Class-6 science Ch-Living organisms and their surroundings SUB TOPIC-ADAPTATIONS Habitat is the place where a plant or animal

lives is called habitat. Habitat can be divided into two main groups i) Terrestrial habitat: land based ii) Aquatic habitat: water based Habitat includes interaction between the biotic and abiotic components of the environment Biotic component: living things in a habitat eg plants,animals ,microorganism Abiotic components: non living things eg soil, air ,rocks , water, sunlight, temp. etc. ADAPTATIONS The presence of specific body features which enables a plant or an animal to live in a particular habitat is called adaptation A)Terrestrial habitat: (a) Desert (b) Mountain region (c) Forest

a)

DESERT
i) ANIMALS 1)Desert animals such as desert rat and desert snakes survive by living in burrows during hot day time. They come out of the burrows only during cool night in search of food. 2) these animals pass out very small amount of urine and hence conserve water in their body. In this way they are adapted to cope up with lack of water. ii) PLANTS Cactus : the adaptations which help the cactus plants to survive in hot and dry climate are: (a) Plants have modified their leaves in the form of thin spines to reduce the loss of water through transpiration (b) Photosynthesis is carried out by the green stem. (c) Stems store water and is covered with thick waxy layer to prevent the loss of water. (d) Cactus plants have long roots to absorb water form a larger area.

b) MOUNTAIN REGION
i)Adaptations in plants (a) The tree in mountain habitats are cone shaped having sloping branches. This shape of mountain trees makes the rainwater and snow to slideoff easily without damaging leaves and branches (b) Small needle like leaves prevent the loss of water in windy condition which help the mountain tree to survive in winter when the soil water is frozen in the form of ice and not available to the roots (c) Needle like leaves have a thick waxy layer to reduce the loss of water through transpiration ii)Adaptations in Animals Climate : Extreme cold conditions A] Yak : long hair on their body to protect them from cold by keeping them warm. B] Mountain Goat : 1] Long hair to protect it from cold 2] Strong hooves for running up the rocky slopes of mountains for grazing. C] Snow Leopard : 1] Thick fur to protect it from cold. 2] Thick layer of fat beneath its skin for insulation to protect it from 3] Rounded body and small ears to reduce the heat loss from the body.

cold

c) Forests or Grasslands :

Area of land with trees and covered mainly plants.

i) Adaptation in Lion 1] Long , strong and sharp claws in its front legs to catch its prey.

2] The lion has eyes in front of its head which enable it to have a correct idea of the location of its prey. This helps in catching the prey. 3] Lion is light brown in colour. The light brown colour helps the lion to hide in dry grasslands [with out being noticed] when it hunts for prey. ii) Adaptation in Deer 1] The deer has eyes on the sides of its head which enable it to see in all directions at the same time. 2] Big ears for good hearing to hear the movement of predators. 3] Deer is fast an agile animal. The speed of deer help it to run away from the predators which try to catch it. 4] The brown colour of deer helps it to hide in dry grassland without being noticed by lion. 5] The deer has strong teeth for chewing hard plant stems of the forests.

B) Aquatic Habitat
Important aquatic habitats are : i)Oceans ii)Ponds a) Sea animals: 1. Sea animals have streamlined bodies to help them move in sea water. 2. Most of the sea animals have gills which enable them to use oxygen dissolved in water for breathing whereas Dolphins and whales breathe in air through nostrils which are located on the upper parts of their heads. b) Aquatic plants: 1. Aquatic plants have very short and small roots whose main function is to hold the plant in place. 2. The stems of aquatic plants are soft,hollow and light having large spaces. 3. The submerged aquatic plants have narrow and ribbon like leaves which bend in the flowing water of rivers and streams and hence do not obstruct the flow of water c)Animals adapted to live in water and on land : Frogs are adapted to live in water as well as on land Frogs have webbed back feet which help them to swim in water Frogs have strong back legs for hopping and catching their prey.