Encyclopedia of Adaptations in the Natural World

214 Pages·2009·4.08 MB·English

by  Adam Simmons

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
ADAPTATIONS IN THE
NATURAL WORLD
Adam Simmons
G P
REENWOOD RESS
An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
Copyright2010byAdamSimmons
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina
retrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recording,orotherwise,exceptfortheinclusionofbriefquotationsina
review,withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Simmons,Adam.
Encyclopediaofadaptationsinthenaturalworld/AdamSimmons.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978–0–313–35556–1(hardcover:alk.paper)—ISBN978–0–313–35557–8(ebook)
1. Adaptation(Biology) I.Title.
QH546.S576 2010
578.4—dc22 2009042504
14 13 12 11 10 1 2 3 4 5
ThisbookisalsoavailableontheWorldWideWebasaneBook.
Visitwww.abc-clio.comfordetails.
ABC-CLIO,LLC
130CremonaDrive,P.O.Box1911
SantaBarbara,California93116-1911
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
ForMadge,Stan, Jack,and Josie
myancestors
CONTENTS
Introduction xi
About ThisBook xiii
1 Making and Using Energy 1
MakingandUsingEnergy—HumanInvention 1
Photosynthesis 3
Chemosynthesis 6
Catabolism 8
Ectothermy 12
ChemicalDefense—BombardierBeetle 14
ChemicalDefense—Devil’sGardenAnt 16
Electricity 19
Bioluminescence 21
2 Surviving the Elements 25
SurvivingtheElements—HumanInvention 25
ThermophilicBacteria—SurvivingExtremeHeat 28
BloodAntifreeze—SurvivingExtremeCold 31
MammalFur—SurvivingExtremeCold 33
Mangroves—SurvivingExtremeSalt 35
Lungfish—SurvivingwithoutOxygen 38
Melanin—SurvivingRadiation 40
Parasitism—SurvivingHostDefenses 42
Antibiotics—SurvivingDisease 45
Psychrophiles—SurvivingExtremeCold 47
Anhydrobiosis—SurvivingwithoutWater 49
Prions—SurvivingEverything 51
viii CONTENTS
3 Locomotion 55
Locomotion—HumanInvention 55
BirdFlight 58
InsectFlight 60
Running 63
Swimming—BluefinTuna 66
JetPropulsion 68
ParasiticLocomotion 70
Pollination 72
BacterialFlagellum 75
4 Materials 79
Materials—HumanInvention 79
Silk 82
Bone 84
Chitin 86
Feathers 89
Skin 92
Bio-ceramics 94
Mucus 96
NaturalGlues 98
GeckoFeet 100
Resilin 103
5 Building Structures 107
BuildingStructures—HumanInvention 107
TermiteTowers 109
Trees 112
BirdNests 115
BeaverLodges 117
BeeNests 120
PaperNests 122
CoralReefs 124
LuminousGnatTraps 127
NakedMoleRatBurrows 128
Diatoms 131
Webs 134
6 Sensing the Environment 137
SensingtheEnvironment—HumanInvention 137
VertebrateEyes 140
InsectEyes 142
Echolocation 144
Electrosense 147
FireandSmokeDetectors 149
InfraredVision 151
Jacobson’sOrganofSmell 153
OdorousGenes—TheMajorHistocompatibilityComplex 155
MagneticSense 158
InsectAntennae 160
CONTENTS ix
SpecializedEyes 162
MantisShrimpEyes 165
7 Communication 169
Communication—HumanInvention 169
HumanBrain 171
HumanLanguage 174
PlantCommunication 177
BeeDanceLanguage 180
BacterialConjugation 182
Culture 184
DNA 187
Further Reading 191
Index 195
INTRODUCTION
The ingenuity of the human race seemingly knows no bounds. From humble
beginnings we have built staggering monuments, made breathtaking art, split
the atom, and conquered space. On the cosmic scale, all this has been created
in a blink of an eye—over a mere few thousand years in the planet’s
4.6 billion-year history. Now in the twenty-first century we continue to push
the boundaries, makenewdiscoveries, andbuild moreremarkablemachines.
We are rightly proud of our achievements. Our inventions have made our
liveseasierandmorecomfortable.Manydiseases,oncedeadly,havenowbeen
overcome with vaccines, antibiotics, and improved hygiene. The raw energies
of our universe have been tamed to provide us with controllable power, and
we protect ourselves from the extremes of the environment with intricately
engineeredcocoons.
We have come a long way since our first recognizable human ancestors
walked the earth some 2.5 million years ago. We sometimes forget, though,
thatweshareourplanetwithmanymillionsofothercreatures—otheranimals,
plants,bacteria,fungi, protozoa,viruses,andeventiny,single,self-replicating
strands of protein. Many of these creatures are small and extremely hard to
spot,buttheyarethereand theyhavesurvivedformuchlongerthanwehave.
Theirsuccessliesintheirownremarkableadaptationstothisplanet—perhaps
not always so noticeable as our own adaptations, but ingenious adaptations
nonetheless.
