Behavioral Adaptations
Burrowing
- Small mammals burrow during winters to stay warm
- Examples of these animals are chipmunks and shrews
Migration
- Some insect-eating birds migrate south in the fall to avoid cold winters and return in the spring
Structural Adaptations
Thick Fur Coats
- Mammals have thick coats of fur to insulate them during the winters
- This keeps them warm during cold winters
- Some examples of these mammals are moose, bears and wolves
Coniferous Trees
- Their cone shapes reduces snow build-up so their branches do not break under the weight
- Their needles have waxy coatings to protect from drying winds, resist water loss, and allow snow to slide of easily
Physiological Adaptations
Snowshoe Hare
- The snowshoe hare changes the color of its fur from white during winters to brown when the snow melts in the spring.
- It does this to blend in with its surroundings and hide from predators
Deciduous Trees
- In the spring they produce broad leaves to easily capture sunlight for photosynthesis in the spring and summer
- Before the temperature drops it takes back the nutrients from the leaves and then it sheds them to prevent damage by heavy snowfalls
- Aspens even have chlorophyll in their bark so they can photosynthesize on warmer days during the winter when they have no leaves