Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat.Adaptations to a particular environment are inherited characteristics that increase an individuals ability to survive and reproduce.Adaptations can be anatomical, physiological or behavioural.Anatomical adaptations are internal or external physical features.Physiological features are features that determine the physiological process within the body such as breathing and digestion.Biological fitness influences the rate of evolution which can be measured by changes in allele frequencies.Many adaptations can fall in to more than one category.The courtship behaviour of a peacock is both anatomical and behavioural.
Adaptations
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Specification: OCR Biology A (H020), AS-level, 4.2.2 Classification and evolution. Topic: Classification and Evolution.
Key terms in this lesson
- phagocytosis
- The process by which a cell, such as a white blood cell, engulfs and digests a pathogen or debris.
- mitosis
- Nuclear division producing two daughter nuclei that are genetically identical to the parent nucleus, used in growth, repair and asexual reproduction.
- pathogen
- A microorganism that causes disease.
- antigen
- A molecule, usually a protein, on the surface of a cell or pathogen that triggers an immune response.
- major histocompatibility complex
- A protein found on the surface of body cells that displays antigen fragments, allowing them to be recognised by T lymphocytes.
More in Classification and Evolution
- Normal Distribution
- Standard Deviation
- Student T-test
- Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient
- Anatomical Adaptations
- Courtship Behaviour
- Physiological Adaptations
- Convergent Evolution
All 36 lessons in Classification and Evolution · All OCR AS-level Biology topics