Download Beak of the Finch Reading Assignments

Beak of the Finch Reading Assignment
Part One: Evolution in the Flesh
Due on Wednesday, February 22
Chapter 1
Describe the drought mentioned at the start of this chapter. Draw a line to indicate the
total height of rain. Compare this amount to a desert of your choice? How does it
compare? What is the significance of this drought?
Why are the isolation of the Galapagos so important in studying evolution?
Locate the Galapagos and Daphne Major on a map.
The islands are volcanic in origin and are 5 million years old, “far younger than most of
the rock that composes the continents.” How old are the rocks on the continents?
Why do you think it took so many years for scientists to document evolution in action
after Darwin’s Origin of Species was released?
What is Olduvai Gorge and Koobi Fora?
Chapter 2
Why do you think the animals on the Galapagos Islands were so tame and friendly?
Why do you think finches were able to evolve and specialize into so many forms on these
islands? What is this process called?
What is the value of a long-term ecological/evolutionary study? When did the Grants
start their study?
Carolus Linneas gave us what? On what was his system based?
What are Darwin and FitzRoy looking for?
How does Creationism influence scientific thought at this point in history?
How are variations regarded?
How did Principles of Geology affect Darwin’s thinking?
Why might Darwin be oppressed and persecuted for his secret theory?
Why did Darwin spend so much time learning about pigeons and discussing them in his
book?
What is a philoperisteron?
Chapter 3
What did you think of the analogy on page 40, “spines, but not webbing of a Japanese
fan?” Did it help you understand the concept?
Why did everyone think that evolution moved so slowly and was not able to be observed?
What are some of the tools used in this study? Know what they are and what they look
like. Comment on the technology used.
What are the measurements of beak depth, width and length? Draw a diagram of these
measurements taken by the researchers.
Why was variability in the beak trait of these finches so important?
Chapter 4
What current group uses the 1802 analogy of a watch and a watchmaker?
Who is Huxley and why is he an important figure in evolutionary biology?
Describe the McGill nutcracker and its purpose.
On page 55, the author describes two species of finches that have similar bill sizes when
they are found on separate islands. When the species are found on the same island, one
species tends to have larger beaks and one tends to have smaller beaks? What is this
biological phenomenon called?
On page 55, the author describes what happens when two Paramecium are added to a test
tube. What is the name of the described principle?
What are some of the benefits in this study of the low diversity of food types?
Why did the Grants come back when it was dry?
Finches appear to be utilizing the same exact resource of seeds. However, upon looking
closer we see that during drought, they specialize in what they feed on. What is this
biological phenomenon called?
Note that the finches use tools, a feat usually reserved for “more advanced” organisms
like primates.
Who is Mr. Micawber?
Why do you think only a few finches on one island steal caltrop? Why isn’t this a more
widespread phenomenon?
What is caltrop? How is it changing in response to the finches? What is this process
called when two species evolve together?
What is the difference in size of a finch that can crack and caltrop and one that can’t?
Why would egg-switching help in distinguishing heritable traits? Why do they want to
determine heritability?
Chapter 5
Who is Sisyphus and why is he mentioned here?
What’s a bird’s crop?
What’s a rainshadow?
What was the survival rate of finches during the drought? Discuss why this number is
important to the study.
Which birds tended to survive?
“Natural selection is not by itself evolution.” Why not? What is evolution?
What is the name of the process (in evolutionary terms) when a female finch chooses the
male with the biggest beak?
Chapter 6
The author keeps using the analogy of “standing on shoulders.” Why do you think he
uses this analogy? Is it effective?
Why are big beaks a disadvantage when young?
Explain the difference between a correlation and an experiment. Discuss why this is
important in studying evolutionary biology.
What are the tradeoffs in sexual selection? How did Endler discover these tradeoffs?
Are his results convincing?
Chapter 7
What is El Niño?
What happened to bird reproduction after El Niño?
What happened to natural selection during this time? What type of selection did this
research illustrate?
Is beak variation still important during this time?
Discuss the fortuitousness of the timing of this research. Do you think this study would
have been successful at another time? What might have changed?
What important analysis did Dolph Schluter perform?
There is an interesting hypothesis at the end of this chapter. “The closer you look at life,
the more rapid and intense the rate of evolutionary change. The further back in time you
stand, the less you see.” Discuss.