what are some difference between habitats and adaptations
Answers
The sea and the desert are very different surroundings and we find very different kind of plants and animals in these two regions. Let us look at two very different kinds of organisms from the desert and the sea – a camel and a fish.
The body structure of a camel helps it to survive in desert conditions. Camels have long legs which help to keep their bodies away from the heat of the sand. They excrete small amount of urine, their dung is dry and they do not sweat. Since camels lose very little water from their bodies, they can live for many days without water.
There are so many kinds of fish, but all of them have the same shallow streamlined body so they can swim easily. Fish have slippery scales on their bodies that protect the fish and also help in easy movement through water. Fish have flat fins and tails that help them to change directions and keep their body balance in water. Gills present in the fish help them to use oxygen dissolved in water. Fishes have the ability to live in salt water of the sea as well as in fresh water of the ponds.
We see that the features of a fish help it to live inside water and the features of a camel help it to survive in a desert. We have taken only two examples from a very wide variety of animals and plants that live on the Earth. In all this variety of organisms, we will find that they have certain features that help them live in the surroundings in which they are normally found, be it very cold or hot climates and surroundings. The presence of specific features or certain habits, which enable a plant or an animal to live in its surroundings, is called adaptation. Different animals are adapted to their surroundings in different ways.
Adaptation does not take place in a short time. It takes thousands of years for living beings to adapt to its habitat. Those animals which cannot adapt to these changes die out, and only the adapted ones survive. Animals adapt to different conditions in different ways. The result is variety of organisms present in different habitats.
The term habitat refers to the surroundings where organisms live. The organisms depend for their food, water, air, shelter and other needs on their habitat. Habitat means a dwelling place (a home). Habitat includes both living and non-living components. Several kinds of plants and animals may share the same habitat. Plants and animals have different features that help them to survive in their own habitat