Copy of Ecosystems

Ecosystems

Made up of all the living and nonliving things in an area

Transfer of Energy

in a Food Chain

sunlight

What traits (characteristics) do FISH have to help them survive in their environment?

What traits (characteristics) do AMPHIBIANS have to help them survive in their environment?

What traits (characteristics) do REPTILES have to help them survive in their environment?

What traits (characteristics) do BIRDS have to help them survive in their environment?

What traits (characteristics) do MAMMALS have to help them survive in their environment?

What do all animals need in order to survive in their environment?

Structural

An adaptation can be an INHERITED PHYSICAL TRAIT that helps an animal survive. For example, BODY COVERINGS like hair, feathers, scales, fur, and skin color are physical traits animals inherit from their parents.

Behavioral

Let’s watch a short video on hummingbirds. As you watch, make a list of as many PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS you can see, or that you hear the narrator talk about.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/birds-animals/parrots-hummingbirds/hummingbirds.html

Let’s watch a short video on ospreys. As you watch, make a list of as many PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS you can see, or that you hear the narrator talk about.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/birds-animals/birds-of-prey/osprey.html

What have you learned so far about animal ADAPTATIONS?

Individuals

Population

Individuals

Individual

Individuals

Population

Individual

Community

Individual

Population

Individuals

Population

Individuals

Air

Dirt

Rocks

Plants

Animals

Nonliving

Living Things

Water

Trash

Bacteria

Fungus

Pollution

Protists

Interaction

Decomposers

energy from sunlight

Food Webs

energy transfer

Producers

Primary

Consumers

energy

transfer

Tertiary

Consumers

Seconday

Consumers

energy

transfer

Friend or Foe

Niche

Predator

Prey

Competition

Symbiosis

Interactions

Adaptations

THINK!

Would a dolphin be comfortable in a dry place? Why or why not?

THINK!

Would a polar bear be comfortable in a warm place? Why or why not?

Possible Answers:

1. light bones, wings, feathers for flying

2. beaks

3. special feet (webbed, talons, etc.)

4. special colors, eye place-ment, and other features that help them survive

Possible Answers:

1. smooth skin

2. breath with lungs or gills or both

3. cold-blooded (their body temperature depends on their surroundings)

4. special colors, eye placement, and other features that help them survive

How do animals get the air, water, food, shelter, and space they need to survive?

ANSWER!

What are some of the reasons a polar bear can survive in its habitat?

What are some of the reasons a dolphin can survive in its habitat?

Animals get the air, water, food, shelter, and space they need by using their adaptations.

Answer:

1. covered with scales

2. have gills for breathing in water

3. cold-blooded (body temperature depends on surroundings)

• lay eggs
• have a variety of special traits like special coloring, spines, teeth, eye placement, etc. to help them survive in specific environments

ANSWER!

All animals need air, water, food, shelter, and space to survive.

Possible Answers:

1. lungs for breathing

2. cold-blooded (their body temperature depends on their surroundings)

3. special colors, eye placement, and other features that help them survive

Possible Answers:

1. fur/hair

2. lungs

3. special colors, eye placement, body coverings, body parts, and other features that help them survive in specific environments

What traits (characteristics) do MAMMALS have to help them survive in their environment?

ANSWER!

Possible Answers:

1. fur/hair

2. lungs

3. special colors, eye placement, body coverings, body parts, and other features that help them survive in specific environments

An adaptation can also be an INHERITED BEHAVIOR that helps animals survive. For example:

All animals need air, water, food, shelter, and space to survive.

traveling in herds

migration

hibernation

Migration of Monarch Butterflies

following mother

As you know, every animal needs food, water, oxygen, shelter, and space to survive. But sometimes there are not enough resources to go around.

Animals with excellent adaptations have a better chance of getting the resources they need.

The better an animal is at getting what it needs, the better its chances of surviving, reproducing, and passing its adaptations along to the next generation.

The strong survive!

