Adaptation

How adaptation works

Adaptation is caused by evolution. Evolution is a process of change which makes plants and animals more able to survive in the habitat they live in. These websites have more information about how adaptation works.

Britannica School

This is part of the EPIC databases. EPIC is a collection of reliable databases covering lots of different topics. It's put together especially for New Zealand school students and helps to answer questions like this.

• Select a level eg Primary.

• Do a keyword search eg adaptation.

• Select the link called adaptation.

• You can also choose the type of resource by selecting one of the buttons on the left of the screen.

Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.

Crash Course Kids - YouTube

This is an educational YouTube channel with short videos about lots of science topics.

• Go to Playlists or look down the page to find the playlist Life Science: Ecosystems and Flow of Energy.

• Watch the video Living Things Change: Crash Course Kids #41.1.

• This video talks about how living things change because of their environment.

Tips: You will find a huge selection of videos on YouTube. We recommend you view videos from reliable sources like National Geographic, History Channel, BBC etc. These are official channels from trusted organisations.

National Geographic Education

The National Geographic website also has information about adaptation with examples too.

• In the search box enter the keyword 'adaptation'.

• Select the article called Adaptation and Survival or West African Lungfish.

• Or explore any of the other articles or videos.

Tips: Search words, or keywords, are the most important words in our question. Usually it’s better to leave out small words like ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘of’ and just choose the main ones, eg adaptation. We can always change our keywords or add more if we need to.

Plant & animal adaptation

Adaptations are special features that help plants and animals to live in a particular environment. These websites have information about plant and animal adaptation.

Science Trek

Science Trek has been set up to introduce primary aged students to science topics. Articles and videos have been put together by education specialists.

• Go to Topics at the top of the page.

• Under Animals, find Animal Adaptation.

• Watch the different videos about animal and plant adaptations.

• Or read about different types of adaptations further down the page.

Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company’s mission and values are.

kidcyber

This is a kids' website which has useful information about plant and animal adaptation.

• Select Animals.

• Choose Adaptation.

Tips: Some websites have advertisements (or ads) which ask us to buy something or tell us to ‘click here’. It’s best to ignore these ads and focus on the information we’re looking for.

Adaptation in New Zealand

If you are looking for information on how different plants and animals have adapted to live in New Zealand's unique environment, then the following websites are useful.

Science Learning Hub

This is an excellent website to look at for the answers to all kinds of scientific questions. There are articles, activities and videos.

• Go to Concepts and choose Adaptation.

• This will bring up articles, videos and more.

• Select Primary to find the articles eg Native bird adaptations and The uniqueness of New Zealand plants.

Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about New Zealand Aotearoa. If we look down to the bottom of the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

• Select The Bush option in the Sections box.

• Choose Understanding the Natural World.

• Select Evolution of Plants and Animals.

• Remember to look at the other pages in the story for more information.

Department of Conservation

The Department of Conservation (DOC for short) is the government website about preserving the natural and historical sites of New Zealand. You can see it’s a government site by looking at the About us or Contact links at the top of the page.

• Go to the Nature menu at the top of the page.

• Select Habitats to find an article about Alpine habitats which covers the adaptations plants and animals need to live in that environment.

• Or, to find out about individual plants and animals, choose Native animals or Native plants.

• Then select an animal or plant to find out more about it.

Tips: We like sites like this because they’re reliable. You can tell because of their web address – they have either .govt or .ac, meaning they are from government or educational organisations. They’re also New Zealand sites, so relevant for us.

Books

There are a number of books about adaptation, have a look in your local public or school library to see what they have.

Some suggested titles are:

• Stinky skunks and other animal adaptations by Anna Claybourne.

• A home for every plant : wonders of the botanical world by Matthew Biggs.

• Pretty tricky : the sneaky ways plants survive by Etta Kaner.

• Wild scientists : how animals and plants use science to survive by Steve Mould.

• Superpowered animals by Soledad Romero Mariño.

SCIS no: 1888925