Report On The Process Of Natural Selection
Eric Reed
Lab Report 1
Lab #3
4/30/2013
Natural Selection
I. Intro
Hypothesis: If a species of bird is able to adapt and maintain a curved beak, then that species of bird will survive and benefit from the process of natural selection.
Background: Natural selection is a gradual, non-random process in a population of biological traits becoming either more or less common as the population progresses or digresses through generations. In this lab, various beak phenotypes were tested to see which beak phenotype was best suited to withstand and survive the process of natural selection.
II. Materials and Methods
In this lab, students were placed into groups based on which table they sat at in the lab room. The lab supplies included beaks, calculators, food and baggies, which had already been passed out. Two people from each table were sent to hunt for food representing a generation of our species by beak phenotype, which was our feeding mechanism. The different beak phenotypes competed for food during five (5) consecutive rounds of thirty seconds each. There were three (3) rounds of hunting for food on the floor, one (1) round of hunting for food on a tarp, and one (1) round of hunting for food on a staircase to simulate an earthquake.
III. Results
Refer to Figure 1 below for the results of our lab.
The results showed that the tweezer, pencil and skewer beak phenotypes faired the best through our five (5) generational rounds, seeing as they were the only three (3) phenotypes surviving. The spoon, straw, and clothespin phenotypes performed the worst and died off the quickest of the six different phenotypes. With the current trend in percentage of survivors, it can be hypothesized that the tweezer phenotype would have the best chance at survival if we were to look at future generations.
IV. Conclusion
The results turned out the way they are because of several factors. The cooperation between tweezers, pencils and skewers was much
Lab Report 1
Lab #3
4/30/2013
Natural Selection
I. Intro
Hypothesis: If a species of bird is able to adapt and maintain a curved beak, then that species of bird will survive and benefit from the process of natural selection.
Background: Natural selection is a gradual, non-random process in a population of biological traits becoming either more or less common as the population progresses or digresses through generations. In this lab, various beak phenotypes were tested to see which beak phenotype was best suited to withstand and survive the process of natural selection.
II. Materials and Methods
In this lab, students were placed into groups based on which table they sat at in the lab room. The lab supplies included beaks, calculators, food and baggies, which had already been passed out. Two people from each table were sent to hunt for food representing a generation of our species by beak phenotype, which was our feeding mechanism. The different beak phenotypes competed for food during five (5) consecutive rounds of thirty seconds each. There were three (3) rounds of hunting for food on the floor, one (1) round of hunting for food on a tarp, and one (1) round of hunting for food on a staircase to simulate an earthquake.
III. Results
Refer to Figure 1 below for the results of our lab.
The results showed that the tweezer, pencil and skewer beak phenotypes faired the best through our five (5) generational rounds, seeing as they were the only three (3) phenotypes surviving. The spoon, straw, and clothespin phenotypes performed the worst and died off the quickest of the six different phenotypes. With the current trend in percentage of survivors, it can be hypothesized that the tweezer phenotype would have the best chance at survival if we were to look at future generations.
IV. Conclusion
The results turned out the way they are because of several factors. The cooperation between tweezers, pencils and skewers was much