If you need an offline version of AskNature's content, these pages have you covered.

The following AskNature Biological Strategy pages have printable PDF versions available. Each strategy is one page (front and back) and many include diagrams and scientific illustrations to support understanding. Many of the organisms featured can be found across a wide range of geographies. Download the Strategies in bulk using the button below, or individually from each page.

These pages might be used in the following ways:

  • Support outdoor learning with the AskNature Strategies for organisms which might be found in your region.
  • Bring biological phenomena into the English/Language Arts classroom by using AskNature Strategies as informational text.
  • Augment the lesson/activity, “The Language of Biomimicry,” using printed Strategies instead of students own online devices.
  • Support understanding of structure and function by having students underline or highlight the key words and phrases that capture the functional parts and working principles within the Strategy. Then have students translate those concepts into engineering terms by writing a description of the Strategy that could be used by an engineer to build a system that works in a similar way.

Vertebrates

Biological Strategy

How Air Sacs Power Lungs in Birds’ Respiratory System

Birds

The respiratory system of birds facilitates efficient exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen by using air sacs to maintain a continuous unidirectional airflow through the lungs.

a large bird with light brown feathers and long beak flies right above the surface of water
Biological Strategy

Birds That Surf the Air

Pelicans

When pelican wings glide close to water, they use “ground effect” to maximize lift, minimize drag, and conserve energy.

The membrane between limbs of a flying squirrel hangs loosely as the squirrel rests
Biological Strategy

How Flying Squirrels Control Their Glide

Flying squirrels

Flying squirrels have membranes and cartilage that help them change lift and drag forces, enabling them to glide more than 100 times their body length.
an egyptian fruit bat hangs upsidedown with open eyes
Biological Strategy

Off-Target Clicks Help Fruit Bats Find Food

Egyptian fruit bat

These fruit-eating bats home in on a meal by aiming sound waves to the side of their intended target, then adjusting their path to reduce the difference in timing between the waves bouncing back.
brown rodents near hole in ground
Biological Strategy

Asymmetric Burrow Openings Create Passive Ventilation

Black-tailed prairie dog

Differences in position and shape of burrow openings of black-tailed prairie dogs create passive ventilation from wind energy by altering air pressure.

A brown Bornean tree hole frog sits on a green leaf
Biological Strategy

The Frog That Plays Tree Holes Like a Pipe Organ

Bornean tree-hole frog

The tree-hole frog amplifies the sound of its call by adjusting its pitch to match the resonant frequency of its surroundings.
a light brown bull snake is partially coiled and rising to hiss, its black tongue sticking out
Biological Strategy

The Snakes That Bellow Like Bulls

Bull snakes and relatives

When bull snakes and their relatives bellow in defense, tissue boosts air flow as it passes over a single vocal cord to create an initial burst of sound.

A rainbow trout swimming
Biological Strategy

Body Uses Vortices to Save Energy

Rainbow trout

The body of rainbow trout decreases energy required for swimming by interacting with vortices in its fluid environment.

Insects & Spiders

black, red and white butterfly on a red flower
Biological Strategy

Tiny Structures Help Butterflies Soar

Butterflies and moths

Microscopic scales provide lift to nature’s “flying flowers.”
two water striders stand on water facing each other, the water reflects a blue and black background
Biological Strategy

The Insect That Uses Waves to Communicate

Water strider

Water striders communicate with each other using body parts that send and sense slight vibrations in the water around them.
Spider under water with air bubble
Biological Strategy

Spider Builds an Underwater Bubble House

Diving bell spider

The Eurasian diving bell spider uses silk and goo to make an airy home for itself beneath the surface of a pond.
Spider ballooning from the petals of a daisy
Biological Strategy

Spiders Fly Riding Electric Currents

Spiders

Spiders travel thousands of miles through the air using their silk to ride electrostatic repulsion instead of the wind.
beige and brown spider on light pink flower
Biological Strategy

Spiders’ Leg Hairs Help Find Flying Food

Spiders

Tiny leg hairs help spiders sense subtle air movement by conducting it directly to nerve cells.

Plants

reeds growing in water
Biological Strategy

How Wetland Plants Get Air to Waterlogged Roots

Common reed

Common reeds and other wetland plants transport gases through a network of spaces between their cells.
macro view of pine cone scales against a green background
Biological Strategy

Pine Cones Open and Close in Response to Weather

Pines

A slight rise in humidity triggers pine cones to curl up their scales to prevent ineffective seed dispersal in wet weather.
a tall Scots pine tree on a green hill agains a bright blue sky
Biological Strategy

Spiral Fibers Strengthen Tree Trunk

Pines

The trunks of pine trees withstands wind and snow via spiral growth.

Daisies extending their stems towards the sun
Biological Strategy

Water Pressure Helps Flowers Follow the Sun

Plants

Light intensity concentrates hormones that alter the water levels in cells causing plants to bend toward the light source.