Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby a population becomes better suited to its habitat.

[ This process takes place over many generations The term adaptation may also refer to a process of developing special features in living beings in order to survive in a particular habitat Adaptation means adjustment with the surroundings

CLASSIFICATION OF
ANIMALS ON THE BASIS OF THEIR EATING HABITS:-

A carnivore is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue or flesh . There are two types obligate carnivores facultative carnivores.

commonly associated with carnivores include organs for capturing and disarticulating prey (teeth and claws serve these functions in many vertebrates) and status as a predator. Adaptive featuresLong, pointed,curved canines Strong, sharp, blade shaped grinding teeth Reduced facial muscles binocular vision short digestive systems Shrap claws Hooked beaks

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria Ruminants--Some herbivores swallow their food without chewing and lator in their relax time they bring it back in to their mouth to chew it, this is called cud-chewing. examples- cow ,deer , goat etc.

Cow Horse Zebra Rhinoceros Wildebeest Monkey Deer Sheep Iguana Rabbit Panda Caribou Koala Camel Donkey

commonly associated with herbivores include organs for searching, chewing and digesting the food Adaptive featuresShrap and broad incisors [front teeth] Broad and flat grinding teeth Canines are dull or short or absent Well developed facial muscles Fleshy lips, thick tongue Multi chambered stomach Very long small intestine Strong binocular vision

Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material primarily

Most bear species are considered omnivores, but individual diets can range from almost exclusively herbivorous to almost exclusively carnivorous, depending on what food sources are available locally and seasonally. Polar bears are classified as carnivores while pandas are classified as herbivores, although giant pandas will eat some meat (e.g., insects) from time to time, and polar bears will sometimes eat plants (such as kelp). Various mammals are omnivorous by nature, such as pigs,, bears, hedgehogs, squirrels, raccoons, mice, rats Also some primates are omnivorous including humans, chimpanzees and baboons. Various birds are omnivorous, whose diet varies from berries and nectar to insects, worms, fish, and small rodents; examples include cassowarys, chickens, crows and related corvids, keas, rallidae, and rheas. Some lizards, turtles, fish, such as piranhas, and invertebrates are also omnivorous.

A parasite is any organism or living thing that benefits from another creature's harm. In other words, the parasites harm the host organism while the parasite benefits Examples of parasites in humans include tapeworms and leeches. World-wide, the most serious cause of human death by a parasite is malaria.

. Examples would include many herbivorous insects: the Homoptera (leafhoppers, froghoppers, aphids, scale insects and whiteflies). The larvae of Lepidoptera usually feed and mature on a single individual of the host plant species, and what they eat accounts for most of the food for their complete life span. Moreover, caterpillars can and often do serious damage to the host's foliage. Other orders also have many parasitic herbivores: Thysanoptera (thrips). Hemiptera (true bugs), Coleoptera (beetles), Diptera (flies).

Ectoparasites live on the outside of a plant or animal.

Example-head lice, leeches etc.

Endoparasites live inside a plant or animal. Intracellular parasites live inside cells; Intercellular parasites live in the
spaces between cells. Example-tapeworms, hookworms etc.

A vector is a third party that carries the parasite to the host. Thus, with malaria, the mosquito is the vector and the mammal is the host.
Example- sporozoite protozoan etc.

An Epiparasite is one that feeds on another parasite.

Kleptoparasites steal food from other species.

Example- cuscuta etc.

Adaptive featuresHave suckers or sucking tubes to suck blood from their host

Saprophytes are the organisms that act as the rainforests decomposerson the forest floors. Some fungi, called mycorrhizals, are examples of plant life that carry out this function. Many saprotrophs are so small, called microbes, that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. Other decomposers, which include insects, grubs, snails, slugs, beetles and ants, aid in recycling valuable nutrients from dead organic matter which is then released back into the soil to be reabsorbed rapidly by plants and trees

MUSHROOM

SCAVENGERS

Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal (corpses or carrion) and dead plant biomass on which to feed.The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the decomposition of dead animal and plant material. Decomposers and detritivores complete this process, by consuming the remains left by scavengers

EXAMPLE OF SCAVENGERS Jackals (African wild dogs) often scavenge in packs beside hyenas. Leopards, like lions, will scavenge when their hunting is unsuccessful. Lions are great predators but will often scavenge or steal prey caught by other animals. Raccoons eat garbage from dumps and cans, especially if it smells of chicken or fish.

EXAMPLE OF SCAVENGERS

INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS
Some plants grow in soil which is deficient in minerals so they have evolved mechanisms to trap insects and then digest the contents of their bodies. There are three groups of these insectivorous plants - the Fly Traps with spiny-edged leaves which are hinged in the middle. The Sticky-leaved Plants with hair which secrete insect-catching fluid. The Pitcher Plants with leaves which are waterfilled funnels.

EXAMPLE OF INSECTIVOROUS

Darlingtonia

Drosera (Sundew, Cape Sundew, Forked Sundew)

Dionaea (Venus flytrap)

Nepenthes (Monkey cup, Tropical pitcher plant)