October 25, 2016

Natural Selection: What is it?

· Survival of the Fittest· Nature 'selects' (or chooses) which organisms survive and which do not.· The surviving organisms often pass on the traits that allowed them to survive to their offspring

Can you think of Examples?

October 25, 2016

Instructions:

Place all of the moths on the white paper provided.

Spread them out randomly and make certain that there

are spaces between each.

You are a predatory bird that feeds on moths. You have

30 seconds to eat as many moths as possible using the

beak provided. You must pick up each moth and place

them to the side When finished, record how many

moths were eaten from each colour.

Describe your results. What is this activity

demonstrating?

October 25, 2016

The Peppered Moth (Biston betularia)

Prior to the industrial revolution (late 1700's and 1800's), these moths were typically whitish in colour with black spots, although they were found in a variety of shades. As the Industrial Revolution reached its peak, the air in London became full of soot. The lichen on the trees died and the trees and buildings that moths used for camouflage became stained black. The birds began to eat more of the lighter-coloured moths because they were more easily spotted than the darker ones. Since then, with improved environmental standards, light-coloured peppered moths have again become common.

http://totalqualitymanagement.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/a-brief-history-of-qualtiy-control/

October 25, 2016

Sexual Selection (Female Choice): Peacocks

Marion Petrie of Newcastle University, observed a group of male peacocks, and then clipped the eye spots out of half of the males' tails. She did not reduce the tail length, only the number of eye spots. She discovered that females preferred males with the most eye spots.

A study published earlier this year in the journal Behavioural Ecology shows that a male's plumage is a direct indicator of the strength of his immune system; a signal to females of his internal workings.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0909_peacock.html

October 25, 2016

Evolutionary Arms Race

Often the co-evolving gene sets may be in different species, as in an evolutionary arms race between a predator species and its prey, or in a parasite and its host.

October 25, 2016