The term for an animal's ability to adjust to changing surroundings is?

• A. Stress
• B. Adaptation
• C. Environment
• D. Trait

Answer: (B)

Adaptation is the animal's ability to adjust to changing surroundings. It covers how an animal changes its behavior, physiology, or even its life pattern to cope with new conditions and continue functioning. For example, migrating to find food as seasons change is an adaptive behavior, and developing thicker fur in colder climates is a physiological adaptation. Stress is the reaction to pressure, not the ongoing capacity to adjust. The environment refers to the surrounding conditions itself, not the animal's ability. A trait is just a characteristic, which may result from adaptation but is not the act of adjusting. So the best term for this concept is adaptation.