In textbooks, adaptation, specifically biological adaptation, is usually defined as the method an organism adopts to better survive in its environment and reproduce. In scholarly papers, however, adaptation isn’t always as simple as that. An adaptation can be a structure that gives advantage to an organism over other similar organisms, or a behavior that helps the organism survive in its environment against predators. Sometimes even the adaptation itself wasn’t originally intended for its current biological role, or how it is used in the organism’s environment; this adaptation is sometimes called preadaptation (Kardong, 2006). Because it is difficult to identify which structures are adaptations and which are preadaptations, there is much controversy over the subject in the scholarly world. Often it is helpful to study these adaptations in ancient animals, but as most of these are extinct, scientists can only gather information from their close relatives, and even these aren’t conclusive enough.
For a structure to have a biological role in an organism, it must serve some purpose in the organism. For a biological adaptation to be considered as such, it must have some value in the organism in terms of survival against predators or production of offspring. While some structures are already adapted to their environment and biological roles, other structures can further adapt to changes in their environment through repeated stimuli. For example, bone in vertebrates is adapted to support and protect vertebrate organs, but it can also grow and remodel itself after mechanical wear and tear (Fratzl & Weinkamer, 2011). The continued, repetitive remodeling of bone improves it performance and further enforces and enhances its biological role. ...
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...mparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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Describe the microscopic features of osseous tissue that help long bones withstand compressive forces without breaking.
Bone homeostasis occurs when the bones are being “remodelled” or it is also known as “bone metabolism” this is the process in which new bone is created and the old bone which was there was removed, it is more common to see this process in younger growing children or adults who have broken any bones.
Haller (1763) injected a clear fluid into the periosteum showing that “the origin of bone is the artery carrying the blood and in it the mineral elements” putting forward the idea that the cardiovascular system was responsible for bone formation. This was supported by the previous work of Hunter (1754)
Adaptation is a process where an animal or plant goes through a genetic mutation so it can be better fitted in the environment. An example of adaptation are the plants that live in hot and dry deserts. The plants have to go through a mutation where it is able to adapt to the hot climate. The plants are able to adapt in the desert because the plants
Arizona Science Center. (2011, February 1). Busy Bones. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved November 10, 2017 from http://askabiologist.asu.edu/bone-healing
... bone to ease the process of bone replacement surgeries to reach that next step. The research conducted recently with wood, sea ice, styrofoam, and the inkjet printer are not currently being used to replace entire bones. These items are not thought to be used for years to come, however, advancing to this level of recreation of human bone is forward progress for replacement surgeries.
Natural selection is a key part of nature and determines which animals thrive. Natural selection is the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive just and produce more offspring. Some examples of animals who adapted to their environment by natural selection are finches and tortoises. In 1831,Charles Darwin set off on a five year voyage. After looking along the coasts of South America, the ship stopped at Galapagos Islands. During his stay on the islands, he observed the finches and tortoises on each island. He noticed that the finches and tort...
According to Darwin and his theory on evolution, organisms are presented with nature’s challenge of environmental change. Those that possess the characteristics of adapting to such challenges are successful in leaving their genes behind and ensuring that their lineage will continue. It is natural selection, where nature can perform tiny to mass sporadic experiments on its organisms, and the results can be interesting from extinction to significant changes within a species.
The Galapagos Islands, located about 600 miles west of continental Ecuador, contain a rich history of settlement and exploration and represent a living example of evolution that is still relevant today. For centuries, this chain of volcanic islands has been used uniquely by various cultures based off distinct needs. What has remained the same however is the fact that island isolation has forced many animal and plant species to adapt differently from one another based off their island’s environmental conditions, creating a living model of microevolution over time. Today, these models tend to be the primary resources used by biology professors when teaching their students evolutionary topics.
Adaptation is considered as a characteristic that increases the survival or reproduction rate of an organism. These traits or characteristics could be examined under natural selection or as a feature that is best fit to survive during evolution. An example of adaptation could be seen in the rainbow trout. They are known for using hormone regulation, migration and specific mechanisms to help them survive. Such features are known for increasing their ability to survive and adapt when migrating to and fro different environmental conditions. In this paper, some of these mechanisms/methods will be examined.
...current adaptations and those positive results from the adaptations far outweigh negative consequences on the species.
In an environment that changes often or a species moves to a different environment a genotype has the ability to produce various phenotypes to sustain the environment. The ability for the genotype to process different phenotypes based on the pressures in the environment is called phenotypic plasticity. Phenotypic can be rapid or gradual depending on the environment and the features need for adaptation. An adaptive phenotype will be able to change morphology, behavior, and development alterations (Futuyma, 2013). Developmental may not be able to be reversed, but the changes can happen rapidly. An adaptive phenotype will be able to alter its phenotype when the environment changes, resulting in different phenotypes to adapt. Adaptive will increase the fitness of a species, because they will be able to adapt quickly to different environments increasing their chances of survival. A non-adaptive phenotype will decrease the fitness of a species. This phenotype may change the species to go against or resist the changes in the environment or not adapt at all. If the species does not change...
Extinction, although not as pleasant a concept as the idea of adapting to ones surroundings, plays just as large a role in natural selection as anything else. As one adaptation of a species proves beneficial, and as that variation begins to propagate, the original, less advantageous variant will die off. It is the unchanged species that are in immediate conflict with the species undergoing the natural adaptation that stand to suffer...
Over a long period of time, populations can completely change not just by random factors and situations, but rather by heredity, as they are still the same population but include different genes (“Descent Through Modification,” n.d.). A form of evolution misconstrued to be based on ‘chance’ but is indeed influenced by non-random selection includes mutation through heredity and evolution to show non-random processes of populations (“A Mutation Story,” n.d.). By accumulating and observing data from multiple real-life situations, it is shown that selective adaptation plays a large factor in the process of evolution and how complex and diverse species
It is important to notice that the opening chapter acts essentially as an introduction to a wider discussion throughout his book. In an effort to give his exploration some order and consistency, Bluestone organizes his discussion under five sections. He identifies five main points, which composes the process of adaptation. Despite these efforts to contain each discussion under such headings, Bluestone’s discussion goes off track during his analysis, which only makes the laws that govern adaptation harder to underst...