Plant and Animal Adaptations

for Cold Environments

L/O: To understand how plants and animals adapt
to cold environments.
Starter: Name one plant you would find in a cold
environment
Adaptation
Adaptation is a special characteristic that
allows an organism to survive in a
particular environment.

Adaptations may be:
physical appearance (morphology)
internal systems (physiology)
something an organism does (behaviour)


Cold climates
Temperatures:
arctic winter can dip to -51
o
C

warmest month is between 10
o
C and
0
o
C

Often permanent snow & ice
Plants in Cold Climates
land of the midnight sun
Cold all year except for short period over
the summer
No trees
temperature range = - 54 to 21 C
Alaska, Siberia, Scandinavia
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/learningzone/clips/5506/
Plants are small - usually less than 12
inches tall to avoid wind
Plants are dark - helps them absorb solar
heat.
Small waxy leaves / needles
Some plants are covered with hair
Some plants grow in clumps for protection
Some plants have dish-like flowers that
follow the sun
Saxifrage
Arctic Willow
Bearberry
Arctic flower
Trees

many trees are evergreen
many trees have needle-like leaves to lose
less water
waxy coating on needles
needles are dark in colour
trees have branches that droop downward
Animals in Cold Climates
Arctic animals must keep themselves
warm to survive.
You lose body heat through your
body surface, mainly your skin.
Arctic animals have developed many
adaptations to help them survive
What do these
animals have
in common?
Animal
Adaptations to
Cold
Environments
List as many adaptations to the
cold climate as you can:


Thick oily fur coats
Layers of blubber under the skin
May change colour in the summer
Small ears
Large furry feet
Often longer snout
Rounded body shape
Body Shape
Have fat, round body
shapes with short legs.
Why is this important?
Surface Area to Volume Ratio
Animals lose heat from the body surfaces
that are in contact with the surrounding
air/water.

Reducing the contact surface reduces
heat loss

Increasing the surface increases heat loss

Surface Area to Volume Ratio
Hidden surfaces
are exposed
Small SA: Vol
Larger SA: Vol
(cold climates)
(hot climates)
Which shows an animal from a hot
climate and which from a cold climate?
cold
hot
Using examples, write one adaptation of an animal and
a plant in cold environments.
Homework:
Choose one animal OR plant that lives in a cold
environment.
Research where it survives and how it survives.
E.G.:
Compare these two animals
Desert Fox Arctic Fox
Draw a table to compare their adaptations to
their environments.
Hot Desert Climates
Temperatures:

Can reach 45 50
o
C during the day

Can fall below 0
o
C at night

Less than 25cm rain a year

Animals in Dry Climates
Animals in dry climates have to keep
themselves cool to survive.
They also have to cope with a lack of
water.
This means they are unable to lose heat
through sweating why?
What do these
animals have in
common?
List as many adaptations to the
desert climate that you can:
Large thin ears
Little body fat
Thin silky fur
Long limbs to help spread the heat
They often are only active at night
More elongated body shape



Have more
elongated
body
shapes and
long legs
Plants in Dry Climates
Adaptations:
Can you think of any?
Make a list.
Some plants store water in their
stems or leaves = succulents

Some plants have no leaves

Long root systems spread out wide or
go deep into the ground to absorb
water
Spines to protect from being eaten
Plants slower growing so require less
energy
Flowers that open at night lure pollinators
who tend to be active during the night
Hair help shade the plant, reducing water
loss








Question:
Scientists investigated two types of violet plants. One was found more frequently in shade, the
shade violet. The other was found more frequently in sunny places, the sun violet.







A B

a) Which violet is which? Give a reason for your choice. [4]
A = _____________________________________________________________________________
B = _____________________________________________________________________________

The number of violets in an area of woodland were counted before and after a large number of trees
were removed. The results are shown below.





i) State how light conditions would have changed when the trees were removed. [1]
___________________________________________________________________________________
(ii) Which of the plants survived better before the trees were removed? [1]
___________________________________________________________________________________
(iii) What happened to the number of these plants after the trees were removed? [1]
___________________________________________________________________________________














Violet type Before trees removed
2 years after trees
removed
5 years after trees
removed
Shade
190 50 30
Sun 20
60 120