Download Charles Darwin and the Finches: Background Information: When

Charles Darwin and the Finches:
Background Information:
When Charles Darwin stepped ashore on the Galapagos
Islands in September 1835, it was the start of five weeks
that would change the world of science, although he did
not know it at the time. Among other finds, he observed
and collected the variety of small birds that inhabited the
islands, but he did not realize their significance, and failed
to keep good records of his specimens and where they
were collected. It was not until he was back in London,
puzzling over the birds, that the realization that they were
all different, but closely related, species of finch led him
toward formulating the principle of natural selection.
In his memoir, The Voyage of the Beagle, Darwin noted,
almost as if in awe, "One might really fancy that, from an original paucity [scarcity] of birds in this archipelago, one
species had been taken and modified for different ends."
Indeed, the Galapagos have been called a living laboratory where speciation can be seen at work. A few million years
ago, one species of finch migrated to the rocky Galapagos from the mainland of Central or South America. From this
one migrant species would come many- at least 13 species of finch evolving from the single ancestor.
This process in which one species gives rise to multiple species that use different niches is called adaptive radiation. The
ecological niches exert the selection pressures that push the populations in various directions. On various islands, finch
species have become adapted for different diets: seeds, insects, flowers, the blood of seabirds, and leaves.
The ancestral finch was a ground-dwelling, seed-eating finch. After speciation in the Galapagos, a total of 14 species
would exist: three species of ground-dwelling seed-eaters; three others living on cactuses and eating seeds; one living in
trees and eating seeds; and 7 species of tree-dwelling insect-eaters.
Scientists long after Darwin spent years trying to understand the process that had created so many types of finches that
differed mainly in the size and shape of their beaks.
Most recently, Peter and Rosemary Grant have spent many years in the Galapagos, seeing changing climatic conditions
from year to year dramatically altering the food supply. As a result, certain of the finches have lived or died depending
on which species' beak structure was best adapted for the most abundant food -- just as Darwin would have predicted.
Procedure:
1. Select you feeding tool (scissors, spoon, tweezers, or binder clip)
2. Place your cup on the “X”, this will be your “stomach”
3. Assume the role of a hungry bird. You will have 30 seconds to consume as much food as possible
o Things to keep in mind:
§ Not fighting over food
§ Use your feeding tool in way that was demonstrated to you.
4. After 30 seconds, count the number of pieces of food in you cup. Record your results in the data table. Share
your results with the other members of your group.
5. Mix the prey in your tray.
6. Hand your utensil to the person sitting next to you and repeat the feeding steps. Record your results in the
data table.
7. Continue until your data table is complete.
Data/Results:
Individual:
Feeding
Tool
Scissors
Binder clip
Tweezers
Spoon
Peas
Paper Clips
Macaroni
Cheerios
Class:
Feeding
Tool
Peas
Paper Clips
Macaroni
Cheerios
Scissors
Binder clip
Tweezers
Spoon
Amount of Food Consumed with Each Feeding Tool
Amount of Food Consumed
Legend:
Scissors
Binder Clip
Tweezers
Spoon
Analysis: Answer these questions on a separate piece of paper or on Google Docs. Be sure to share.
1. Based on the data shown in the graph above, which “beak” type has the highest relative fitness in the
environment? Which beak type would have lowest relative fitness?
2. If the knife “beak” type is the most successful in picking up the “food” items, will the frequency of birds with the
knife “beak type” increases or decreases after 100 generations? Explain.
3. What will happen if all the birds with the “beak” types we have been working with flew to an island where no
birds had been before and the only food type available was macaroni? Which bird “beak” type would be most
likely to be successful? Which “beak” type would likely to disappear from the population? Is this an example of
how evolution works?
4. Explain how this lab demonstrates natural selection and the theory of evolution.