Question

Animals have the innate ability to escape from predation. Examples for the same are given below. Choose the incorrect example.
A. Colour change in chameleon.
B. Enlargement of body size by swallowing air in pufferfish.
C. Poison fangs in snakes.
D. Melanism in moth.

Answer 1

Predation is the action of attacking or killing one organism by the other for preying. The organism which kills is the predator and the one which is being attacked is the prey. Predation is a natural process. It is nature’s method to maintain an equilibrium and to transfer energy to higher trophic levels. If predators are absent, the number of prey species will increase uncontrollably and the equilibrium will be disrupted.

Complete answer:
Chameleons are poikilothermic or cold-blooded animals coming under reptiles. They cannot maintain a constant body temperature. To overcome the temperature changes, they change the colour of their body. In colder climatic conditions the chameleon changes their body to a dark colour to absorb more sunlight and on a bright sunny day to lighter body colour. The chameleon changes its colour also for communication, predation, for showing dominance, aggressiveness, willingness to mating, etc.
Puffer fishes enlarge their body by swallowing water and air to frighten the predators. This enlargement is facilitated by the highly elastic skin cells of their body. They also produce a poisonous neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin in their skin when they enlarge which can damage the heart, brain, nervous system, and kill the predators.
Poison fangs are found in poisonous snakes that are connected to a sac that produces poison or venom. Different types of snakes produce types of poison or venom that affect different parts of the body. These are used to kill the prey.
Melanism in moths is usually referred to as industrial melanism which was first observed in England after the industrial revolution. The number of white-winged moths was large before the industrial revolution. But after that, the number of dark-coloured moths increased. This was because, after the industrial revolution, the tree trunks became darker due to smoke and dust, and the white-winged moths were easily spotted by the predators. The dark-winged moths survived. Melanin is a pigment that gives dark colouration to the body. Melanism in moths occurred as a survival measure against their predators.

Thus, option (C), Poison fangs in snakes is incorrect amongst the given options.

Note: Prey predator relationships are very important for maintaining the number of species on Earth. Lack of predators and over-exploitation of predators are equally harmful to the ecosystem. Therefore predators are usually prudent. Different adaptations are seen in every prey species to decrease their chance of being hunted. Camouflage is usually an adaptation to overcome predation. But in chameleon, it is mainly for maintaining body temperature.