Hunger Games Analysis

Hunger Games Analysis

In this lab we demonstrated evolutionary conclusions by simulating the competition for food. We split the class into three different beak types; knucklers, pinchers, and stumpys. Then we each competed to get food, or corks. If you collected a certain amount of food, then you could reproduce. Your offspring's traits were determined by a coin toss.  The pinchers were the best at capturing food, because they could use their opposable thumb and pointer finger, which are easy and normal to use.  The population did evolve. I know this because the stumpy population drastically changed. In round two, all nine of the stumpys were dead. The bird beaks and individuals that survived were not random, because their characteristics allowed them to survive.  The coin toss, simulating meiosis, was completely random. I think the result would have been different if the food was bigger because the advantage would have gone to the stumps. If it were smaller, still the pinchers.  Maybe if a species's prey evolves, then they must too in order to be able to feed. Yes, because that would remove the knuckles. If they were removed, the population would consist of only pinchers. Natural selection is one of the processes that results in the evolution of a species. Individuals started to cheat, or strategize in order to get more food. This would change the allele frequency because it could allow weaker alleles to survive longer. In evolution the animal evolves. Natural selection occurs on phenotype because though it does change allele frequency in a population, it does not genetically change them. I do not have any questions. 

Bird Beak Lab Analysis

Bird Beak Lab Analysis

Part 1

In this lab we asked whether different inherited traits could help individuals to survive better, therefore reproducing more, than other individuals. Our hypothesis was that If certain traits allow inidivual to survive better and there are winners and losers in a population, then the tweezer beak will collect the most food and have the most offspring. We indeed found that the birds with the tweezer beaks collected more food in the time allotted and thus had more offspring than the other beak shapes. The tweezer beaked bird had a total of 16 offspring in part 1. The scissor beak had 11, binder clip had 10, and spoon had 7. This conclusion is proven through many species who evolved a certain way. There are more brown squirrels than white squirrels in this area, because they blend in better. This data supports our claim because it means that fur color effects the survival of squirrels.

Part 2

In this lab we asked whether changes in selective pressures will affect the evolution of that species.  We found that selective pressures do affect that species. We know this because after the "bird flu" affected our bird populations, offspring counts went down. The tweezer beaked birds before the bird flu produced 16 offspring total. The tweezer beaked birds during the flu only produced 9 offspring total.  This concept is shown through examples like when hunters start going after foxes in the arctic and the gray fox population goes down while the white foxes goes up because they can survive better.  This supports out claim because the increase in hunting causes a change in the allele frequency of a species, thus affecting the evolution of that species. 

While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been errors due to cheating while doing the tests. We got a tad carried away with competing with each other.  This could have reduced the offspring of one beak type and increased others. Therefore making the data inaccurate.  We also could have spread more of the food to one side of the table, making it harder for some and easier for others. This could have made a certain species have gotten more food than another species, that normally wouldn't. Due to these errors, I would recommend controlling the spreading of the food around the table, and not allowing the different beak types to help or touch each other. 

This lab was done to demonstrate how diseases or other factors directly effect species and their survival and evolution. From this lab I learned about how different alleles help species survive, which helps me understand the topic of evolution. Based on my experience from this lab, I could predict what would happen if a bird flu or another selective pressure appeared in a population today.