Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Mia and I'm really looking forward to teaching you this lesson today.

In this lesson, you'll be able to describe how predators and prey are adapted to help them survive.

Your keywords are on the screen now.

You can write them down if you'd like to.

So first we have adaptation, camouflage, prey, predator.

Super, let's find out what these keywords mean.

An adaptation is a feature that organisms have to help them live in a particular place.

Camouflage is a strategy that organisms use to disguise their appearance usually by blending in with their surroundings.

A prey is an animal that is caught and eaten by another animal.

A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals.

So this lesson is to do With adaptations of predators and prey.

And we have three lesson cycles today.

In our first lesson cycle, we'll be looking at the types of adaptation.

We'll then be looking at adaptations to avoid predators.

And lastly, we'll be looking at adaptations to help predators to catch prey.

I'm super excited about this lesson.

I hope you are too, let's begin.

All living organisms have features that help them to survive in the places that they live.

These features are called adaptations.

Now, there are two main types of adaptation which help organisms: adaptations that help with feeding and adaptations that provide the organism with protection.

Polar bears live in the Arctic where temperatures are low.

What adaptations does the polar bear have to help it feed and give it protection?

Have a think.

You may have thought of something like this.

Small ears and tail to reduce heat loss.

Fur is white to blend in with background camouflage.

Thick coat and fat layer to keep warm.

Greasy fur helps it to dry quickly.

Pads on feet help insulate the feet on the cold ground and help to grip.

Sharp claws and teeth to help catch, grip, and eat prey.

Cacti are plants that often live in deserts.

These are dry places.

The temperature is hot in the day and cold at night.

What adaptations does the cactus have to help it feed and to give it protection?

What do you think?

Now, cacti have adaptations that enable them to live in deserts.

Deserts are dry places.

The temperature is hot in the day and cold at night.

Leaves are reduced to spines.

These reduce water loss and protect the plant from being eaten by consumers.

The swollen stem stores water.

Photosynthesis takes place in the green stem, not the leaves.

The long roots help to get water deep from underground.

Shallow roots helps the plant to get water from dew.

Over to you, true or false?

Adaptations are features that organisms choose to have.

Is this true or is this false?

And I'd like you to also justify your answer.

This is because organisms inherit adaptations from their parents.

Or B, this is because organisms develop adaptations depending on what they need to survive.

What do you think?

You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got false, well done.

And if you justified your answer by selecting A, that's correct.

It is false because adaptations are not features that organisms choose to have.

This is because organisms inherit adaptations from their parents.

Let's move on.

Task A.

I'd like you to describe and explain two adaptations for each example below.

Use information from the image and your own knowledge to help you.

One, adaptations of the squirrel that enable it to feed on the nuts that grow at the top of a tree.

Two, adaptations of the lizard that enable it to avoid being eaten by birds in a sandy desert.

You can pause the video here and click play once you've completed this task.

So how did that go?

Well.

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One, so squirrels have sharp claws which help them to climb and grip.

The large tail helps the squirrel to balance.

The claws also help the squirrel to grip the nuts.

The large ears mean that the squirrels can collect food while listening out for predators.

Two.

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The adaptations of a lizard to avoid being eaten by birds in a sandy desert.

You may have said something like this.

The lizard is the same color as the surroundings, it is camouflaged.

The lizard has long legs that help it to run fast.

The lizard may have good eyesight to help it spot predators when they get close.

Well done if you managed to mention some of those key points, let's move on.

Lesson cycle two, adaptations to avoid predators.

Let's begin.

A predator is an organism that hunts and catches other animals to get the food it needs to survive.

Prey are the organisms that are hunted for food.

Pray want to avoid being eaten and have adaptations that help them to do this.

Pray have a number of adaptations that help them to avoid being caught by predators as food.

These include: a wide field of vision, camouflage, displaying warning signs, mimicry, looking like something else, spines and hairs, eyespots, chemicals and smells to deter predators.

Eyesight: prey need to be able to see predators.

To help them, their eyes are often located on the side of their head.

This helps them to see a wide field of view.

And here we have an example of a hare.

Can you see how its eyes are located on the side?

This gives it binocular vision.

There is a blind spot there.

There is a blind spot at the back as well.

But the hare has a wide field of view.

Camouflage: camouflage is used to help organisms to blend into the surroundings.

Some organisms can change their color to match their surroundings.

For example, squid and chameleons.

Here's a picture of a chameleon camouflaging.

Others blend into their surroundings.

This can be as a result of matching the surroundings or having a pattern.

Here are some more examples.

We've got a stick insect, a lizard, and a giraffe.

By using camouflage, organisms can hide in plain sight.

How many deer are in the photo?

Let's have a look.

So there's one and there's another.

Warning signs: some animals advertise where they are by being brightly colored.

Many organisms, particularly those that are bright yellow, red, or orange, are poisonous.

Black and white colors may also indicate that the organism may make a horrible snack for a predator.

For example, poison dart frogs.

The burnet moth.

And a giant millipede.

Mimicry: some animals that advertise themselves by being brightly colored are not all they seem.

