Freaks of nature: water holding frogs
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What's one thing that every living creature on earth needs?
Water.
We know that frogs require a wet environment in order to survive. However, there's a species of frog that inhabits areas with only a few months of rainfall each year? Meet the Litoria platycephala -- a frog species withsome pretty cool ways in which they overcome the limitations of the harsh Australian environment.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
For some extra info in the Water Holding Frog from the Western Australian Museum, see this article.
The strategies that these frogs have evolved in order to survive in their environment are called adaptations.
In a section of John A. Endler's book called "Fitness and adaptation" (Princeton University Press. pp. 33–51), he explains how fitness is a necessary attribute for survival. The absence or fitness mandates adaptation.
Plants have adaptations to help them survive (live and grow) in different areas. Adaptations are special features that allow a plant or animal to live in a particular place or habitat. These adaptations might make it very difficult for the plant to survive in a different place. This explains why certain plants are found in one area, but not in another. For example, you wouldn't see a cactus living in the Arctic. Nor would you see lots of really tall trees living in grasslands.
Some animals survive under the most outrageous condition. What's your ideal environment? Sunny, 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) and a light breeze? How about living in nearly boiling water that's so acidic it eats through metal? Or residing in a muddy, oxygenless soup far saltier than any ocean? If you're an extremophile, that might sound perfect.
The strategies that these frogs have evolved in order to survive in their environment are called adaptations.
In a section of John A. Endler's book called "Fitness and adaptation" (Princeton University Press. pp. 33–51), he explains how fitness is a necessary attribute for survival. The absence or fitness mandates adaptation.
Plants have adaptations to help them survive (live and grow) in different areas. Adaptations are special features that allow a plant or animal to live in a particular place or habitat. These adaptations might make it very difficult for the plant to survive in a different place. This explains why certain plants are found in one area, but not in another. For example, you wouldn't see a cactus living in the Arctic. Nor would you see lots of really tall trees living in grasslands.
Some animals survive under the most outrageous condition. What's your ideal environment? Sunny, 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) and a light breeze? How about living in nearly boiling water that's so acidic it eats through metal? Or residing in a muddy, oxygenless soup far saltier than any ocean? If you're an extremophile, that might sound perfect.
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- Video created by National Geographic
- Lesson Plan created by Stephanie Parsons