Finally, an adaptation can be a

LEARNED BEHAVIOR. For example:

An INHERITED PHYSICAL TRAIT that helps an animal survive can also be the SHAPE and LOOK of an animal’s body. For example, a walking stick looks like a twig and katydid looks like a leaf.

catching food/hunting

Animals inherit traits from their parents, too.

a human learning to walk

What is the color of your hair?

What is the color of your eyes?

What is the color of your skin?

How tall are you?

These are all physical traits you INHERIT from your parents.

Other INHERITED PHYSICAL TRAITS that help animals survive are SPECIAL BODY PARTS. For example, long necks, claws, talons, beaks, webbed feet, sharp teeth, etc.

(still under construction)

Inherited Bird Adaptations

Feathers are an important adaptation for birds because without them they would not be able to fly.

Inherited Bird Adaptations - continued

Mammals also INHERIT physical adaptations to help them survive.

REVIEW

The long neck of the giraffe helps it reach the tree leaves that it eats.

Humans and other animals that have both eyes n front can tell how far away things are.

Fish have INHERITED physical adaptations, too. For example, a flounder is different from most other fish. Both of its eyes are on the same side of its flat body, the top side. This is an important adaptation because a flounder lives on the ocean floor, so an eye on the other side of its body would be covered with sand.

The crab-eating seal of the Antarctic does not actually eat crabs. Instead, it eats krill, which are small shrimplike arthropods. The teeth of the crab-eating seal are adapted so they can sift krill from the water. This feeding adaptation enables the seal to get enough food to survive.

Some fish and animals have an eye on each side of their head so they can see in two directions. This adaptation helps these animals be better aware of their surroundings, which is helpful if a predator is nearby.

The feathers of a duck or other waterfowl have a coating of oil that makes them waterproof.

The shape of a birds’ beak helps it get food. For example, finches eat mostly seeds. Their beaks are made for cracking the of shells of seeds. Herons have long, sharp beaks for spearing fish. Hummingbirds have long, narrow beaks so they can poke them into flowers to gather nectar.

The shape of a bird’s feet is important (i.e. talons, webbed). For example, talons help eagles and hawks grab fish or other prey they hunt, and webbed feet help ducks and other waterfowl move around in the water.

The color of a bird’s feathers can be used to help birds survive in a variety of ways. For example, male birds often have brighter color feathers so they can distract prey away from the female. The brightly colored birds of the rain forest can resemble flowers. And feather color can also act as camouflage.

Polar bears have thick coats of fur that keep them warm in their frozen climate. The fat they store helps them stay warm. Their sharp claws and teeth help them catch and eat food.

ANSWER: An adaptation can be an inherited physical trait. An adaptation is a body part or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment (i.e. obtain food, protect itself, move, or reproduce).

krill

Why might the adaptation of eyes on either side of its head be a good adaptation for an eagle?

crab-eating seal

Adaptations That Protect Animals

Adaptations That Protect Animals - continued

Math Connection: A jumping spider can leap as much as 40 times its own body length to catch its prey. How far can a spider whose body is 2 cm long jump?

What might happen to an animal if it cannot ADAPT to changes in its environment?

BRIGHT COLORS – Bright colors may warn predators that the animal is poisonous.

Math Connection: Hummingbird wings beat so fast (approximately 70 times per second) that they can hover like a helicopter. About how many times do hummingbirds beat their wings in one minute? One hour? One day?

Some birds inherit adaptations that help them hide from predators in the winter. Against the snow, the rock ptarmigan’s dark, summertime feathers would be easy for its enemies to see. But in cold weather, the rock ptarmigan sheds its darker feathers. It’s winter “outfit” is made of white feathers that blend in with the snow.

What ADAPTATIONS do you see on the following animals?

How do these ADAPTATIONS help these animals survive?

Body Coverings

CAMOUFLAGE: The color of animals can help them blend in with their environment.

Camouflage

What is the important information in this question that will help you solve the problem?

Colors

What type of problem is this – addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division? How do you know?

