adaptation definition biology
Evidence for Creation. The concept of natural selection remains controversial in both the evolutionary and creationist communities. Classical evolutionists still cannot clearly define it as they continue to debate one another over a valid model and definition. Adaptations are special features that allow a plant or animal to live in a particular place or habitat. Helpful term. biome—a place characterized by its climate and the plants and animals that live there. Examples of physiological adaptation are tanning of skin when exposed to sun over long periods, the formation of callouses on hands in response to repeated contact or pressure, and the ability of certain organisms to absorb nutrients under low oxygen tensions. An adaptation is a feature that is common in a population because it provides some improved function. Adaptations are well fitted to their function and are produced by natural selection. Plants have adaptations to help them survive (live and grow) in different areas. Adaptations are special features that allow a plant or animal to live in a particular place or habitat. These adaptations might make it very difficult for the plant to survive in a different place. This explains why certain plants are found in one area, but not in another. The answer: a lot of things. One example is vestigial structures. A vestigial structure is a feature that was an adaptation for the organism's ancestor, but that evolved to be non-functional because the organism's environment changed. Unlike evolutionary adaptation which involves transgenerational adjustment, physiological adaptation is generally narrow in scope and involves response of an individual to a particular, usually narrow, range of stimuli. So, fish with better sight no longer out-competed fish with worse sight. Today, these fish still have eyes — but they are not functional and are not an adaptation; they are just the by-products of the fishes' evolutionary history. In fact, biologists have a lot to say about what is and is not an adaptation. Adaptation - Definition. Any alteration in the structure or function of an organism or any of its parts that results from natural selection and by which the organism becomes better fitted to survive and multiply in its environment. Traits - Definition. Most expressed traits and adaptations are biologically complex responses. These adaptations can be defined as biological interactions at the environmental interface that are regulated by genetic programming and cell physiology.
Any alteration in the structure or function of an organism or any of its parts that results from natural selection and by which the organism becomes better fitted to survive and multiply in its environment.