Animal Adaptations Vocabulary This vocabulary word list was developed as part of a unit on animal adaptations for a fourth grade classroom. Tools A B adaptation any body part, behavior, or physiological capability that increases an animal's ability to survive in its environment. behavior - anything an animal does involving action and/or response to stimulation. biome The world's major communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptation of organisms to that particular environment. camouflage ration that blends in with the surrounding environment. counter shading dark and light colors are a form of camouflage. conservation taking care of our environment by wisely managing its resources ecosystem a unit of plants, animals, and nonliving components of an environment that interact. environment the total surroundings and forces that act upon a living thing. endangered species a species of plant or animal of which numbers are decreasing at an alarming rate and is threatened with extinction by human-made or natural changes in the environment. extinct no longer existing on the Earth. habitat the place where an animal lives herbivore an animal that eats only plants carnivore an animal that eats only animals omnivore an animal that eats both plants and animals predator an animal that hunts other animals prey v: to hunt and eat other animals. n: an animal eaten by another animal invertebrate an animal with no backbone vertebrate an animal with a backbone