Alllifeonearthisprogrammedtosurvive.Andaftersome3billionyearsof
evolution it has become quite good at it—it has had to. On all sides, each and
every organism on earth is faced with danger. From the elements. From its
xii INTRODUCTION
predators.Evenfromitsownkind.Afterallthis,itmustthenfindfood,water,
and, ultimately,a mateif it is to successfullysurviveand pass onits genes.
As we delve into the huge array of life on earth we find truly ingenious,
astounding,anddownrightweirdadaptationsthathaveallowedlifetoflourish
inthemostinhospitableofenvironments.Adaptationsthatalloworganismsto
perceive the world in more detail than our most sophisticated microscopes,
telescopes, andscanners. Adaptations that alloworganisms to move withsuch
speed and agility that they make our advanced modes of transport look slug-
gish. Adaptations that produce materials of such strength and flexibility that
we havenot comecloseto replicatingthem.
Overmillionofyearsofevolution,lifehasadaptedwell totheharshcondi-
tions of our planet in exactly the same way we have. Human engineers tinker
away at a rough plan,making tiny adjustments to honetheir designto perfec-
tion. Nature does the same. The evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins
described nature as a blind watchmaker. It may not see and plan the tiny
changes it makesto itsdesign,but it knowswhensomethingis working.
Thisishowevolutionworks.Physicalandbehavioraltraitsarecodedforon
the genetic material, DNA, held within every cell of every living organism.
Small mistakes and alterations in this genetic code that occur as organisms
reproduce lead to tiny changes in the traits we see. Some of these changes
can be harmful and result in the new individual dying earlier or producing
fewer offspring than if the change had not happened at all. These deleterious
changes in the gene pool will eventually be lost. Other changes, though, will
bebeneficial.Theywillcodeforimprovedeyesight,greaterphysicalstrength,
oranewbehaviorthatgivesanindividualacompetitiveadvantageoverothers
of its species. These changes will tend to be preserved in the gene pool. Over
time, these changes can be honed by natural selection to produce the special-
ized adaptations weseein nature today.
Manyadaptationshaveevolvedthatmatchorevensurpassourownachieve-
ments. Why else would today’s scientists be so keen in borrowing so much of
what has been created in nature? This book seeks to capture the most funda-
mentaloftheseadaptations,someofwhichmaybefamiliartoyoufromdistant
(orperhapsnotsodistant)schooldays.Otherswillbecompletelynew.Ihope
thatyouwilllookonthoseyouknewinanewlight,andthoseyoudidn’twitha
desire to know more.
Theparallels of theseadaptationswithour owndriveforsurvival areclose.
After all, humans are organisms like any other in this planet. We have much
more in common with the other creatures who live on this planet than we
might think. Viruses, bacteria, single-cell protozoa, plants, and animals (our-
selves included) are all driven to survive. It is from this race for survival that
many remarkablewilddesigns haveemerged.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Ashumans,weareawareofthegreatchallengestoourownsurvival.Beingan
animallikethemanythousandsofothersonthisplanet,itshouldnotcomeasa
surprise that the challenges we face are those faced every day by every other
species on earth. This book is divided into seven chapters that group these
challenges together:
Making andUsingEnergy
Survivingthe Elements
Locomotion
Materials
Building Structures
Sensing theEnvironment
Communication
Each chapter begins with a short history of the human achievements and
inventions in that field that have led to our success. As the rest of the chapter
will show, though, evolution has created similar adaptations that match and
surpass our own. Each of these adaptations is set out in its own entry, with
the aim that the reader can dip into the book according to his or her interest
—either for research or curiosity. At the end of every adaptation entry is a
short section called ‘‘Borrowing from Nature’’ that shows how human engi-
neers, scientists, and inventors are directly taking what they see in nature and
developingit forthe advancementof humanendeavor.
Evolutionand biology, like all the sciences,havetheirownjargon that can,
to the lay person and expert alike, be baffling at times. I have therefore