Raven kneels at the edge of the new pavement. "Listen," she whispers.
From the hedge next door comes a faint chirp. "A cricket!" Rocket says. "It moved!"
Nova projects a cyan hedge with tiny dots inside. "Some moved," she says. "The hedge is small. Can it hold them all?"
Raven writes three words in her notebook: move, adjust, decline. "Three things can happen," she says.
When a habitat changes, living things cannot vote on it. They can only respond.
Some move. If a nearby place still has what they need, they go there.
Some adjust. They change what they eat, where they rest or when they are active.
Some decline. If they cannot move or adjust, there are fewer of them over time.
Often all three happen at once. A few move, a few adjust, and the rest decline.
Which one happens depends on the living thing and on what is nearby.
| Response | What it looks like | When it works |
|---|---|---|
| move | Leave for a nearby habitat that still has what you need | when a good place is close enough to reach |
| adjust | Eat a new food, rest in a new spot or come out at a new time | when the change is small enough to live with |
| decline | Fewer and fewer over time | when there is nowhere to go and no way to adjust |
A living thing's body and habits decide which response it can use.
Birds have wings, so moving is often easy for them. A frog cannot cross a dry, hot parking lot.
An animal that eats many kinds of food can adjust more easily. A picky eater has a harder time.
A plant cannot move at all. Its seeds can travel, but the plant itself stays put.
So the same change can be small for one living thing and huge for another.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Every living thing can simply move when its habitat changes. | ? |
| An animal that eats many foods can adjust more easily. | ? |
| Move, adjust and decline can all happen after one change. | ? |
| Plants can walk to a new habitat. | ? |
Three words, one big idea! Tomorrow we look at water, the change that hits amphibians hardest.