Download the best equipped will survive and reproduce

Name ______________________________________ Date ______________ Hr____
Natural Selection
Natural selection: ________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
1) _________________________________________________
During reproduction, random changes occur in the genetic information passed along to the
offspring. Extreme changes are usually lethal, and no offspring result.
Smaller changes can cause small or even dramatic differences in individuals. Some may
turn out bigger, more aggressive, darker/lighter in color, quicker or slower to respond,
having larger fins or bigger teeth, etc.
The result is a variation in the population.
2) _________________________________________________
Changes in weather or climate, catastrophic events such as volcanoes, droughts, can put
pressure on organisms that can stress, weaken, or kill then.
At the same time, nature produces many more organisms that can be supported by the
environment.
Organisms not adapted to withstand environmental pressures are doomed to fail.
Biotic factors also put pressure on organisms. They need energy, or they will die.
Organisms that are eaten ALSO die.
Microbes cause disease.
Life is always under pressure.
3) _________________________________________________
-Every species has a niche in which it lives and acquires the resources it needs for
survival. The problem is that all of the members of the species are also trying to survive
as well.
Organisms that can succeed in getting resources and that successfully reproduce pass
their genes to the next generation.
BIG IDEA: ______________________________________________
-the best equipped will survive and reproduce
fossweb.com
Select “Class login” (NOT teacher login)
Username: ScienceWeiher7
Password: LakeHarriet
Go to “Populations and Ecosystems
1)
Select from menu: Larkey Punnett Square -
Review
Do 2-3 until you feel very confident. Do not go on until you can do this independently.
Ask for help, if you are confused.
2)
Select from menu: Larkey Natural Selection – Use the lab sheet, “Natural Selection
– Larkeys.”
This simulation is more automated than what you have done previously. The results
of the “breeding” is tabulated quickly, and you will only need to record the P (Parent)
and the F6 (Filial – 6th generation) on your data sheet. The big idea here is that
certain traits make larkeys better suited to survive in the forest ecosystem, and other
traits make prairie larkey better suited to live on the prairie ecosystem. You will be
comparing the traits that allow forest larkeys to survive versus traits that help prairie
larkeys to survive.
3)
Exit Fossweb. Go to sciencechannel.com and type in “Natural Selection” in the search
window (by the magnifying glass.) Watch the short video, “Natural Selection –
Greatest Discoveries”. (It’s the first selection that comes up with a lizard on the
icon.)
What are two things you learned from the video, “Natural Selection – Greatest Discoveries”?
a)
b)
4)
In the same Science Channel site, go to “Charles Darwin’s Game of Survival” in
Discovery Science. Select “Learn About Natural Selection.” Afterwards, play the
game. Try to survive a million years!