What is a Morphological Adaptation?

The Morphological adaptations Are physical changes that occur over several generations in living organisms, such as animals and plants.

Adaptations of different species may be physical or behavioral. Both categories are necessary for the survival of a species.

An example of the first time these adaptations were observed occurred when Charles Darwin noticed that the beak of a Galápagos finch had adapted to eat a particular diet.

These comments on the adaptations Theory of natural selection Of Darwin. It is thought that over millions of years, a species of finch adapted to the unique environment of the island and evolved in 13 different species.

Each type of finch has different characteristics that allow it to eat certain insects, flowers or seeds.

Organisms that adapt to their environment are able to ensure their food, water and nutrients. They can also get heat and air to breathe; When adapting, these organisms are able to overcome physical conditions like temperature, light and heat. They can also defend themselves against their natural enemies, reproduce themselves and respond to the changes taking place around them.

In the case of morphological adaptations, they are adaptations that relate to the appearance of the organism, be it a plant or an animal.

This includes any structure, color, size or shape that has been adapted to ensure its survival.

Examples of morphological adaptations

1- Camouflage

Camouflage is the ability not to be seen. It is used by predators, prey and plants. Color can help an organism to mix with its environment, even if this organism can not see color.

The shapes of their bodies can make them appear to be some other common object in the same environment; This is the ability of camouflage.

Sometimes the patterns of an animal could make it more identifiable; However, other times they could help him disguise himself.

The chameleon is an animal that has the ability to adapt the tone of your skin to the medium to camouflage predators or as a hunting strategy

For example, the stripes of the tiger or the spots of a giraffe, make them almost impossible to detect in the mottled light. In addition, the eggs of many birds have spots to go unnoticed among their prey; The caterpillars and salamanders are camouflaged between the leaves, etc.

Other examples of camouflage in animals include: squids that fill their pups' eggs with ink to camouflage them; The cat snakes with yellow and black stripes that are mixed in the mangroves; The partridges and hares that change their coat to mix with the snow that melts; And the sea dragons that deceive their predators and other animals with their camouflage.

Animals exhibiting this adaptation

• The laziness of the brown neck, the laziness of three fingers and the pygmy sloth.
• The black bear and the polar bear.
• The Eurasian lynx, the mottled leopard, the jaguar, the leopard, the snow leopard, the tiger, and the wildcat, among other felines.
• The African penguin, pheasant, kiwi, owls, and grouse, among other birds.
• The American crocodile, the caiman, the salamanders, and many species of snakes.
• Some frogs and toads.
• Some species of sharks, rays, octopuses and squids.
• Several species of butterflies.

2- Neoteny

This ability refers to those animals that retain their juvenile characteristics in adulthood. Neoteny is important in evolution: humans are neotenic primates and insects are presumed to be descended from a neotenic ancestor millipede.

Probably the best known example of this feature is axolotl, a salamander that remains as a tadpole all its life; Never loses its gills and never leaves the water to live on earth.

The Texas blind salamander also has this feature. This species lives in caves where light does not penetrate; Have eyes but are covered in skin since they do not need them to survive in this environment.

The axolotl is able to reach sexual maturity retaining its larval characteristics

Polymorphism

Polymorphism literally means"many forms"; And can be displayed in many ways. A truly polymorphic species has individuals of differently noticeable appearance living in the same area.

For example, the ants arriera have workers of different sizes in the same nest; Some vipers have a zigzag pattern on their skin that may be black or colored. For this reason these species are polyphoric.

If the difference is between males and females, as with peacocks and turkeys, it would be a case of sexual dimorphism instead of polymorphism.

Some species of snails exist in many different colors for this ability. Another example is eels that begin to change color when they enter the fresh water and cichlid fish, which have many variety of colors to attract females. Humans also exhibit polymorphic characteristics.

Sunflower Starfish

Other examples of animals with polymorphism:

• The gray seal, the gray wolf, the lion, the Tibetan fox, the mountain hare and the red squirrel.
• Some birds like wild turkey, Eleonora's falcon, snow goose and fulmar.
• The boa constrictor, the marine iguana, the snake collar and the velvet snake.
• Starfish sunflower.
• Several species of ants.

Sexual Dimorphism

Up female, down male. Gender differences in the species of peacock

Sexual dimorphism describes those animals in which there is a differential physical difference, in addition to the reproductive organs, between males and females of the same species. One may be larger than the other or one may have a different coloration or additional parts in your body, such as clusters, plumage or fur.

In cases where females are larger or more ornate, it is called reverse sexual dimorphism.

In nature there are many examples of this characteristic: male narwhal whales use their large tusk to attract females; In zebra finches its coloration is important when attracting females; The red male phallus have a more opaque color and take care of their young; And of course, the differences between male and female humans.

Examples of sexual dimorphism in other animals:

• Among the mammals: the Tasmanian Devil, seals, sloths, buffaloes, giraffes, sheep, deer, reindeer, koalas, gorillas, elephants and whales are just some of the mammals on display This feature.
• The condor, the eagle, the ostrich and the peacock.
• The python, the chameleon, some frogs and some butterflies also have this adaptation.

References

1. Animal and plant adaptations and behaviors. Adaptations and behaviors. Retrieved from bbc.co.uk.
2. Sexual dimorphism. Adaptations and behaviors. Retrieved from bbc.co.uk.
3. Adaptations and behaviors. Retrieved from bbc.co.uk.
4. Texas Blind Salamander. Adaptations and behaviors. Retrieved from bbc.co.uk.
5. Adaptations and behaviors. Retrieved from bbc.co.uk.
6. What are morphological adaptations? Retrieved from reference.com.