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Adaptation is an observable fact of life accepted by philosophers and natural historians from ancient times, independently of their views on evolution, but their explanations differed. Empedocles did not believe that adaptation required a final cause (a purpose), but thought that it "came about naturally, since such things survived."
An Alpine chough in flight at 3,900 m (12,800 ft). Organisms can live at high altitude, either on land, in water, or while flying.Decreased oxygen availability and decreased temperature make life at such altitudes challenging, though many species have been successfully adapted via considerable physiological changes.
Depending on geographical and environmental pressures, high-altitude adaptation involves different genetic patterns, some of which have evolved not long ago. For example, Tibetan adaptations became prevalent in the past 3,000 years, an example of rapid recent human evolution. At the turn of the 21st century, it was reported that the genetic ...
Origins of heat and cold adaptations can be explained by climatic adaptation. [16] [17] Ambient air temperature affects how much energy investment the human body must make. The temperature that requires the least amount of energy investment is 21 °C (70 °F). [5] [disputed – discuss] The body controls its temperature through the hypothalamus.
Climatic adaptations limits to adaptations that have been established, characterizing species that live within the specific climate. It is different from climate change adaptations which refers to the ability to adapt to gradual changes of a climate. Once a climate has changed, the climate change adaptation that led to the survival of the ...
The bright colors of Grand Prismatic Spring and Yellowstone National Park, are produced by thermophiles, a type of extremophile.. An extremophile (from Latin extremus 'extreme' and Ancient Greek φιλία (philía) 'love') is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e., environments with conditions approaching or stretching the limits of what known ...
Any organisms living in these conditions are often very well adapted to their living circumstances, which is usually a result of long-term evolution. Physiologists have long known that organisms living in extreme environments are especially likely to exhibit clear examples of evolutionary adaptation because of the presumably intense past ...
Aquatic environments have relatively low oxygen levels, forcing adaptation by the organisms found there. For example, many wetland plants must produce aerenchyma to carry oxygen to roots. Other biotic characteristics are more subtle and difficult to measure, such as the relative importance of competition, mutualism or predation. [ 20 ]