Adapted From SOL 3.

4
By Ms. Weinberg
A. Weinberg

What if you are having a snowball fight?

You probably run away from the

person throwing at you, and maybe
even try to sneak up on that person
and throw some snowballs!

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Now lets learn about

Behavioral Adaptations

Behavioral Adaptations allow

animals to respond to life needs.
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Behavioral Adaptations are

behaviors that allow animals to
find food, protect itself from
predators, and survive in its
environment.
Remember that Physical Adaptations
are body structures.

Each organism has unique

methods of adapting to its
environment by means of different
actions.
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We can divide Behavioral Adaptations into

two groups:

Instinctive

These behaviors
happen naturally &
dont have to be
learned.

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Learned

These behaviors must

be taught.

Instinctive
behaviors

Methods of gathering
& storing food
Finding shelter

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happen naturally &

dont need to be
learned

Defending oneself
Raising young

Hibernating
Migrating

Learned
behaviors

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Obtained by
interacting with the
environment and
cannot be passed on
to the next generation
except by teaching.

Types of Behavioral Adaptations

Migration
Hibernation
Living in Packs
Spinning Webs
Stalking Prey
Staying still
Fleeing predators
Shooting spray
Sounding scary
Looking scary

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QuickTime and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

What is hibernation?
This is a very special
kind of deep sleep
It is brought on by
short day lengths, cold
temperatures and food
shortages

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QuickTime and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Why do animals hibernate?

It is a survival strategy
Dropping into a deep hibernation means
animals are using less energy
Food is scarce
Animals miss the cold seasons

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What are the dangers of

hibernation?
The animal is
defenceless, which
means it maybe
attacked by predators
and eaten!

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How do animals prepare for

hibernation?
They try to put on as much fat as possible because
they wont be eating much during the winter
This is called brown fat, which is found across the
back and shoulders, close to an animals organs
Brown fat works hard to deliver quick energy to
an animal coming out of hibernation

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Light Sleepers
Some animals are not true hibernators
They are easily awakened during their winter
slumbers
These animals breathe a little more slowly and
lower their body temperature a few degrees
The wake up to forage between winter snows
Bears, skunks, raccoons

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What is Migration?

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What is migration?
Migration:
Seasonal back and forth
journeys between two
places.

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Which animals migrate?

Mammals
Birds
Amphibians
Reptiles
Fish
Insects

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Why do animals migrate?

Animals migrate to find food or weather advantageous

to their survival.
Animals migrate in a set pattern.
Some travel short distances (birds, bats, whales).
Some travel long distances (songbirds, shorebirds,
waterfowl, hawks, some bats and whales.
Some animals move up and down mountain slopes
because of snow depth and food conditions (deer, elk,
Mountain Goats, Spotted Owls, some songbirds)
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Bird Migration

Over 5 billion land

birds migrate between
Europe and Asia to
Africa
75% of 650 bird
species that nest in N.
America migrate

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Dangers of Migration
Predation
Land and water

Human destruction
of migration points
because of over
population.

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