Organisms can adapt to an environment in different ways. They can adapt biologically, meaning they alter body functions. An example of biological adaptation can be seen in the bodies of people living at high altitudes, such as Tibet. Tibetans thrive at altitudes where oxygen levels are up to 40 percent lower than at sea level.

Examples include searching for food, mating, and vocalizations. Physiological adaptations permit the organism to perform special functions such as making venom, secreting slime, and phototropism, but also involve more general functions such as growth and development, temperature regulation, ionic balance and other aspects of homeostasis.

Adaptations are essential to the species’ survival. The adaptive traits that the species will acquire through time may be structural (i.e. physical adaptive traits), behavioral (e.g. vocalizations, courtship rituals, nesting, and mating), or physiological (e.g. developing resistance to diseases or to toxic chemicals). (Ref. 1, 2)

An example of a structural adaptation is the way some plants have adapted to life in the desert. Deserts are dry, hot places. Plants called succulents have adapted to this climate by storing water in their thick stems and leaves. Animal migration is an example of a behavioral adaptation.