Mimicry

Answer:

80 cm

What is the answer to this question?

Answer:

1 minute – 70 x 60 = 4,200 times

1 hour – 4,200 x 60 = 252,000

1 day – 252,000 x 24 = 6,048,000

Special Abilities

Special Body Parts

STONE FISH

ANSWER: It might not survive.

Poison Dart Frogs

Blue-Ringed Octopus

Land Iquana

Box Jellyfish

The hairs of a polar bear’s thick fur are actually clear, not white. They allow light to get to the bear’s dark skin, helping the bear stay warm in the cold Arctic climate.

Some mammals have different coverings: the armadillo has plates and the porcupine has quills. These adaptations help these mammals to survive in the different conditions in which they live.

Amphibians have body coverings that protect them as well. Amphibians have moist, slick skin that is well suited for the water.

Take a look at these two butterflies. One is a Monarch and is poisonous and very nasty to eat. The other is a Viceroy and very tasty. If an animal eats a Monarch butterfly and HATES it, it will stay away from ALL butterflies that look like Monarchs. This helps the Viceroy survive because many animals mistake it for a Monarch.

Caterpillars – Most of us have seen caterpillars. They are green wiggly things that we see on leaves or trees, and they eventually turn into moths or butterflies. Sometimes they are cute, sometimes kind of slimy, but they are not really that scary. They look like they couldn't hurt anything . . . RIGHT? WELL . . . .

Snake Charmers--Or Fakers?

One of the snakes in the picture below is venomous and the other one is a mimic. Coral snakes are very easy to see because of their bright red, yellow, and black stripes. They are colored this way so that other animals know they are dangerous and will leave them alone. The Scarlet Kingsnake looks almost EXACTLY like the Coral snake, but it is perfectly harmless!

Can you guess which snake is the MIMIC?

Reptiles have tough, dry skin covered by scales. A reptile’s scales protect it from injury and from drying out. The scales on a snake overlap to form a smooth covering that helps the snake move.

MIMICRY – Have you ever been tricked by something that was fake? For examples, sometimes we might think sparkly jewels are diamonds, when they are really just glass. Animals can sometimes look like copies of other things. These "copycats" are called MIMICS. If insects or other less powerful animals can trick their predators into thinking they are a different animal by the sounds they make, or the colors on their body, they just might survive a little longer.

Birds also have a very protective covering . . . feathers. Feathers keep a bird warm in the winter, help it fly or swim, and help fan the bird in hot weather.

Let’s read about a very special bird called an ATLANTIC PUFFIN.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/atlanticpuffin/

BODY COVERINGS – Every animal’s body covering is an adaptation that helps it survive.

Body coverings help to protect animals in diverse environments -- from the land to water, from the arctic to the desert.

Mammals have hair, or fur, that helps insulate their bodies and it keeps them warm in winter. Hair can protect specific areas of the body, like eyelashes protecting the eyes.

Monarch Butterfly

Dolphins and other marine mammals have little hair on their bodies. This helps them glide through the water easily. Under their skin, these animals have layers of fat that help to keep them warm.

Coral snake

VICEROY MONARCH

Scarlet king snake

Let’s look at a really cool amphibian called a bullfrog. As you watch this little video, pay attention to all the really bizarre adaptations the bullfrog has to help it survive in its environment.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/actiongames/frog-flicker/

*Isn't this the scariest caterpillar you've ever seen?*

This caterpillar is not about to be killed or eaten. Its defense (adaptation) is to look like a SNAKE! That isn't a bad choice, because many animals are very afraid of snakes.

salamander

eyelashes

HINT -- "Red on yellow, kill a fellow. Red on black, won't hurt Jack."

alpaca

Brightly Colored Feathers - continued

Many fish are covered with scales. The scales help protect the fish from disease and from other animals that live in the water.

The scales of an iguana protect it from enemies and help it from losing body moisture.

