Different Adaptations
Why does the Western Quoll have different adaptations than the Fairy Penguin?
These two animals have different adaptations primarily from living in entirely different environments. The Western Quoll is marsupial that is found inland where as the Fairy Penguin is seabird. Inland Australia has very different abiotic factors than Coastal Australia. The temperature ranges are different as is the rainfall. But the most obvious is the physical components of each animals environment. The Western Quoll's habitat is a forest environment full of trees and the Fairy Penguin's habitat is the sea. The forest has a much warmer temperature during summer and winter than the temperature of the water.
It gets much colder in southern coastal waters than it does on land so the Fairy Penguin's feathers have adapted to block out the cold water other wise the animal would die of hypothermia, especially during winter. Likewise, when it gets hot in the summer the Western Quoll can lower its body temperature to conserve energy but a Fairy Penguin does not need too because the weather by the sea is often several degrees lower than on the mainland and the water would be warm.
The Western Quoll has a long tail to help climb trees, a common entity amongst the forest whilst Fairy Penguins wings have evolved into flippers designed for movement in the water.
A Western Quoll does not need flippers because it is not going to be spending most of its time in the water and the Fairy Penguin would not need a long tail to help climb trees because there is no trees in the ocean habitat of the penguin.
These animals have also adapted to the patterns of the animals that they rely on. A Western Quoll is nocturnal because its requirements for survival such as hunting for invertebrates, mainly occur at night however the requirements of the Fairy Penguin occurs mainly during the day.
These two animals have each adapted to suit their respective environments. Each environment calls for entirely different survival tactics to ensure the species will continue to exist. The animals do not need any of the others adaptations because they are not going to come in contact with this environment. If the two species were to swap environments then neither species would be able to live.
These two animals have different adaptations primarily from living in entirely different environments. The Western Quoll is marsupial that is found inland where as the Fairy Penguin is seabird. Inland Australia has very different abiotic factors than Coastal Australia. The temperature ranges are different as is the rainfall. But the most obvious is the physical components of each animals environment. The Western Quoll's habitat is a forest environment full of trees and the Fairy Penguin's habitat is the sea. The forest has a much warmer temperature during summer and winter than the temperature of the water.
It gets much colder in southern coastal waters than it does on land so the Fairy Penguin's feathers have adapted to block out the cold water other wise the animal would die of hypothermia, especially during winter. Likewise, when it gets hot in the summer the Western Quoll can lower its body temperature to conserve energy but a Fairy Penguin does not need too because the weather by the sea is often several degrees lower than on the mainland and the water would be warm.
The Western Quoll has a long tail to help climb trees, a common entity amongst the forest whilst Fairy Penguins wings have evolved into flippers designed for movement in the water.
A Western Quoll does not need flippers because it is not going to be spending most of its time in the water and the Fairy Penguin would not need a long tail to help climb trees because there is no trees in the ocean habitat of the penguin.
These animals have also adapted to the patterns of the animals that they rely on. A Western Quoll is nocturnal because its requirements for survival such as hunting for invertebrates, mainly occur at night however the requirements of the Fairy Penguin occurs mainly during the day.
These two animals have each adapted to suit their respective environments. Each environment calls for entirely different survival tactics to ensure the species will continue to exist. The animals do not need any of the others adaptations because they are not going to come in contact with this environment. If the two species were to swap environments then neither species would be able to live.