Adaptation is a mechanism of species to survive and reproduce in their environments, adjusting to selective pressures. Cactus: leaves, stems, spines.
What is adaptation?
In biology, adaptation might be defined as the mechanism of organisms to improve their fitness in the environment in which they live, adjusting to different changes and selective pressures acting on them.
Adaptation involves molecular, physiological, morphological, and behavioral changes.
For these changes to persist and be transmitted from generation to generation, they must increase the individual's fitness. They must increase the individual survival and reproductive probabilities, making it more competitive.
A good and easy to unsderstand example of adaptation is the cactus.
Cactusses are plants adapted to dry and hot environments like deserts, where water availability is scarse and temperatures are high.
To avoid dehydration, cactusses have developed wide palmated or cilindirical stems and reduced or vestigial leaves.
- They use stem tissues to store water.
- Vestigial or reduced leaves to avoid transpiration and water loss.
As their leaves are not developed, their stems photosynthetize to produce organic compounds.
Some species are very rich in water and nutrients, so they turn to be covetted by other species. Animals living in the same environment look for them as a source of food.
To avoid predation, cactusses have developed large and numeros spines that are leaves modifications. This is another adaptation to avoid being eaten by animals and avoid loosing water through leaves.
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