Striped Fur -- Striped fur is one variation of a special adaptation called camouflage. Striped fur, in most cases, helps animals blend into their environment. This helps the animal in one of several ways, including hiding from predators and sneaking up on prey. Striped fur, as in the case of a tiger's vertical stripes, serves the animal by helping it match the surrounding vegetation, making it nearly invisible to other animals.

Insects, such as the cockroach, have coverings that enable them to squeeze into very small places. This allows them to find food and shelter.

Spotted Fur - Another adaptive type of body coloring is spotted fur. Spotted fur is similar to striped fur because it also serves as camouflage. Many animals with spotted fur live in heavily wooded forest areas. One example is the jaguar, which lives in the rain forest. The jaguar's spotted fur helps it blend in with the small patches of sun that reach the rain-forest floor. These patches, mixed in with the shade, produce an effect that highly resembles a jaguar's coat.

Scales - Scales mainly protect animals from the environment. For instance, anacondas and other snakes have scales to protect their bodies from the variety of terrain they encounter. In the case of the anaconda, its habitat is largely made up of water. In the case of other snakes, the climate may be dry and the land sandy and rocky; so they cannot afford to lose water from their body.

Brightly Colored Feathers

Found mostly in tropical rain forests, birds with brightly colored feathers are another example of an animal with an adaptive body covering. Brightly colored feathers can serve several purposes, including camouflage, defense, and mating.

The male peacock uses its bright feathers for attracting a mate. In contrast to the male, the female peafowl has very dull colored feathers. This feature, common among female birds of most species, helps females hide while guarding their nest and protecting their young.

Question: What are some different kinds of body coverings?

Special “Adaptations” Found on Body Coverings

In other animals, like the skunk, the stripes serve as a warning to predators. In this

way, the stripes serve as a defense mechanism.

Zebras inherit their striped pattern from their parents. Even their manes and tails are striped. But, no two zebras are exactly alike. The stripes help hide zebra babies in the middle of the herd where they will be safer from lions and other enemies. The stripes on baby zebras are sometimes brown and white. A zebra baby has very long legs - almost as long as its mother’s. The baby is able to stand shortly after it is born. Within an hour, the baby zebra can run fast enough to keep up with the herd.

Adaptations . . . Body Parts

Possible Answers: fur, hair, quills, plates, shells, feathers, scales

In some parts of the rain forest, the macaw and its brightly colored feathers can hide in the midst of similarly brightly colored plants and flowers.

Let’s take a “Peek at Parrots” to see just how much we know about these colorful birds of the rain forest.

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/1001/games/game_intro.html

Sharp Claws – Many land and sea animals have developed sharp claws. Sharp claws can be used for many different purposes. For instance, many herbivores use their sharp claws for digging for berries, roots, and herbs or burrowing for shelter.

Claws can also be used to increase traction to run faster, as in the case of the cheetah.

Sharp Teeth - One of the most visible adaptations on many animals is sharp teeth. Sharp teeth are found primarily on meat-eating animals, (carnivores), and are used for the tearing and chewing of an animal's prey.

Webbed Feet - Many aquatic animals have webbed feet. Webbed feet help animals propel themselves through the water with ease. This can help the animal swim faster to catch prey or escape a predator. Also, if an animal has to swim long distances, webbed feet can help it save energy so it can swim farther.

Did you know that a polar bear has slightly webbed feet?

Whiskers – Whiskers are an important adaptation that serve an important purpose for many animals. In most cases, whiskers around the face, specifically the mouth area, help the animal feel its way through tight spots. In a way, they serve as "feelers," telling the animal whether or not it can fit into a specific area. One example is that of the North American river otter, which can use its whiskers both on land and in water to feel its way through narrow channels and/or passageways.

Body Parts

Many animals have developed specific parts of the body to help them survive in their environment. Among these body parts are webbed feet, sharp claws, whiskers, sharp teeth, large beaks, wings, and hooves.

Animals that eat meat may use their claws for killing their prey or tearing meat from their kills.

