Adapt or Die!

I love and hate that saying, "Adapt or die".  I love that it signals an imperative.  I feel that we, as people, must constantly change to fit into a changing world.  But when applied to natural ecosystems, it implies that animals can choose to change.  This is a misconception deeply engrained in our psyches, but it is erroneous.  Animals can not choose to adapt.  But I digress.

The assignment for this week in my nature class is to find examples of adaptation in nature, a kind of adaptation scavenger hunt.

So I took off on a hike on Sunday, a bright sunny day with temperatures in the 60's.  A welcome change.  For a change of locale, I went to a local natural area with my two companion, my husband and dog.

The Salt Lick Trail,
 near Valmeyer, Illinois and along a bluff,
 was our destination.  

It was a steep ascent to the top of the bluff!

 

Now I would start looking for adaptations.  The first, size, was easy to find.  Before climbing those steps I noticed a dead mole, just outside its tunnel.  I assume a dog had excavated it before I arrived.  This would be my example of shape.  Look at those front feet, perfectly adapted to shovel out dirt to make the tunnel it would live in.  This animal spends most of its life underground.  Although it has eyes, they are small.  Eyesight is not the most important sense for the mole.  The sense of touch is useful to an underground animal.

 I proceeded on to the top of the bluffs and through the woodland.

I was looking for an example of size as an adaptation, but I was also enjoying the scenic beauty of the area.  We had been here before but wanted to come back before leaves would block the views.

I quickly found a small non-vascular plant, moss, in many places along the trail.  This small size helps a plant without a vascular system survive; water is absorbed through the leaves.  And it can survive dessication, coming back to life when water returns.







I had two examples, just 3 more to go!

I was looking for showy behavior.  On the glade, I thought I found it.                                                                                                 Those seed pods were bright red...quite showy.  But is this behavior.  My husband and I had a lengthy discussion on this topic.  He had just seen a nature program; it had talked about behavior in plants.  Upon returning home, I looked up plant behavior on the internet, and sure enough, we tend to underestimate plants because they don't move.

I don't know this species, so I could not look up some specifics about it, but I imagine that bright coloration attracts the birds to eat, and spread, the seeds.  But if this is the case, why were so many seeds left behind uneaten? Is it because this is a small natural area surrounded by development making it hard to find?  I don't know.

This would have to count.  Things were getting difficult to find.  Most of the landscape, though beautiful, seemed almost lifeless, still in the grips of winter.

On to other habitats.  I was looking for warning coloration.  I thought it would be found on the hill prairie; perhaps there would be a bee with its striped coloration.

No luck.  Again, this was a small area and seemed lifeless.  We stopped to enjoy the views along the trail.

 I discovered that nature photography takes a lot of patience.  I finally captured this turkey vulture flying overhead, but it didn't fit any of the categories I was searching for.  Still, it was fun to try to get this animal in a photo.

The category of warning coloration would escape me on this trail...with the exception of the many warning signs!



And camouflage was still to be found.  We finally decided my husband's jacket was an example.  It is his major wardrobe theme!  But no, even though hunters are a part of nature and wear camouflage to allow them to succeed in their quest to get their prey, I would not use this example.

Instead we would travel to another trail.  It was a nice day, after all, and we were enjoying time together exploring nature.






What happened next is typical.
As we were walking on another trail through a woodlands we spotted a skunk.
I was excited!  Here was my warning coloration.
I could see the wide white stripe down the back and the tail advertising that this was something to stay away from.
Instead, I ran after the skunk, camera in hand.  I had to get a photo of this warning display.  In the end, I took a photo from a great distance...the skunk was running faster than I was.  And I tripped and fell right after I quickly snapped this photo.

Where is the skunk, you ask?  In the center there is a small black spot (work with me here!).  If I blow up the original photo I can see it, but you'll have to take my word for it.  I was tired; we had been hiking all afternoon.

It was time to go home, but I still need a camouflage adaptation.  I had it!  I went back to the pile of deer heads on our property.

Obviously, the camouflage coloration did not protect this particular deer from the hunter. In general, the coloration is not a solid brown but a combination of natural colors--brown, black, white and tan.  This blends perfectly into the habitat.  Sometime the only way to see a deer is when it moves.  Maybe that is what happened in this case.

My adaptation hunt is over.  And I am reminded of the phrase "Adapt or Die".  Adaptations ensure the survival of the species, but the individual animal (or plant) will die.  That is part of life.  As long as the species possesses adaptations that are matched to the environment, the species will survive.  So things aren't as grim as the phrase would indicate.  Unless that environment changes......