What are adaptations ? Discess any four adaptations found in plants and animals.

Explanation

Any attribute of the organism (morphological ,physiological or behavioral) that enables the organism to survive and reproduce in its habitat is called adaptation.
Many adaptations have evolved over a long evolutionary time and are genetically controlled its survival.
Some of the examples of adaptations are given below:
(a) In the absence of external water, the kangraoo rat in North Amercian desserts is capable of meeting all its water requirements through its internal fat oxidation ,in which water is a by product.
Also it can concentrate its urine to minimal volume .
(b) Mammals living in colder climates have shortes ears and limbs to minimize of heat loss .This is called Allen 's Rule . heat.
(c) Aquatic mammals like seals living in polar seas have a thick layer of fat (Blubber ) below their skin that acts as an insulator and reduces loss of body heat.(d)
Fishes thriving in Antartic waters where the temperature us below zero degrees ,have an array of biochemical adaptations to such extreme environments.
(e) Dessert plants posses the following adaptations: 1 Thick cuticule on their leaf surface.
2 Posses sunken stomata.
3 They have a special photosynthesis pathway i.e ., CAM pathway that enables their stonata to remain closed during day time .
4 In opuntita, the leaves are reudced to spines and the photosynthetic function are taken over by the flatted stems,
(f) Archaebacteria have adapations to survive at temperatures more than 100@C.
(g) When human beings go from plants to high altitudes (>350m) [e.g : Rohtang pass] they experience altitude sickness,due to the low atmoshpheric pressure and reduced oxygen availability. They develop symptoms like fatigue, nausea and heart palpitations .
But graudually the body gets adjusted by increasing red blood cell production, decrasing bind capacity of haemoglobin and increasing the breathing rate.