The Amazing Adaptations of The Platypus & Basket Fern
Platypus Background- Basket Fern
Lives In
Significance of the Adaptation
Morphological Adaptation- Platypus
The South Australian Rainforest
- The touch sensitive pores on the bill operate via a pushrod device which triggers nerves below the surface
- the pores contain a mucus gland attached to fibres, so it can detect the minute electrical impulses generated by the muscle activity of prey. Allowing it to catch prey
- The forefoot muscles on the shoulders are reinforced by an interclavicle, which aids the platypus in digging its burrows.
- The bill is used as a tool for, both, locating and digesting food.
- Touch and electroreceptors on the bill allow the Platypus to navigate in the rivers without the use of its eyes or ears.
- Platypuses shoulder girdle.
Adaptation Terminology
Adaptation- a structure, behavior, or physiological process that helps an organism survive and reproduce in a particular environment.
Morphological Adaptation- A structural feature that aids in fitting a species to its particular environment
Behavioral Adaptation- Behavioral adaptations are the things organisms do to survive. For example, bird calls and migration are behavioral adaptations
Physiological Adaptation- the adjustment of an organism to its environment, or the process by which it enhances such fitness.
Morphological Adaptation- Basket Fern
Hypothesis
Behavioral Adaptation-Platypus
They basket fern has leaves that are "mat leaves"
Survival- the basket fern could have developed these moist mats in its leaves to sustain it self in the rainforest environment so that it can stay hydrate and create its own food.
Reproduction- Maybe it develop this adaptation to continue living and produce more ferns that could survive in the rainforest.
Significance
The Platypus has venomous poisoned spike on its ankle to help it survive from predator in the environment that it resides in.
the Platypus also sweeps its bill underwater from side to side 2-3 times a second, sifting its way through the river bed and picking up the electrical impulses.
Ferns produce their own food through photosynthesis.
- They gather moisture from the air, capture and store water in spongy roots, and
sometimes capture water in cups or pockets that have been created by the structure of their
leaves.
- Their leaves and roots trap dust and dirt, building up a “mat” that holds
moisture and nutrients.
If in abundance on any one host plant, they may cause damage.
Photos
Physiological Adaptation- Basket Fern
Interaction between the Basket Fern & Platypus
The basket Fern has mat leavesut it has also made adjustment of its mat leaves.
Creating an adaptation of pinnately compounded leaves
Since many Platypuses eat earthworms and basket ferns have earthworms residing inside. The Platypus searches inside of a fern to gain its food and survive. It mostly searches in the ferns located on ground not the ones above ground.
- Naturally the Platypus eats food found in rivers now, but before also becoming a water creature the Platypus mostly ate small insects and the basket fern carried small insects. Therefore, showing that the basket fern was a helpful resource for the platypus.
Significance
By having compounded leaves, ferns increase their overall surface area.
By having more surface area the plant has a far more likely chance of survival.
This increased surface area and sugar production allows the plant to grow
The increase in mass can mean life or death to a primary producer and when attacked by heterotrophs.
Physiological Adaptations-Platypus
Behavioral Adaptation- Basket Fern
The Platypus has developed webbed feet and a fat tail. These traits had occurred to help the Platypus adjust to the environment that it lives in, and also to enhance its fitness.
- platypus also reduces blood flow to bare and extreme parts of its body in cold weather. This keeps the vital organs intact.
The basket fern creates room inside of its basket to allow insect, other small organisms and other plants such as the strangler fig to live inside it.
Creates openings between leaves
Significance on Adaptation
Significance of Adaptation
It is significant because it creates whole ecosystem of insects and earthworms that aerate the compost. And also it can use the waste products from these species as rich soil to continue growing because there is no way to get soil for the plant. Mainly because its located above ground.
- This behavioral adaptation is significant to the Platypus because it is a way of survival in its environment. They use the venom to fight off predators and also to attack prey.
- Other significance of this adaptation is that males have a functional spur and use it in the mating season for dominance.
- This adaptation relates to the significance of sexual selection, because many male platypuses that have this adaptation use it to attract female platypuses and defeat competition coming from other male platypuses.
Significance of the Adaptation
Hypothesis
- The platypus tail is fat and flat. Its flatness helps with swimming, functioning almost like a rudder.
- The tail is also a fat store. This adaptation is important for females, who require stores of fat for nesting in their burrow.
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- Males store fat as well, for periods when they are unable to find food.
- Platypuses have evolved to have webbed feet. The webs help them swim more efficiently and move around on soft, muddy surfaces with ease.
- The front feet are fully webbed, the hind feet are only partially webbed. This way they can also walk on land if there isn't a large amount of food available in the waters. But its mostly webbed feet because it takes a platypus 30% of its energy to walk on land.
The platypus developed webbed feet :
1. For survival----- Maybe there were many other organisms that lived on land in the rainforests with the Platypus. And since there was a minimal amount of foods the Platypus started to change and move more near water bodies. Therefore, over time developing webbed feet to swim.
This hypothesis that I made also makes sense because platypuses might have evolved to water and land animals becasue of competition for food on land.
Hypothesis
Competition- the platypus could have developed these poisoned spikes to get rid of other animals and eliminate competition for food. So that they could survive.
Survival- It could have developed these spikes so that predator could not attack them or hunt them because then they know that they can die to. Also they could have developed these spike to hunt other animals for food.
Reproduction/Sexual Selection- These spike may be a way to impress the female platypuses and beat other males in mating and in creating offspring.
Species:anatinus
Genus:Ornithorhynchus
Family:Ornithorhynchidae
Order:Monotremata
Subclass:Prototheria
Class:Mammalia
Subphylum:Vertebrata
Phylum:Chordata
Kingdom:Animalia
Survival- I think the basket fern had mainly developed this adaptation for survival reasons. Since it is located above ground it needs nutrients to continue living and produce more of itself so it create opening for small species to live inside. And using the species as a advantage it can get soil and a things to decompose things. Allow it self to live longer.