evolutionary adaptations
Species' inherited improvements
Evolutionary adaptations are traits that have developed over generations because they help organisms survive and reproduce in their environment.
A giraffe's long neck, a cactus's water-storing tissue, and a moth's camouflage coloring are all evolutionary adaptations.
The term appears in biology but also figuratively: Social media platforms are evolutionary adaptations to our need for connection.
- survival instinctsInborn drive to stay alive
- camouflageConcealment through visual blending
- mimicryAdaptive resemblance to another
- ecological nichesSpecies' functional roles in ecosystems
- migrationMovement to new territory
phylogenetics · biodiversity · mutation · coevolution · symbiotic relationships · parental care · body plan · nocturnal activity · homeostasis · vestigial · fight or flight · circadian rhythms · inheritance · variation · fitness · speciation · resilience · prey
evolutionary adaptationsacquired traits
Non-inherited developed features
conditioned responses · behavioral conditioning · habituation · imprinting · acculturation
evolutionary adaptationsmaladaptations
Harmful evolutionary developments
genetic disorders · vestigial structures · spandrels · byproducts
evolution, adaptation, adaptability, adaptive, evolutionary, maladaptation, evolvement