More adaptations

Dear all,

Here is a recap of what we have done today, with the main content on Science.

We studied about sloths as a mammal and how they are adapted to living in the jungles and protecting themselves from predators. Sloths are herbivores and mainly feast on leaves and plants. They contain a layer of algae on their fur which actually attracts fungi, moths and many more. The sloth is a slow creature which spends most of its time hiding up on top of the tree. '

You can click on this link for more details about the SLOTH

We also talked about the last part to adapting to living in extreme temperatures. Today, the concepts you need to know are:

• Polar bears have layers of black fur (good conductor of heat) under their white fur to trap sunlight and keep warm.
• Animals hibernate during winter to conserve energy.
• Animals can also migrate to other warmer places.
• Pine trees have tiny needle-like leaves to prevent water loss.
• Trees shed their leaves during winter to prevent water loss.

This process of this leaf loss is done to conserve the trees energy and prevent damage over the upcoming winter. Because of the large surface area of the trees leaves the cold and dry winds over the winter months would strip all the moisture from the tree. Therefore by losing its leaves the tree can conserve all its moisture in the trunk and branches. The lack of leaves also means that the tree needs less energy to stay alive and healthy.

As the days get shorter and the nights start to get longer, trees will make arrangements to lose their leaves by releasing a chemical which ultimately causes the leaf to die and fall off its branch. When the leaves fall onto the ground below it causes a layer of protective mulch that not only insulates its roots but also gives it nutrients to feed off.

See you all on Monday,

Thank You,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong