Natural Selection? Evolution? Adaptation? Survival?

Huh? What exactly do these words mean?!

What do you mean, mean? Do you mean what each word means or what these words meant to mean?
Or is it mean mean mean?

Stop puzzling yourselves!

Natural Selection is defined as a process in nature in which living organisms adapt and change in
response to a changing environment. It also states that those organisms that are better adapted to their
surroundings tend to live longer and have more offspring.

Evolution is the process of growth and development, or the theory that species have grown and
developed from previous ones.

Adaptation is the process through which organisms adjust in order to increase their chances of survival
under a situation or particular environment.

and

Survival is the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in the face of dangers, sufferings, or
challenges.

To tie these words together,

Natural selection is a mechanism of evolution that leads species to different adaptations in different
environments for survival.

Just to be clear, I'll give you a brief explanation of why natural selection is a mechanism of
evolution. But, before that, any action or reaction is the responsibility of the mechanism. In this case,
natural selection is to blame for the occurrence of evolution. So, to explain:

Due to the scarcity of resources in nature, animals with inherited genetic qualities that favor survival and
reproduction would tend to leave more offspring than their peers, increasing the frequency of the traits
through generations; clearly, an evolution. In other words, organisms that are better adapted to their
environment have a greater chance of surviving and passing on the genes that contributed to their
success to future generations.

Returning to our definition of evolution, it is the process of growth and development, or the belief that
species evolved from previous organisms.

You have five seconds to connect all of these ideas. 5 4 3 2 1

I hope it is now clear why natural selection is a key mechanism of evolution. Consider what would
happen without natural selection. With its absence, adaptations for survival will not be generated,
hence evolution will cease to exist. Where would evolution occur if all species did not adapt in order to
survive?
 This brings us to the main point of this video!

THE IMPORTANCE OF ADAPTATION AS A MECHANISM FOR THE SURVIVAL OF SPECIES

Adaptation again, by definition, is a change or adjustment to improve something, or to make it suitable

In order for all species to continue evolving, they must adapt in order to survive.

Every species on Earth adapts to their specific environment and situation in a variety of ways in order to
survive and continue their evolution.

The first type of adaptation is structural or physical. It is the use of body structures to help an animal's
survival.

Under this type is camouflage.

The Eastern screech owl, for example, blends into the woods or logs of trees to avoid predators.

Consider the owl in a brilliant yellow color. How would it escape its predators? What if a wicked man
went owl hunting and the yellow-colored owl immediately drew the hunter's attention? As a result, the
hunter would simply shoot the owl, and it would die instantly. From that, the owl died in a split second.
Imagine if all the owls are yellow, which attracts the attention of predators? They would not then be
able to live and continue their evolution. That is why their camouflage adaption is critical to their
survival in the planet.

Next to camouflage is mimicry. It is an organism's ability to duplicate and copy another species in terms
of sound, appearance, scent, behavior, or location in order to protect itself. It also refers to the
resemblance of an animal species to another species or to natural objects.

A walking stick or a stick bug behaving like a stick to fool its enemy into thinking it is simply a piece of
stick and not food is an example of this.

Consider again if the stick insect is unable to imitate a stick. Its enemies may then easily track and kill
him or her. From this situation, it is clear that adapting and behaving like another entity is critical in
order to survive.

Next is chemical defenses. An organism's ability to produce toxic or repellent compounds that are
harmful to invading organisms.

The monarch butterfly is an example of this, it sequesters poison obtained from the milkweed plant
when a predator comes into contact with it.
The Monarch butterfly is highly distasteful to its predator (bird) because of a special chemical present in
its body. The presence of these compounds, which they acquire during their caterpillar stage by feeding
on a poisonous herb, serves as their defense mechanism against predators.

When a bird catches and consumes a Monarch butterfly, the toxic plant glycosides stored in the
butterfly make the bird ill. The bird may puke, but it does not die. But after that encounter, the bird will
never try to eat a vividly colored butterfly again. In this case, the stunning colors of a Monarch butterfly
will act as a warning to birds that it contains deadly compounds.

What if these butterflies do not contain toxic substances? Therefore, they will not survive much longer
because nothing counteracts with their appealing colors.

Last mechanism under structural is through body coverings. Specific features of a species' body protect
it from predators and other external factors.

The armadillo’s shell is a good example of this.

The armadillo's shell protects it from predators and from the thorny undergrowth in which it dwells. An
armadillo's shell is made up of bony, exterior plates that are coated with scales. The shell is flexible,
having softer skin beneath that allows the shell to expand and shrink between the bands.

Consider what would happen if armadillos' shells were not constructed of bony plates. Their bodies
would just be soft, making it exceedingly easy for them to die. Nothing will protect them from outside
influences such as animals running and stepping on them. The presence of the shells causes them to be
tough.

A. Behavioral

i. Hibernation - allows many animals to endure the cold, dark winter months without seeking food or
migrating to a warmer climate. To save energy, they slow down their metabolisms.

When we talk about hibernation, I firstly thought of hamsters! In the wild, hamsters fall into hibernation
mode when temperatures below 40°F (4.5°C) in the winter. Since the pet's metabolic rate slows, it can
be difficult to tell whether it's merely hibernating or has become unwell or perished.

These warm-blooded animals hibernate because food becomes scarce during the winter months, and
they can fully avoid this period by sleeping for a long time and then waking up when food becomes
more available. If hamsters do not hibernate, they will use more energy, have a low heart rate and
health problems, weaken, and could have a high risk of dying.

ii. Migration- is the seasonal movement of individual animals over relatively great distances. Some
animals migrate over small distances in search of food, better living, or to reproduce or breed.

A great example of this is the Atlantic Salmon. This ray-finned fish starts its life in a river and then
migrates downstream to the ocean. It returns upstream after a few years to lay eggs and start the cycle
all over again.

Salmons are anadromous, meaning they are born in freshwater, migrate to saltwater, and then return to
spawn in freshwater. If they do not move around places, they might not multiply and become extinct!
DITO MO LAGAY SHAN
I hope that after viewing all of the numerous types of adaptations and their examples in this video, you
can now see how vital adaptation is for species survival.

All living creatures would die if they do not have distinct strategies for dealing with the challenges of
their various habitats. Again, evolution will cease to exist if survival adaptations are not developed.

What’s evolution again?

Evolution is the process of growth and development, or the theory that species have grown and
developed from previous ones.

So, if species are unable to adapt to all of the challenges in their habitat, they would not make it to
success and live longer. Without adaptation, there is no process of growth and development, and
without growth and development, there is no survival, and without survival, there is no evolution.

So, in order for evolution to continue, species must adapt in order to live and pass this adaptation on to
future generations. And future generations will need to create another adaptation to their environment
in order to survive and produce more offspring to continue their evolution.

That concludes today's video! We hope you learned a lot and understood all of the concepts under
adaptations for survival.

I am Ricaella Eusebio

Julia Mae Jimenez

And

Shan Dicam

The products of evolution!

Thank you for watching!