Trait Variations and Adaptations

Mountain lions are large cats and the top predator in their habitat. A population of mountain lions may vary in several characteristics. If a prey becomes scarce, competition between mountain lions for food will increase. Which variation would provide an advantage to the individuals that possessed it?

• a spotted coat

• short fur

• long legs

• abundant whiskers

What is an adaptation?

• A feature or behavior that helps an animal survive.

• The food that an animal eats.

• How energy moves in a food web.

• How animals evolve throughout time.

How do adaptations help animals?

• to hide from predators

• to hunt for food

• to survive in their habitats

• All of these are correct

The ears of this fox are an example of...

• A behavioral adaptation

• Poor breeding

• A physical adaptation

• Plastic surgery gone horribly wrong

Animals that have something they DO to live (hibernate, migrate, etc.) are exhibiting ____ adaptations.

• behavioral

• structural

• physiological

• assistive

What is the advantage of having different shaped beaks?

• To look different from other species.

• To be able to eat the food readily available in the environment.

• To protect itself against predators.

• To protect itself against prey.

Why are advantageous traits more likely to be passed onto offspring?

• Because they are more likely to survive and reproduce.

• Because they come from dominant alleles.

• Because they come from recessive alleles.

• Because the trait is an acquired phenotype.

Why is the mouse population changing over time?

• The light mice can reproduce more successfully than the dark mice

• The hawks eat more dark mice than light mice because the dark mice taste better

• The hawks eat more light mice than dark mice because they can see the light mice more easily

• The hawks eat more dark mice than light mice because they can see the dark mice more easily

What is this an example of?

• diversity of species

• variation

• vestigial structures

• DNA studies

Why did the dark peppered moth have an increase in its population once the Industrial Revolution started?

• The white moths started to die off

• The darker moths survived better because they blended into the color of the darkened trees and so were able to pass on their traits to offspring

• The white moths turned dark