Adaptations for aquatic habitat

Animals:

• Animals which live in water must have special adaptations to help them survive in an aquatic habitat.
• The more time an animal spends in the water, the more adaptations the animal will have for an aquatic life.
• Aquatic animals show a variety of adaptations to stay in water.
• Ducks have webbed feet that help them in swimming.

Duck

• They also have hollow bones that help them to stay afloat.
• Oil produced from under their tails makes their feathers waterproof.
• Fish have the following modifications to live underwater.
• Gills are special organs that help fish to breathe underwater.

• Fins help them in swimming and keeping the body balanced.
• Their streamlined body shape allows them to swim fast by reducing resistance due to flowing water.

• Some sea animals such as octopus and squid do not have streamlined shape.
• However, while they move in water, they make their body streamlined.

• Animals such as dolphins and whales do not have gills to breathe in water.
• They have blowholes located at the upper parts of their heads.

• They come to the water surface and breathe in air through the blowholes from time to time.
• This allows them to stay under water for a long time.

Plants:

• Freshwater plants show the following adaptations.
• Plants that live in moving water have long, narrow stems.
• This prevents the plants from being carried away with water currents.
• Stems have air chambers that allow the aquatic plants to float in water.
• Leaves of plants like lotus and water lily have a waxy covering that prevents them from rotting.