Some organisms mimic, or copy, other organisms that are poisonous.

This helps to protect them from predators.

For example, wasp and hoverfly.

Monarch and Viceroy butterflies.

Physical features: spikes and hairs.

Some organisms defend themselves using physical features.

This makes it difficult for predators to eat them.

For example, a hedgehog and a sea urchin.

Other organisms use hairs to make it more difficult to eat them.

And here we have an example of some caterpillars.

Eyespots: there are two ways that eyespots are used to help predation.

Some organisms use eyespots to deflect predators.

For example, a butterflyfish or a owl butterfly.

Others use eyespots to startle their predator.

And here we have a peacock and a peacock butterfly Chemicals: some organisms produce chemicals which make them smell and taste unpleasant or are used to repel predators.

For example, a stink bug, a turkey vulture, and a wood ant.

Over to you, match the adaptations that a prey might have with how the adaptations help them to avoid being eaten.

So on the left we have the adaptations.

You've got camouflage, mimicry, eyes on the side of the head, bright coloration, eyespots.

And on the right we have an explanation of how the adaptations will help to avoid the prey from being eaten.

So we've got distract the predator, resemble an organism with features that the predator will avoid, predators can be seen from a wide field of view, warn a predator that they are poisonous or taste unpleasant, and lastly, blends into the surroundings.

You can pause the video here and click play once you've completed this check for understanding.

So how did that go?

So camouflage means that the prey can blend into its surroundings.

Mimicry resembles an organism with features that the predator will avoid.

Eyes on the side of the head means that predators can be seen from a wide field of view.

Bright coloration, this warns a predator that they are poisonous or taste unpleasant.

And lastly, eyespots, they distract the predator.

Well done if you managed to get that correct.

Let's move on.

Task B, the photograph shows a picture of a pair of frogs on a rock.

The frogs are adapted to avoid being eaten by predators.

Write a paragraph using information from the image and your own knowledge that explains how it is adapted.

You can pause the video here and click play once you've completed this task.

So how did that go?

Well.

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.

You may have included these points.

The frogs, they are well camouflaged, have strong hind legs so it can move quickly on land, and have webbed feet so it can move quickly in the water.

Let's move on.

Cycle three: adaptations to help predators catch prey.

Predators also have a number of adaptations that help them to catch prey for food.

These include strong jaws and good eyesight, camouflage, tools for hunters, for example, claws, talons and beaks; and speed.

Jaws and eyesight: apex predators have sharp teeth which help them to kill and tear meat.

Their jaws have big muscles to make them powerful.

Examples, lion teeth and jaw.

And here we can see a puma skull that also shows sharp teeth.

Jaws and eyesight: predators, especially apex predators, have excellent eyesight.

Their eyes are often located together at the front of the head.

So here we have a tiger.

This helps them to be able to judge distance really well.

So this diagram shows us the range of vision.

Camouflage: predators use camouflage too.

It helps them to get closer to their prey, making it easier to catch a meal.

Many predators that use camouflage are also masters of being able to sneak up on the prey unnoticed.

So here we have examples.

We've got a lion, a rattlesnake, and an owl.

Tools for hunters: claws, talons and beaks.

Predators have adaptations that help them to catch and kill their prey.

Talons and claws are curved and sharp.

Here we have examples of talons and claws.

Beaks of birds can help them to stab fish swimming in the water.

Speed: catching prey by surprise is an important tactic used by predators.

Predators are often able to run fast or catch prey off guard.

So here we have our examples, a cheetah, a chameleon, and a praying mantis.

Over to you, Jacob tells you two things that help predators to catch their prey.

Which statements do you agree with?

A, arctic foxes change their coat color during the year.

This helps them match their surroundings.

This is called mimicry.

B, predators have eyes which face forwards.

This helps them to judge distance better.

What do you think?

You can pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

So how did that go?

Well.

.

.

The first statement is incorrect.

Arctic foxes do not change the coat color during the year.

B is true, predators do have eyes which face forwards, for example, a tiger.

This helps them to judge distance better.

Great, let's move on.

Task C, here are some pictures of parts of organisms.

You've got the eyes of an owl, teeth of a shark, patterned fur of a cheetah, and lastly, claws of a polar bear.

All of the organisms are predators.

Explain how each part of the predator helps it to catch prey.

Off you go, click play once you've completed this task.

So how did that go?

Well, these are the things that you may have written.

Good binocular vision helps to judge distance.

Sharp teeth curved to hold onto prey.

Patterns helps to camouflage.

The predator can get closer to the prey before being noticed.

Powerful and sharp claws helps to kill prey.

Well done if you managed to mention some of those key points.

We've reached the end of this lesson.

Let's summarize our learning.

So this lesson was to do with adaptations of predators and prey.

You now understand that adaptations are features of organisms that help them to live in a particular place.

Some adaptations help prey to avoid predation.

Some adaptations help predators to catch their prey.

An example of an adaptation which both predators and prey use is camouflage.

And lastly, camouflage helps prey to hide from predators.

It also helps predators to approach prey unnoticed.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson, bye.