Adaptations

Humankind has expanded to reach the new heights it has climbed up to these days. Little villages have become hamlets, and then towns, and nowadays, busy, industrial cities. However, this transformation has required the building of tall skyscrapers and houses, as well as factories and offices; which have taken the place of forests and tropical environments, where animals and plants used to live.Nature is one of the resources that have been “destroyed” in certain way, because humankind works on the environment to make it their way.
The constant growth of the metropolitan areas has shrunk the ecosystem where animals used to live in earlier times. Several species have not adapted, or accomodated to these changes to survive. These species are now either endangered or extinct, due to thisand other causes. On the other hand, other species have adapted to the perfection. Pigeons, raccoons and rats live properly, even in the prescence of human settlements. Pigeons soar the foggy skies, raccoon feed on our dumpwastes, and rats hide slyly in our homes or offices, where they live as kings.
These animals are a few examples of the amazing adaptating skills of animals. In this report (andmovie) we will show you about the clever animals that have found their place and delight in human societies.

In this report, you will be informed on many ways how animals are forced to adapt in different ecosystems.













THE BIG RACE OF EXPANSION

Chicago began as the homeplace of the Native American Indians, the Potawatomi tribe. Later, it became a little town with 200populators, during 1833. Seven years later, there were 4,000 populators. Now, there are 9.8 millions of populators. Now, think of the pigeons that swoosh around in the Chicago skies. Pigeons nest in skyscrapers, in the few trees that stand in parks, in lampposts... maybe even in the benches.


A settlement is a general term used for a community in which people live, without being specific as tosize, population or importance. Animals are adapting to human settlements, for a way of living. Fields, turned into big cities, towns, small places were animal ecosystems.

An ecosystem is a biological system consisting of all the living organisms or biotic components in a particular area and the nonliving or abiotic component with which the organisms interact, such as air, water and sunlight.Some adaptations are purely physical. Fish have fins to help them swim and gills that let them breathe underwater. Without those two special traits, they would have a very hard time surviving in their watery environment. Animals also adapt though certain behaviors. When threatened, a porcupine extends its quills, making it very hard for a fox to eat them.

Humans “cheat”, because we usetechnology to adapt to change. We can fit in almost any environment on the planet from icy cold Antarctica to the bottom of the ocean. We design and build better air conditioners, better diving suits, and lights to see in the dark. Technology lets us adapt quickly to changes in our environment. However, for other animals, adaptation is a slow, steady process which may take hundreds of thousands ofyears to accomplish. Some of the changes we humans make can lead to the death of entire species of animals. We can change things so fast that we make it hard for other animals to "fit in". They do not have the time needed to develop sufficient means of adapting to the changed environment, product of our actions.

A certain kind of snake, the stick snake, has changed its look into a stick-likecolor (hence the name), and it helps this innofensive animal to survive and mix into its environment, lowering its risk of death.
Turtles also acquire techniques of surviving, but only a few survive, in fact. Sea turtles have to face more than man in order to reach the wide ocean. They must face hungry gulls, weakness, and competition to reach their new home. This challenge is only beated by a few....