Sharp claws can also be used in defense. For some animals, simply showing their claws is enough warning for their predators or competitors to back off.

Sharp teeth can also help animals defend themselves from their predators. In some animals, bearing a large set of sharp teeth can show power to create fear in the animal pursuing them.

webbed feet

sun bear claws

deer hooves

Whiskers are also useful to sense prey.

BRAINSTORM: Can you name some animals with webbed feet?

sharp teeth

wings

large beak

cat whiskers

ANTEATER

Below is a picture of a White-Tailed Sea Eagle using it’s wings and talons (claws) to catch a fish.

The hornbill is not the only bird that uses its large beak to scavenge for food. Other large-beaked scavengers include the . . . :

Birds are not the only animals with wings. Bats, (mammals), also have wing-like structures that help them fly. However, the wings of a bat are not really wings. Bat wings are structured much differently than the wings of birds. They are more similar to the hands of a human than the wings of a bird.

Let’s watch a short video about an Australian bat called a Black Flying Fox. As you watch, make a list of as many PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS you can see, or that you hear the narrator talk about.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/mammals-animals/bats/

Animal behaviors (instincts) are usually strategies for survival. For example, the flamingo’s behavior of tucking a leg close to its body and standing on the other one helps it conserve heat that would otherwise escape from the exposed leg.

Hooves - Hooves are another body part that are an important adaptation for many large animals. In most cases, animals with hooves use their specially adapted feet to maneuver in a rocky environment. Hooves protect the feet of these animals and allow for greater mobility than unprotected feet.

Inherited BEHAVIORS

(animal instincts)

On other birds, however, the large beak is used to tear meat, as in the case of the rhinoceros hornbill. The rhinoceros hornbill uses its large beak to tear meat off of an animal it scavenges -- usually the result of another animal's kill.

Wings/Flying - Wings are another highly visible adaptation on many animals. The primary function of wings is flight. Animals like the golden eagle and peregrine falcon can reach speeds up to and above 60 miles per hour in flight. This flight is used to attack its prey.

Large Beaks - Large beaks are often an adaptation used to help an animal eat. However, large (and often sharp) beaks can be a feature of both carnivores and herbivores. For instance, the large beak of the macaw (an herbivore) has been adapted to help it crack open large nuts to reach the sweet fruit and pulp inside.

Other birds, like the Micronesian kingfisher, do not reach the speeds of other birds, but still use their wings to travel from place to place.

Some animals with wings do not use their wings to fly at all. For example, the Humboldt penguin uses its wings as flippers to move through the water.

Ducklings, geese, and swans are born with the instinct to follow their mother. By staying close to her, they get the protection and food they need.

vulture

seagull

raven

CANADA SNOW GEESE MIGRATION

The Porcupine fish can puff up when it wants to scare away predators.

During the summer, garter snakes stay warm by basking in the sun. When the temperatures get colder, the snakes gather underground in large groups. During hibernation, the snakes move very little.

Many insects build nests (a behavioral adaptation) or cocoons (behavioral and structural adaptation) for the winter because their body coverings alone do not permit them to adjust to the cold. http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?n=21&ei=utf-8&vs=video.nationalgeographic.com&tnr=21&p=caterpillar+to+butterfly&vid=0001333029282&dt=1233561600&l=182&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fyts.video.search.yahoo.com%2Fimage%2F13D99FA21&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.nationa

Some hibernating animals conserve energy by slowing down their body functions. They spend most of the time sleeping. They move only occasionally to raise their body temperature or to eat. Other hibernating animals remain totally inactive. They get their energy from stored body fat.

Let’s watch a short video about BEAR hibernation.

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?n=21&ei=utf-8&vs=animal.discovery.com&tnr=20&p=animal+hibernation&vid=0001462755414&dt=1241492441&l=179&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fyts.video.search.yahoo.com%2Fimage%2F1b9516561&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fanimal.discovery.com%2Fvide

HUMPBACK WHALE MIGRATION

Migration of Monarch Butterfly

Monarch butterflies are not able to survive the cold winters of most of the United States so they migrate south and west each autumn to escape the cold weather. The monarch migration usually starts in about October of each year, but can start earlier if the weather turns cold sooner than that.

