Natural Selection & Evidence WorksheetName______________________

Section A: Pre-Darwinian Theories

1. Read the article and summarize the scientists contribution to the theory of evolution.

Linnaeus

Buffon

Erasmus Darwin

Lamarck

Cuvier

Lyell

Hutton

Section B: Charles Darwin

On the Websites-Evolution page, click on Darwin & Natural Selection.

1. What was Darwins position on the H.M.S. Beagle? ______________________________________________

2. How did Lyells books influence Darwin? ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

3. How were the Galapagos Islands significant in Darwins evolutionary thought? ______________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

4. List some examples of some of the organisms that Darwin encountered on the Galapagos Islands. _________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is adaptive radiation? Use the finches to explain the concept._________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What is descent with modification? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Explain the process of natural selection. _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Explain why survival of the fittest doesnt always mean the strongest. _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

9. How were Darwins thoughts different from Lamarcks? __________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What did the critics say about Darwins explanation? ____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

11. How did Malthus essays influence Darwin? ____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

12. What does fittest mean from an evolutionary perspective? ______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

13. Why didnt Darwin publish his findings soon after returning from his voyage? ________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

14. Who was Alfred Wallace and what was his contribution to evolutionary thought? _____________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

Section C: Adaptation & Fitness

1. Living things that are well adapted to their environment survive and reproduce. Those that are not well adapted dont survive and reproduce. An adaptation is any characteristic that increases fitness, which is defined as the ability to survive and reproduce.

a. Based on the definition of fitness, use the chart to determine what characteristic of the mice is an adaptation that increased their fitness? _________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

b. Which mouse would biologists consider the fittest? _____________________

Color of Fur

Black

Tan

Tan and Black

Cream

Age of Death

2 months

8 months

4 months

2 months

# of offspring

0

11

3

0

Running Speed

8 m/min

6 m/min

7 m/min

5 min/m

Name of Lions

George

Dwayne

Spot

Tyrone

Age of Death

13 years

16 years

12 years

10 years

# of offspring

19

25

20

20

# cubs surviving to adulthood

15

14

14

19

Adulthood

10 feet

8.5 feet

9 feet

9 feet

2. A more complete definition of fitness is the ability to survive and produce offspring who can also survive and reproduce. Which lion would biologists consider the fittest? Explain why. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Over many generations heritable adaptive characteristics become more common in a population. Evolution by natural selection takes place over many, many generations. The term evolution by natural selection refers to changes in the frequency of adaptive characteristics in the population.

Section D: How does evolution really work?

1. What are the four causes of natural selection?

a. ___________________________________c. ____________________________________

b. ___________________________________d. ____________________________________

2. Describe the process of natural selection and how it affects hummingbird populations. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Section E: Variation and Selection in the Egyptian Origami Bird

Adapted from: http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/origam2.pdf

INTRODUCTION: The Egyptian Origami Bird (Avis papyrus) lives in arid regions of North Africa. Only those birds which can successfully fly the long distances between the sparsely spaced oases will be able to live long enough to breed successfully. You will breed several generations of Origami Birds and observe the effects on their evolutionary success.

PROCEDURE:

1. All students will start with the same P generation dimensions. You will breed offspring to create your F1 generation. Flip a coin to determine if the mutation occurs on the front wing or the back wing. If heads, the mutation occurs on the front wing. If tails, the mutation occurs on the back wing.

2. For each chick, throw your dice then record the results on the table. The dice throw determines how the mutation affects the wing. On the dice.

a. 1 = the wing moves 1 cm toward the end of the straw

b. 2 = the wing moves 1 cm away from the end of the straw

c. 3 = the circumference of the wing increases 2 cm

d. 4 = the circumference of the wing decreases 2 cm

e. 5 = the width of the wing increases 1 cm

f. 6 = the width of the wing decreases 1 cm

3. Continue to create offspring for the F2, F3, and F4 generation by throwing the dice each time to determine the type of mutation. Record the results on the table.

4. Once you know the genotype of your F4 generation, create a model of your bird after all the mutations. Cut two strips of paper according to the length and width in the F4 generation. Loop each strip of paper with a 1 cm overlap and tape according to the distance in the F4 from the edge of the straw. You will need to add 1 cm to account for the overlap.

5. Now its time to see how your bird compares to the rest of the birds in the class. We will test to see which birds will be able to survive the long trek to the water source.

DISCUSSION:

1. Did you notice common characteristics in birds that were able to fly the furthest?

2. How did this experiment produce variation among the offspring? How did this experiment select offspring to breed the next generation?

.

3. Predict the appearance of your F4 birds descendants if the selection conditions change the worst flying bird survives to produce the most offspring. .

Generation

Genotypes (Measurements)

P

Front wing - Distance from end -

3x20 cm 3 cm

Back wing - Distance from end

3x20 cm 3 cm

F1

Front wing - Distance from end -

Back wing - Distance from end

F2

Front wing - Distance from end -

Back wing - Distance from end

F3

Front wing - Distance from end -

Back wing - Distance from end

F4

Front wing - Distance from end -

Back wing - Distance from end

Section F: Peppered Moth Simulation

On the Website-Evolution page, click on Peppered Moth Simulation. ..read & go through the animation.

Charles Darwin accumulated a tremendous collection of facts to support the theory of evolution by natural selection. One of his difficulties in demonstrating the theory, however, was the lack of an example of evolution over a short period of time, which could be observed as it was taking place in nature. Although Darwin was unaware of it, remarkable examples of evolution, wh