Adaptation
* All adaptations are physical characteristics
  - help organisms survive in their ecological niches
* Continues Over more millions of years the animal gets longer, thinner, and faster.
* IS part of evolution.
* Many adaptations develop long after birth.
* Most adaptations are complex, making understanding the process of adaptation difficult.
* Some adaptations are defense mechanisms which can give the prey an advantage against enemies
  - so opportune that some species from way back are still living today
  - help plants and animals get food, water, and oxygen
  - serve to discourage predators and parasites
* allow organisms to succeed.
* allows for the diverse biota found in given sets of conditions.
* also depends on the size of a spot of light shown on the retina in a complex way
  - help the observer determine an animal's diet
* are approaches by animals or any organism to live or survive in a specific condition
  - dependent on the environment
  - how an animal is built, or how it behaves, that help it to survive
  - inherited traits from the parents that help a species survive
  - physical characteristics or behaviors that help a plant or animal survive
  - slow changes in response to pressures from outside the organism
  - special features that allow a plant to live in a particular place or habitat
* are the complement of traits that increases the fitness of the owner
  - most important features of all organisms
  - result of evolution
* are traits giving an organism an advantage in a certain environment
  - that affect an organisms ability to survive and reproduce
* become more common by evolution.
* can be a body part or a behavior that help an animal survive
  - on a molecular level, like a change in DNA, or they can be behavioral
  - physical, behavioral, or mental
  - structural, physiological or behavioural
  - help organisms survive without light or under extreme pressure
  - protect animals from predators or from harsh weather
* change in function that promotes survival and self-actualization.
* common property of many sensory receptors.
* consists of the gene transcription and translation processes.
* contribute to diversity in species.
* decreases the actual number of sensory messages sent to the brain.
* describes the changing traits that enable reptiles to live in their environments.
* differ depending on what environment an animal lives in.
* dynamic process of mutual influence.
* enable an organism to survive and reproduce in their habitat
  - species to maintain homeostasis, avoid predators, find and eat food, and move
* help an animal to survive so that it can reproduce
  - organism survive
* help animals move, stay warm and find food, water and shelter in their environments
  - warm, and find food, water and shelter
  - survive in their environment
  - to find and eat food, to avoid predators, to move, and to reproduce
  - polar bears survive in the wild
* here change of behavior in a simulated environment.
* is about changing our way of life to cope with an increase in the global temperature
  - responding to change
  - alteration
  - always adaptation to an environment
  - an important approach for protecting ecological, social and economic systems
  - another key factor in survival
  - any heritable trait that increases the organisms chance to survive
* is associated with having relatively few thoughts of either extreme type
  - the reversible methylation of four transmembrane receptors
  - change in species, a result of the mutation of many individuals of that species
  - considered to take place in one biological and three psychosocial modes
  - crucial to the process of natural selection
  - evolutionary change that improves the chances of survival and reproductive success
  - how groups of plants evolve over time to survive different environments
  - never more important than when the environment changes
* is one of the basic phenomena of biology
  - characteristic features of life
  - hallmarks of Australian native flora
  - major ways new species evolve
  - mechanisms of evolution
  - most overused terms in biology
  - physical events
  - powered by natural selection
  - process resulting from two components, selection and genetic variation
  - regulated through the endocrine system
  - relatively slight in animals that live in caves for short periods of time
  - seen from chemical environments to disease to frogs
* is the act of adjusting to environmental conditions over a period of time
  - bending a structure to fit a new hole
  - adjustment of animals and plants to their environment
  - condition of organisms being well designed for life in their environments
  - fulfillment of human needs, including our own
  - genetic change in a population caused by natural selection
  - key idea in explanation of the ecological relationship of animals to their niche
* is the key to health, happiness and life itself
  - parasite success
  - survival for any butterfly
  - law of the animal world
  - phenomenon most usually considered as the main effect of selection
* is the process of building schemas through direct interaction with the environment
  - learning from the environment and adjusting to changes within it
  - result of natural selection
  - temporal change in the decision strategies used by decision makers
  - what keeps everything in harmony
* living things adapt to their environment.
* makes organisms more suited to the environment in which they live.
* matter of life and death.
* means nothing more than the result of natural selection.
* natural process that occurs for every type of organism.
* occur because of genetic mutations
  - slowly through evolution and are irreversible
  - through natural selection
  - when the ecology alters and directs the change in traits in species over time
* occurs as adaptive responses promote integrity and wholeness
  - because reproductive success is connected to an individual's genotype
* occurs in individual organisms as well as in species
  - most sense receptors
  - through the slow process of evolution
  - when living things change in response to their environment
  - with increase of frequency of the best suited phenotypes
* plant or animal that is fitted to live under certain condition.
* plays a significant role in human evolution.
* proc- ess in which a sense organ gradually ceases to respond to a constant stimulus.
* process of responding positively to environmental changes
  - seeking a maximum level of human functioning
* really means responding to change in order to survive and prosper better.
* refers mainly to changes that occur over generations under constant exposure to a stress
  - to the process of adjusting thinking to the environment
* result from the operation of natural selection.
* serves to extinguish symptoms of dizziness provoked by motion or visual stimulation.
* tend to be about finding prey, escaping from predators, or reproduction
  - reflect the past life of a species
* usually develop in response to a change in the organisms habitat.
* very important aspect of normal healthy vision.
+ Adaptation, Ecological niches
  * All adaptations help organisms survive in their ecological niches. This implies an increase in biological fitness.
+ Adaptation, Functions of adaptations, Adaptations with multiple functions
  * Many adaptations serve more than one function. This is often the reason some traits become so noticeable that they almost define the species concerned. The antlers of male deer serve a sexual function as well as a defence against predators. Man's large brain serves not only for language, but also for thinking and problem-solving
  - Compromise and conflict between adaptations
  * Adaptations are never perfect. There are always tradeoffs between the various functions and structures in a body. It is the organism as a whole which lives and reproduces, therefore it is the complete set of adaptations which gets passed on to future generations
  - Traits with no function
  * Adaptations tend to reflect the past life of a species. If a species has recently changed its life style, a once valuable adaptation may become a dwindling vestige. Animals which live in dark caves often lose, over a long period, their colours and eyesight
  - General principles: Evolutionary biology :: Ecology
  * Adaptation is, first of all, a 'process', rather than a physical part of a body
+ Evolution, Darwin's theory, Adaptation, Limitations
  - Adaptation: History of science
  * Adaptation is one of the basic phenomena of biology. Evolutionary adaptation is a phenomenon of pervasive importance in biology. Through the process of adaptation, an organism becomes better suited to its habitat
+ Natural selection: Evolution :: Metaphors referring to nature
  * This is true even with children of the same parents. Some of these differences might make one organism better at surviving and reproducing than others in a particular habitat. When this organism reproduces, it passes along the genes, which gave it the advantage, to its children. Some adaptations are extremely long-lasting, useful in many habitats. The evolution of wings in birds is an example. Others are good only as long as the environment stays the same. If the environment changes enough, then another organism might do better.