STADIA / LIFE IN MOTION
One life. More than one environment.
What changes when the surroundings change?
A frog grows through different stages. A penguin walks and swims. A seed may be carried by water or an animal. Follow the transitions that connect the three environments.
Development
A changing body through a life cycle
One life cycle, changing form
- Tadpole
The aquatic larval stage.
- Froglet
Legs develop as the tail is gradually absorbed.
- Frog
A later stage of the same individual’s development, not a new species.
Simplified common-frog life-cycle stages; not a rule for all amphibians. [1]
The common frog offers a familiar example: aquatic tadpoles develop into froglets as legs appear and the tail is absorbed. This is development within an individual’s life. It is not the same process as evolutionary change across generations. [1]
Avoid turning this example into a rule for every amphibian. The museum account concerns a particular life cycle. Start by identifying the species before making claims about where its eggs, young or adults live.
Which change belongs to a life cycle, and which would require evidence across generations?
Adaptation
A wing that works in water
One penguin, two environments
- On land
Observe posture and support at the water’s edge.
- Underwater
Modified wings act as flippers for swimming.
- Compare
Ask which movements provide propulsion and which control direction.
Original penguin symbols; flipper use is illustrated conceptually, not as a stroke sequence. [2]
Penguins are birds whose wings are specialised for swimming. Their flippers and strong muscles propel them underwater, while their movement on land presents a very different picture. Adaptation can involve changing the use of a structure inherited from ancestors. [2]
Compare the same penguin at the water’s edge and beneath the surface. Which body parts provide propulsion, which help control direction, and which features appear to involve a compromise?
Can being well suited to one environment make movement in another more demanding?
Connected journeys
Connections through carriers and design
Carriers and engineered movement
- Air
Wind can carry seeds away from a parent plant.
- Water
Water is another dispersal route.
- Design
Multimodal robotics investigates movement across environments. Research prototypes require testing.
Original teaching schematic. Shapes and distances are simplified; not to scale. [3] [4]
Seeds may travel with wind, water or animals. Their movement connects places even though the parent plant remains rooted. Ask about the whole route: departure, transport, arrival and the conditions needed for growth. [3]
Engineers also investigate movement across environments. Harvard’s bioinspired robotics research includes aerial, terrestrial and multimodal robots, alongside soft devices for delicate handling. These are research programmes; an experimental mechanism is not automatically a dependable everyday product. [4]
What extra problem appears when a machine must work in two environments rather than one?
A FEW USEFUL WORDS
Build your vocabulary.
Metamorphosis
A developmental transformation in body form during an individual’s life cycle.
Trade-off
A situation in which improving one capability can make another more difficult.
Multimodal movement
Using more than one mode of movement, such as walking and flying.
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Which animal or plant would you choose to explain the connection between two environments?
Choose one example. Tell us what you noticed, why it matters to you, and what you would like to understand next. Share a source when making a factual claim. Contributions in your preferred language are welcome.
Discussion takes place in the existing Stadia Community. Sign in to contribute; its access and moderation rules apply. The questions on this page are editorial prompts.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
Sources & Further Reading
Selected museum, university, scientific-society and institutional sources. Main reading consulted 20 October 2026; illustrations added 21 October 2026. Sources retain their original languages and may be updated by their publishers.
- Natural History MuseumHow to find frogspawn, tadpoles and froglets (opens in a new tab)
A common frog’s life cycle, from tadpole to froglet.
- Smithsonian OceanPenguins (opens in a new tab)
Wings adapted for swimming and the demands of life at sea.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, KewHow plants hitchhike on animal poo (opens in a new tab)
Seed dispersal by animals, wind, water and other mechanisms.
- Harvard Microrobotics LaboratoryBioinspired Robotics (opens in a new tab)
Research on soft manipulation and robots for different environments.
Original illustrations are educational or decorative schematics, not anatomical reconstructions or scale drawings. No external photographs are reproduced. Linked sources and their images retain their own rights. Suggest a correction in the Community, including a source.
CONNECTED EXPLORATIONS
Follow another route
Keep the question moving.
Life in the Air
From drifting seeds to controlled flight.
Explore Life in the Air↗Life on Land
Bodies, wheels and the surfaces between them.
Explore Life on Land↗Life in Water
Fish, drifting animals, ships and submarines.
Explore Life in Water↗Nature and Human Ingenuity
Myth, evidence and the work of invention.
Explore Nature and Human Ingenuity↗