Fascinating Fact:
Behavioural adaptations include actions like migration, hibernation, and hunting at night, which help organisms avoid danger or find food and mates.
In GCSE Biology, adaptations for survival explain how organisms are suited to their environments. You learn how structural features, such as thick fur or streamlined bodies, behavioural patterns, such as migration or courtship displays, and functional changes, such as antifreeze proteins in fish or concentrated urine in desert animals, all increase chances of survival and successful reproduction. The topic links closely to competition, ecosystems, and natural selection.
Key Terms
- Adaptation: A feature of an organism that makes it better suited to its environment and improves its chances of survival and reproduction.
- Structural adaptation: A physical feature of the body, such as fur thickness, body shape, or leaf size, that helps an organism survive.
- Behavioural adaptation: A pattern of behaviour, such as hunting at night or living in groups, that helps an organism obtain resources or avoid danger.
Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)
What does adaptation mean in GCSE Biology?
In GCSE Biology, adaptation means any inherited feature, structural, behavioural, or functional, that helps an organism survive and reproduce better in its particular environment.
What are examples of adaptations for survival?
Examples include thick blubber in polar mammals for insulation, spines and water storage in cacti, camouflage in insects, and hunting at night to avoid heat or predators.
How are adaptations linked to natural selection?
Individuals with adaptations that give an advantage are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass those features on. Over many generations this process leads to natural selection.
Try These Related Quizzes
You should have quickly discounted the first and fourth options, the difficulty is then choosing between the two remaining possibilities. This question is about the benefit ( in other words, the end result) of camouflage.
The advantage of camouflage is that it enables an animal to blend into its surroundings. That's not the end of the story. The benefit of this to a predator is that it can get closer to its prey with less chance of being spotted, giving the predator a greater chance of a successful hunt. If the prey is camouflaged, it is harder for a predator to spot it, increasing its survival chances.
The correct answer is therefore option 3. Always remember to think about what the question is actually asking you.