What are examples of adaptations?

Answer 1

Adaptations are functional products of Natural selection; they are solutions to recurrent evolutionary problems. Most, but not all features of organisms are adaptations (some are byproducts- this is especially important to remember when considering behavioral adaptations). If you are trying to decide if something is an adaptation consider these three questions:

1) Is it universal? (generally with same sex conspecifics)

2) Is it functional?

3) Is it complex?

If you answer yes to all of the questions it is safe to call it an adaptation. For example, thumbs. Thumbs are universal- all humans have them; they are functional (ever tried to not use your thumb?) and they are complex (biologically speaking).
Examples of adaptation can be found in any living creature or plant you care to look at! All you have to do is ask yourself what does this organism use for nutrition, how does it compete for that nutrition and what other organisms get nutrition from it ? Those questions will lead you to its adaptations.

Some examples:

Rabbit - Uses grass and green plants for nutrition so it has sharp teeth to bite through vegetation and a colon that can digest cellulose. It provides nutrition to carnivores so it has large ears to hear their approach, eyes on the side of the head for all round vision, strong back legs to run away. It competes well by breeding quickly so there are alway young rabbits to continue the genetic line.

Owl - Uses small mammals for nutrition so it has forward facing eyes for binocular vision (can see depth and judge distances), keen eyesight to see prey, thick feathers to enable silent flight so as to not alarm prey, strong claws to pick up prey, sharp beak to tear flesh from bone to eat. They are not typically eaten by anything - top predator - so have few defences. Competition is seen off by being a better hunter.

Chilli pepper - Uses soil and water for nutrients so will only germinate seeds when both are available. Uses sunlight for energy. Eaten by any animal that is herbivorous so defenses are an incredibly hot flavour to the fruit. Humans are daft enough to eat it, but few animals are!

Dandelion - Soil and water for nutrition, sun for energy. The dandelion makes sure it has adequate access to all 3 by laying its large leaves one top of any plant in the vicinity - starving them of sunlight and hopefully killing them. If that doesn't work the root of the dandelion secretes a poison to kill nearby plants too. This means the dandelion gets loads of sunshine and all the water and nutrients it needs. It also competes well because a single plant can release thousands of seeds twice a year. Pretty clever if you think that your humble apple tree only manages to make seeds once a year!

I could go on, from camouflaged hunters to camouflaged prey, flesh tearing teeth to grass grinding plates, producing thousands of offspring to nurturing less than a handful to adulthood. Everything you see an animal do, or look like or whatever is an adaptation geared to the survival of the species.
A Dog teeth adapt to sharp teeth to eat meat.
The Snowshoe Hare's adapting it's coat in winter is a great example.
The definition of adaptation is learning to live or adapt to new climates and/or conditions. So one example would be city birds. They used to live in the wild, but now they have adapted with city life; learning to make new sounds and finding different foods that can sustain their life force. The negative side about that is that they are staying up longer and are having trouble sleeping due to city lights at night.
an adaptation is any physical change express by an organism due to the external environment. and example is growing and shedding of coat during that seasons.

OR

An adaptation is any change expressed by an organism due to the external environment. An adaptation does not necessarily have to be a physical change. An example would be the Kangaroo Rat which lives in the deserts of America. It has a behavioural adaptation of burrowing underground when it is too hot. A physical change of the Kangaroo Rat could be the development of cheek pouches, for it to store food (hence, Kangaroo Rat). It developed pouches on the cheek to be able to store food outside of it's mouth, because if it stored the food inside the mouth it would lose some moisture.

An example of an adaptation is when a chameleon changes color so it can blend in with its environment.

Answer 2

Examples of adaptation can be found in any living creature or plant you care to look at! All you have to do is ask yourself what does this organism use for nutrition, how does it compete for that nutrition and what other organisms get nutrition from it ? Those questions will lead you to its adaptations.

Some examples:

Rabbit - Uses grass and green plants for nutrition so it has sharp teeth to bite through vegetation and a colon that can digest cellulose. It provides nutrition to carnivores so it has large ears to hear their approach, eyes on the side of the head for all round vision, strong back legs to run away. It competes well by breeding quickly so there are alway young rabbits to continue the genetic line.

Owl - Uses small mammals for nutrition so it has forward facing eyes for binocular vision (can see depth and judge distances), keen eyesight to see prey, thick feathers to enable silent flight so as to not alarm prey, strong claws to pick up prey, sharp beak to tear flesh from bone to eat. They are not typically eaten by anything - top predator - so have few defences. Competition is seen off by being a better hunter.

Chilli pepper - Uses soil and water for nutrients so will only germinate seeds when both are available. Uses sunlight for energy. Eaten by any animal that is herbivorous so defenses are an incredibly hot flavour to the fruit. Humans are daft enough to eat it, but few animals are!

Dandelion - Soil and water for nutrition, sun for energy. The dandelion makes sure it has adequate access to all 3 by laying its large leaves one top of any plant in the vicinity - starving them of sunlight and hopefully killing them. If that doesn't work the root of the dandelion secretes a poison to kill nearby plants too. This means the dandelion gets loads of sunshine and all the water and nutrients it needs. It also competes well because a single plant can release thousands of seeds twice a year. Pretty clever if you think that your humble apple tree only manages to make seeds once a year!

I could go on, from camouflaged hunters to camouflaged prey, flesh tearing teeth to grass grinding plates, producing thousands of offspring to nurturing less than a handful to adulthood. Everything you see an animal do, or look like or whatever is an adaptation geared to the survival of the species.