged plants, leaves are often highly divided, through which the water can easily flow without damaging them.

Frogs can stay both inside the pond water as well as move on land.

They have strong back legs that help them in leaping and catching their prey.

They have webbed feet which help them swim in water.

The Polar Regions

The Polar Regions present an extreme climate. These regions are covered with snow and it is very cold for most part of the year.

Polar bears have white fur so that they are not easily visible in the snowy white background.

To protect them from extreme cold, they have two thick layers of fur.

Physical activities on warm days necessitate cooling. So, the polar bear goes for swimming.

It is a good swimmer. Its paws are wide and large, which help it not only to swim well but also walk with ease in the snow.

While swimming under water, it can close its nostrils and can remain under water for long durations.

Polar bear has a strong sense of smell so that it can catch its prey for food.

Another well-known animal living in the Polar Regions is the penguin It is also white and merges well with the white background

Penguin also has a thick skin and a lot of fat to protect it from cold.

Penguins huddled together they do to keep warm.

Like polar bears, penguins are also good swimmers. Their bodies are streamlined and their feet have webs, making them good swimmers

Fish can remain under cold water for long, birds must remain warm to Survive.

Bird migrates to warmer regions when winter sets in. They come back after the winter is over.

Siberian crane that comes from Siberia to places like Bharatpur in Rajasthan and Sultanpur in Haryana.

The tropical rainforests

The tropical region has generally a hot climate because of its location around the equator. Days and nights are almost equal in length throughout the year.

These regions get plenty of rainfall.

Tropical rainforests are found in Western Ghats and Assam in India, Southeast Asia, Central America and Central Africa.

Red-eyed frog has developed sticky pads on its feet to help it climb trees on which it lives.

To help them live on the trees, monkeys have long tails for grasping branches.

Bird Toucan which possesses a long, large beak. This helps a toucan to reach the fruits on branches which are otherwise too weak to support its weight.

Many tropical animals have sensitive hearing, sharp eyesight, thick skin and a skin colour which helps them to camouflage by blending with the surroundings.

Lion-tailed macaque

Its most outstanding feature is the silver-white mane, which surrounds the head from the cheeks down to its chin.

It is a good climber and spends a major part of its life on the tree.

It feeds mainly on fruits. It also eats seeds, young leaves, stems, flowers and buds. This beard ape also searches for insects under the bark of the trees.

It rarely comes down on the ground

Trunk uses it as a nose because of which it has a strong sense of smell.

The trunk is also used by it for picking up food.

Moreover, its tusks are modified teeth. These can tear the bark of trees that elephant loves to eat.

Large ears of the elephant help it to hear even very soft sounds. They also help the elephant to keep cool in the hot and humid climate of the rainforest