Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Natural selection wikipedia , lookup
Unilineal evolution wikipedia , lookup
Hologenome theory of evolution wikipedia , lookup
Hindu views on evolution wikipedia , lookup
Acceptance of evolution by religious groups wikipedia , lookup
Punctuated equilibrium wikipedia , lookup
On the Origin of Species wikipedia , lookup
Catholic Church and evolution wikipedia , lookup
Genetics and the Origin of Species wikipedia , lookup
Saltation (biology) wikipedia , lookup
BIO 295 Islands & Evolution - from the Galapagos to New York City HOMEWORK 01: ANSWER KEY The Beak of the Finch: Chapters 1-3 Answer each question in at least one paragraph (ca. 150-200 words). Refer to the syllabus (section “Written assignments”) for formatting instructions. 1. What makes Daphne Major and the Galapagos unique? Who are Peter and Rosemary Grant and why did they choose this place to find support for Darwin’s theory? Size, simplicity, isolation, age of islands (factors that make islands interesting for studying evolution); Daphne major chosen because of “inconveniences”, small enough to know all birds, large enough to get good numbers; evolutionary biologists at Princeton University p. 9-14, 19 p.16 2. Describe the study system (Darwin’s finches). Study system = organism/s that is/are studied i.e. Darwin’s finches Number of finches and names, notes on biology of different species, variability between species (especially beaks) p. 17-18, 41-43 3. How did Darwin end up going to the Galapagos Islands and what were his impressions? How did his stay on the islands change his ideas? What role did the finches play in this process? Darwin joined the Beagle to collect specimens, observed interesting patterns in island inhabitants (mocking birds, tortoises, not finches!), read Principles of Geology and started thinking about ongoing change, his observations and collections eventually got him thinking about the origin of species; Story that finches played crucial role in shaping Darwin’s ideas on evolution is a fable, truth is they played a minor role, Darwin did not even mention the finches in his final draft of the Origin p. 21-30 p. 35-36, 40 (bottom)-41 4. Why did people think that evolution moved too slowly to ever be observed? What kinds of experiments did Darwin conduct to provide proof for his theory? Was he successful? Evidence of evolution had only been found in the fossil record; Darwin started breeding pigeons to see the process of selection firsthand, successful in documenting artificial selection but his peers did not accept these experiments as proof of his theory of evolution by natural selection p. 6, 7 p.30-35 5. How did the finch study begin? What triggered the start of the long-term study? Finch study = long-term study conducted by the Grants (not Darwin who only “opened their eyes to the process”, p. 36) Peter Grant interested in variation, wanted to watch what happens in nature, “needed group of hypervariable species, well-studied, variability variable, scattered across set of remote and undisturbed locations”, found Galapagos and thought they were ideal, first trip in 1973, intended to stay only one season, found interesting pattern when measuring finches, decided to continue p. 3 (bottom) p. 37 p. 43-48 6. In what situation could the tameness of the birds on the island become a problem? This is a relevant concern for island-inhabiting species in general. Not specifically mentioned in book. Human presence could cause problem but main problem when new predator is introduced, birds did not have time to evolve any defensive mechanisms, could be quickly driven to extinction p. 44-45 7. Why do you think it took so many years for scientists to document evolution in action after Darwin’s Origin of Species was released? Many possible answers. For instance, religion, technology, stubbornness (a lot of things are easy to do once they have been done before, the pioneers need to be stubborn and have patience) p.36 (bottom) Assigned 01/27 Due 02/04 5pm (submit electronically)