During the spring and summer, Canada geese live in Canada and the upper United States, including Alaska. Flocks of these geese migrate as far south as Mexico to escape cold winter weather and find food. Canada geese are adapted to fly as fast as 60 mph and as high as 8,000 feet.

Sometimes migrating animals face barriers. Some barriers are made by people. Migrating amphibians often must cross busy roads as they migrate to and from their breeding ponds. Others barriers are natural. White storks must cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to their winter homes in Africa.

HIBERNATION – Hibernation, like migration, is a natural behavior for some animals. It is an INSTINCT, which means it does not need to be learned. Hibernation is a state of inactivity that occurs in some animals when outside temperatures are cold.

Many animals have special behaviors and abilities that allow them to protect themselves from predators. For example, box turtles have a hard shell that protects them from predators (physical adaptation). But when a predator approaches, the box turtle can also hide in its shell (inherited behavior).

Monarch butterflies will spend their winter hibernation in Mexico and some parts of Southern California where it is warm all year long. If the monarch butterfly lives in the Eastern states, usually east of the Rocky Mountains, it will migrate to Mexico and hibernate in oyamel fir trees. If the monarch butterfly lives west of the Rocky Mountains, then it will migrate in and around Pacific Grove, California and hibernate in eucalyptus trees.

Migration – In places where winters are cold, many animals face a shortage of food for part of the year. Some insects and other invertebrates die. Others bury themselves until winter ends. Some animals deal with this food shortage by migrating. Migration is traveling in search of food or a place to reproduce. Migration is an INSTINCT; it is an inherited behavior that does not have to be learned.

Lots of different animals hibernate. Some warm-blooded animals that hibernate are badgers, hedgehogs bats, nighthawks, chipmunks, dormouse, prairie dogs, fat-tailed lemurs, raccoon, ground squirrels, skunks, hamsters, swifts, marmots, groundhogs, woodchucks, and bears. Some cold-blooded animals that hibernate are bees, earthworms, frogs, toads, lizards, mud turtles, snails, and snakes.

Monarch butterflies use the very same trees each and every year when they migrate, which seems odd because they aren’t the same butterflies that were there last year. So how do they know which trees are the right ones to hibernate in?

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/bugs-animals/butterflies-moths/butterfly_monarch.html

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/birds-animals/waders-and-waterfowl/goose_canada.html

CARIBOU MIGRATION

Question: What kinds of animals do you know of that migrate?

WILDEBEEST MIGRATION

dormouse

bats

BRAINSTORM: Talk with your tablemates. Make a list of instinct behaviors that you have observed animals in your backyard using.

Let’s watch a short video about a the horned lizard and its very unusual adaptation. As you watch, make a list of as many BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS you can see, or that you hear the narrator talk about.

Title of Video: “Freak of Nature: Blood-Squirting Lizard

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/mammals-animals/bats/

Some other BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS include a bee stinging its enemy and a skunk scaring off a predator by spraying a smelly spray.

Question: Name some adaptations that animals use to avoid predators?

Poison-dart frogs are small, ranging in size from 1 to 5 cm in length. Bright colors are easily seen in daylight and serve as a warning to potential predators, so frogs are able to hunt by daylight. Poison-dart frogs feed on ants, termites, and other organisms found in the leaf litter of South American rain forests. Many indigenous tribes have used the poison from these frogs to coat the tips of darts and arrows.

QUESTION: What is an instinct?

Question: What is one adaptation that a cat has to help it catch prey?

QUESTION: How do the instincts of migration and hibernation help animals survive?

DRAW A CONCLUSION: Do you think that an animal born in a zoo would still have INSTINCT behaviors? Explain.

