Habitats and adaptations
The idea
A habitat provides conditions and resources an organism uses. An adaptation is an inherited characteristic that can support survival and reproduction in a particular environment. Organisms do not simply choose useful inherited traits when they need them.
Worked example
A cactus’s features can help it conserve water in dry conditions. These features developed across generations; a single plant does not decide to grow an inherited adaptation because the weather changes.
Another application
A duck’s webbed feet help with movement through water. A duck moving into shade on a hot day is a behavior. Both relate to environmental conditions, but they describe different kinds of response.
A common misunderstanding
An adaptation is not a deliberate choice made by an individual organism. Separate inherited traits from short-term responses and learned behavior.
Try it yourself
Compare two habitats using temperature, water, shelter, and food. Choose an organism and explain how one feature relates to its environment.
Check your understanding
Does a habitat include only an animal’s shelter?
Reveal the explained answer
No. It includes the broader environment and resources the organism uses.