Process of Adaptation of Animal Species

The dictionary defines ‘adaptation’ as the ability of a species to survive in a particular ecological niche, especially because of alterations of form or behavior brought about through natural selection, or put simply: the action or process of adapting or being adapted. So, how do the organisms adapt to their environments? And, how does animal adaptation and plant adaptation differ from one another? In this comparison, I will be using the penguin as an example of how animal adaptation is done, and the Joshua Tree will be used as an example of how plant adaptation is done. Firstly, plants & animals adapt differently to their environment. In fact, all different types of living things have their own way to adapt to its environment. For example, penguins live on pack ice, islands & remote continental regions. Another example is how they keep themselves away from certain temperatures to live on. The Joshua tree lives in the Mohave high desert, with its unique & moderate weather patterns due to its low desert neighbours. The penguins live warm by keeping high body temperatures, thick skin, and lots of fats under their skin, so that they’ll stay warm, even when in cold weather. While the Joshua tree protects itself from the sun with the dead leaves collect against the trunk of the trees, and prevents losing water by having thick and waxy skins. Secondly, let’s talk about their special features that separate themselves from one another. The penguin can swim, walk around, and fly.

Their wings are tuned into flippers, and each flipper is covered with short & sace-like feathers, that balance the flexibility when swimming through water. Its mouth is lined with horny, rear-directed spines to aid in swallowing live prey. Penguins have different colours of eyes (brown, reddish-brown, golden-brown, red, bluish-gray, yellow).It has a complex root system that includes deep & shallow roots, that can reach the depths of 10-30 feet & collects water that is hardly accessible. It has creamy-yellow or green flowers, that create an unpleasant smell, unlike most flowers who attract the insects. The Joshua Tree can live up to a thousand years, but if it lives in the wild, it would usually live 150-200 years. Thirdly, let’s talk about the characteristics of these organisms. The size of a penguin is 1 to 41 kg, standing at 41 to 1.1m tall. Its body is adapted to swim, with a large head, short neck, flippers & an elongated body. Its legs are short & strong, with webbed feet & visible claws. The Joshua Tree can grow 15-40 feet (height), and 1-3 feet (diameter). It likes dry soils on plains, slopes & mesas, often growing in groves. Its fruit is elliptical & s coloured green-brown. The fruit is 2.5 to 4 inches, six-celled, and dries & falls soon after it matures in late spring, revealing lots of flat seeds. I’ve learned about the many special features of these organisms, and understand how these organisms manage to survive and live on in their environment. My favourite fact about the Joshua Tree was that it could live up to a thousand years, which was very surprising. And this was my comparison on how animals and plants do adaptation.