Many animals have a very clever inherited behavior (adaptation) included in their body coverings -- cells that sense light and pigments that allow them to change colors in order to hide (camouflage) themselves from predators. For example, lets look at this video that shows an octopus camouflaging itself as a plant.

POISON DART FROGS

Another poison-packing amphibian is the poison-dart frog, which lives in South American rain forests. The bright colors of this frog warn predators, “look out I’m dangerous.” Although each frog is just a few centimeters long, it produces enough poison to kill a human being.

The hedgehog rolls into a ball when it is in danger. Its spines are hairs that form a prickly protection.

Protected by Poison:

Some frogs and toads have interesting adaptations that protect them from predators. The European green toad has a poison gland behind each eye. When this gland is pressed, such as when a predator tries to bite the toad’s head, it squirts poison.

Possible Answers:

• hard shells
• spiny skins
• stingers
• claws
• bitter-tasting skin
• smelly or poisonous sprays

POSSIBLE ANSWERS –

• birds building nests
• spiders spinning webs
• cats hunting prey
• squirrels gathering acorns

Possible Answers:

• claws
• stealth (sneaking up on prey)
• speed

ANSWER: An instinct is a behavior an organism inherits from its parents.

ANSWER:

Migration: The instinct of the migration tells some animals to move to a warmer climate where more food is available.

Hibernation: When the weather gets cold, some animals hibernate, allowing body functions to slow down to the animals needs less energy to stay alive.

ANSWER: Yes, because instinct behaviors are INHERITED from parents.

Octopus Mimicry – Windows Media Player -- Go to “Computer” / Fourth Grade Share Folder/ Right Click on “Cephalopod, master of camouflage”/ Click on “Open with” and then click on “Windows Media Player”.

For slow motion of octopus go to “Computer”/ Fourth Grade Share folder/ Right Click on “Octopus Camouflage” /Click on “Open with” and then click on “Windows Media Player”

Young chimpanzees learn foraging (looking for food) and social behavior from watching their mothers and other members of their group.

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701&p=chimpanzees&vid=0001910306017&dt=1270861289&l=180&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fyts.video.search.yahoo.com%2Fimage%2F36422ae11&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdsc.discovery.com%2Fvideos%2Flife-filming-chimpanzees.htm

BEAR CUBS learn to fish and hunt by watching their parents. The cubs watch their mother wade into streams to grab fish.

At SeaWorld, killer whale calves continually follow their mothers and try to imitate everything they do. By a calf's first birthday, it may have learned more than a dozen behaviors just by mimicking its mother.  

A baby black rhino relies on its mother's protection until it is completely weaned. This close tie between mother and baby allows young rhinos to learn defense and foraging behavior.  

Trial and error plays a major role in how animals behave, and the behaviors they learn develop slowly. Over long periods of time, the animal interacts with its environment and learns which behaviors work and which do not.

An animal can learn to do only what it is physically capable of doing. For example, a dolphin can't learn to ride a bicycle because it has no legs to work the pedals and no fingers to grasp the handle bars.

OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

Animals often learn by watching other animals. This is called Observational learning and it can occur with no outside help. The animal simply learns by observing and mimicking.   

PARENTS TEACH OFFSPRING

Many animals learn to get food by watching (observing) their parents. Lion cubs learn to pounce on its prey by pouncing on its mother’s twitching tail.

If an environment changes, an animal's behaviors may no longer help it survive. Therefore, in order to survive, the animal is forced to learn new behaviors.

Learned Behaviors

HOW ANIMALS LEARN

Not all behaviors come by instinct. Some behaviors develop as a result of training (learning) or changes in experience. Young animals learn many things by observing their parents and other adult animals.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

One of the simplest types of learning is called classical conditioning, and one of the best known examples of classical conditioning is Pavlov's experiments on dogs. Russian behaviorist Ivan Pavlov noticed that the smell of meat made his dogs drool. He began to ring a bell just before introducing his dogs to the meat. After repeating this several times, Pavlov rang the bell without introducing the meat, but the dogs still drooled when they heard the bell. Over time, the dogs associated the sound of the bell with the smell of food. The bell became the stimulus that caused the drooling.

