Sesson 1: Environmental Influence

Key Idea

Not all of an animal's traits come from its parents. The world around an animal, its environment, also helps shape what it looks like and what it can do. This includes the food it eats and the other animals it lives with.

Some of an organism's features, or traits, come from its life experiences. For example, what an animal eats can change its physical appearance. Other traits are learned behaviors, like a special song that an animal learns by listening to its family or group.

Key Idea

What a living thing eats is part of its environment. An animal's diet, or the food it eats, can change its physical traits, such as its color.

For example, a flamingo is not born pink. It is born with gray feathers. The flamingo eats shrimp and algae that have a special pink color inside them. Over time, this food turns the flamingo's feathers pink, showing that some traits come from the world around an animal.

Key Idea

Many animals live together in a social group. This group is a very important part of an animal's environment.

Young animals learn by watching and listening to others in their group. These are called learned behaviors. For example, a young wolf learns how to hunt by following its pack, and some monkeys learn special warning calls.