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Adaptations explorer – deserts, polar regions, water and extremophiles

BiologyEcology & EnvironmentAges 17–18

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Pick a habitat (hot desert, polar ice, rainforest, lake, sea, deep sea, hot spring, salt lake) and an organism, tick its structural, behavioural and physiological adaptations, then test whether it survives 10 days as temperature, water and salinity change. Graphs show body water, heat balance, energy and the cause of death; a table links each trait to an environmental pressure. Includes 19 real examples (camel, red kangaroo, polar bear, saguaro cactus, marram grass, water lily, icefish, anglerfish, heat-loving archaea) and a surface area to volume and heat loss screen.

Lesson: Adaptations of organisms to their environment: structural, behavioural and physiological; surface area to volume ratio; extremophiles

What it shows

An adaptation is a feature that helps an organism survive and reproduce where it lives. Structural adaptations are body features such as thick fur, small ears or leaves reduced to spines. Behavioural adaptations are actions, such as sheltering in a burrow by day or huddling. Physiological adaptations are internal processes, such as very concentrated urine, antifreeze proteins or CAM photosynthesis. Extremophiles are microorganisms, often archaea, that grow in extreme heat, salt, cold or pressure. Small animals have a large surface area to volume ratio, so they lose heat quickly.

How to use

Choose a Real example or set Habitat and Organism yourself, then tick traits under Structural, Behavioural and Physiological. Move Average temperature, Available water, Salinity or Body mass and press Test 10 days. Read the graph, the verdict and the table of pressures and helpful traits. On the Surface area : volume screen, change Cube side, Fur layer and Air temperature.

Parameters you can change

  • Screen Habitat challenge, Surface area : volume
  • Real example (Custom design uses the parameters below) Custom design, Dromedary camel, Red kangaroo, Kangaroo rat, Fennec fox, Polar bear, Arctic fox, Saguaro cactus, Marram grass, Eucalyptus, Rainforest understorey plant, Water lily, Mangrove, Atlantic salmon, Shark, Antarctic icefish, Deep-sea anglerfish, Thermus aquaticus, Pyrolobus fumarii, Halobacterium salinarum
  • Habitat Hot desert, Polar region (ice and snow), Tropical rainforest, Freshwater lake, Coastal sea, Polar sea, Deep sea (about 4000 m), Hot spring or hydrothermal vent, Salt lake
  • Organism Mammal, Plant, Fish, Microorganism (bacterium, archaeon)
  • Traits (codes separated by commas)
  • Average temperature -50–120 °C
  • Available water 0–100 %
  • Salinity 0–350 g/kg
  • Body mass (mammals) 0.02–800 kg
  • Cube side 0.5–200 cm
  • Fur layer 0–8 cm
  • Air temperature (surface area : volume screen) -40–40 °C

Questions to explore

  1. Why does a polar bear die of dehydration in the desert even though it has plenty of stored fat?
  2. How long does a kangaroo rat last if it stops sheltering in its burrow, and why are small animals affected faster?
  3. Which features does an archaeon need to grow at 105 °C, and why do most bacteria die at that temperature?

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