So far we have talked about the following types of ADAPTATIONS:

• Inherited Physical Traits
• Inherited Behaviors

And now we are going to talk about LEARNED BEHAVIORS

Brainstorm: With your tablemates, brainstorm a few ways an environment might change and how that change might cause an animal to learn new behaviors.

Seal learning tricks from Sea World trainer.

Chimpanzees are one of the few species that learn to use tools. They learn that when they insert a stick into an ant or termite mound, a favorable result occurs: they can more easily reach the tiny insects.

This killer whale is learning by observing and mimicking its trainer.

Animal trainers also apply the principles of operant conditioning. When an animal performs a behavior that the trainer wants, the trainer gives a favorable consequence.

REVIEW

Humans learn in the same way. We learn that when we push the power button on the remote control, the television comes on, and when we put coins into a vending machine, a snack comes out.  

OFFSPRING TEACH PARENTS

Scientists have learned that animal parents often learn from their young. For example, monkeys teach other monkeys what they’ve learned. This was discovered when scientists dropped sweet potatoes near the home of a group of monkeys. The potatoes landed in sand. The monkeys liked the potatoes, but they did not like the sand that stuck to the potatoes. One of the younger monkeys found that she could wash the sand off in a nearby stream. She taught other monkeys how to wash the sand off too.

LEARNED AND INHERITED

Some behaviors are partly inherited and partly learned. The white-crowned sparrow inherited the ability to recognize the song its species sings. But, learning to sing the song is not inherited. Scientists found that young sparrows that were separated from their parents never learned to sing the complete song.

QUESTION: What is an example of learned behavior in humans?

QUESTION: Explain the difference between instinct and learned behavior.

QUESTION: Why does a young sparrow separated from parents never learn the entire song?

QUESTION: How do hibernating animals conserve energy?

Resources:

• Scott Foresman Science
• Harcourt Science
• http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/training/animal-behavior-&-learning.htm
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/birds-animals/parrots-hummingbirds/hummingbirds.html
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/birds-animals/birds-of-prey/osprey.html
• http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/actiongames/frog-flicker/
• http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/1001/games/game_intro.htm
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/birds-animals/waders-and-waterfowl/goose_canada.html
• http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?n=21&ei=utf-8&vs=animal.discovery.com&tnr=20&p=animal+hibernation&vid=0001462755414&dt=1241492441&l=179&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fyts.video.search.yahoo.com%2Fimage%2F1b9516561&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fanimal.discovery.com%2Fvide
• http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701&p=chimpanzees&vid=0001910306017&dt=1270861289&l=180&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fyts.video.search.yahoo.com%2Fimage%2F36422ae11&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdsc.discovery.com%2Fvideos%2Flife-filming-chimpanzees.htm

OPERANT CONDITIONING

In operant conditioning, a behavior is learned by the consequences that follow. Therefore, a behavior will happen either more or less often depending on if the results were good or bad. For example, when an animal performs a particular behavior that produces a favorable result (like the bear catching the fish), the animal is likely to repeat the behavior.

Humans inherit the ability to learn much more than animals. For example, humans inherit the ability to learn language. But we are not born speaking Spanish, English, or Chinese. We must learn the words used in our language.

Animals learn by operant conditioning every day. For example, woodpeckers find insects to eat by pecking holes in trees with their beaks. So, if one day a woodpecker finds a certain tree that has an abundant supply of the bird's favorite bugs, the woodpecker is likely to return to that tree again and again.  

THE END

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

• Reading
• Swimming
• Talking
• Learn languages
• Walking

ANSWER:

• Instinct is behavior an animal inherits from its parents (the animal is born knowing this behavior).
• Learned behavior comes from observation and experience.

ANSWER: They conserve energy by slowing down their body functions or remaining totally inactive.

ANSWER: Bird songs are partly inherited and partly learned.