What is the differences between an adaptation and adapting?

Answer 1

Adaptation occurs through evolution by natural selection. If evolution is any change in allele frequency, then adaptation is the subset of frequency changes that gives the organism greater fitness under particular circumstances.
Picture this, a brand new island forms off the coast of Iceland in 1963 as the result of an undersea volcanic eruption. After only a few months, the landscape created was so varied and mature that it was almost beyond belief. This is an amazing factual description of then, brand new island of Surtsey off the coast of Iceland and all the scientists were amazed at what they saw happening there from the first days of its existence.

What these men and women encountered was nothing less than miraculous from their evolutionary perspectives. There were wide sandy beaches, gravel banks, impressive cliffs, soft undulating land, gullies and channels. There were boulders worn by the surf, some of which were round, sitting on an abrasion platform cut into the cliff, and all of this despite the extreme youth of the island.

The geologist's surprise is understandable; given the modern thinking that young Surtsey's 'varied and mature' features ought to have needed long periods of time - millions of years to form.

Anyone with 'a millions of years' starting point will be 'astonished' when viewing Surtsey and according to a January 2006 article in the New Scientist, Surtsey continues to surprise. 'The island has excited geographers who marvel that canyons, gullies and other land features that typically take tens of thousands or millions of years to form were created in less than a decade.'

Answer 2

an adaptation is a change in behaviour/physical characteristics that has already occurred. Adapting is the proccess of changing a behaviour/physical characteristic.

Answer 3

Adaptation is when an individual or small group of animals or even humans, changes its habits and lifestyle to better exist in their habitat. Homeostasis refers to the stable level of internal conditions in organisms, as an example, when your own body is in a state of homeostasis your body temperature should be about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Evolution is how a species changes over time to better exist in its environment.

Answer 4

To adapt means to get used to something. For instance, if you lived in the arctic, you would have to adapt to the cold so it felt regular. But to evolve is like having an extra leg, or having a new kind of organ.