Hunger Games Final Analysis
1). I was absent during the day of the lab so I was not able to participate in it. However, this lab simulated natural selection and how it makes populations evolve over time. This lab simulated natural selection because the birds with the better beaks were the ones surviving and reproducing. On the other hand, the birds with the worse beaks struggled to survive.
2). The "Pinchers" were the best phenotype for capturing food. They were the best because it was the easiest to pick up food with the thumb and index fingers than the other two phenotypes. They were able to pick up multiple pieces of food as well.
3). The populations did evolve. It is quite apparent after looking at the data and the graph. At trial number one, the "A" allele was in 52% of the population and the "a" allele was in 42% of the population. As the trials went on, these numbers drastically changed. At the end of trial eight, the "A" allele was a tiny 23% of the population. The "a" allele grew to a staggering 77% of the population, almost doubling from the first trial.
4). The random factors in this lab included where the food was placed and how much of it was placed, as well as what phenotype the offspring would obtain from the two parents. The constant however was that there were only three types of beaks. Because of these random and constant factors, the size of the population could fluctuate, however there would never be any more than the original three beak types in the population.
5). If the food was a different size, it could have greatly affected what the best beak types were. For example, if the food was the size of tennis balls, then the "Pinchers" and the "Stumpys" would thrive while the "Knucklers" would not be able to pick up a single piece of food. This would cause the "Knucklers" to go extinct.
6). The results would have been very different if we did not have incomplete dominance. If there were no incomplete dominace, then the "Knucklers" would not have existed. Only the "Stumpys" and "Pinchers" would have existed. Since the "Pinchers" were so much better than the "Stumpys" at gathering food, this means that the "Stumpys" would eventually start to die down and the "AA" trait would go down with them.
7). There is a very strong connection between natural selection and evolution. Natural selection is one of the few factors that cause evolution. Natural selection is the process of "weeding" out all of traits that are not beneficial for survival or reproduction. This means that slowly over time, populations will look like the "winners", in other words the individuals who have survived and reproduced. This causes evolution because all of the individuals with "loser" traits do not reproduce, which means that their traits are no longer passed on in the population.
8). One strategy that was talked about was that of a "group mentality". This mentality increases their likelihood of survival and reproduction by working together. This changed the allele frequency of the population because species that may have died out on their own, grouped together greatly increasing their chance of reproducing. This is very common in nature for species to group together to form a much more powerful pack. An example of this "group mentality" is a school of fish. A single fish would not be scary to many predators, however a giant group of them may be quite intimidating.
9). In evolution, populations evolve over time, not individuals. Evolution is not an overnight process. Natural selection acts on both the phenotypes and genotypes of organisms. It acts on organism's phenotypes in the sense that by changing the genetic makeup (the genotype) of an organism, the phenotype is also affected. After this process is run through over and over again, the population evolves to look like the "winners".
A question that I have been thinking about is that have we as humans reached our peak evolutionary form, or will we still evolve as time goes on?
Pic creds:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/58/85/aa/5885aa0b9d7f4fb114a936ce26996fea.jpg
2). The "Pinchers" were the best phenotype for capturing food. They were the best because it was the easiest to pick up food with the thumb and index fingers than the other two phenotypes. They were able to pick up multiple pieces of food as well.
3). The populations did evolve. It is quite apparent after looking at the data and the graph. At trial number one, the "A" allele was in 52% of the population and the "a" allele was in 42% of the population. As the trials went on, these numbers drastically changed. At the end of trial eight, the "A" allele was a tiny 23% of the population. The "a" allele grew to a staggering 77% of the population, almost doubling from the first trial.
4). The random factors in this lab included where the food was placed and how much of it was placed, as well as what phenotype the offspring would obtain from the two parents. The constant however was that there were only three types of beaks. Because of these random and constant factors, the size of the population could fluctuate, however there would never be any more than the original three beak types in the population.
5). If the food was a different size, it could have greatly affected what the best beak types were. For example, if the food was the size of tennis balls, then the "Pinchers" and the "Stumpys" would thrive while the "Knucklers" would not be able to pick up a single piece of food. This would cause the "Knucklers" to go extinct.6). The results would have been very different if we did not have incomplete dominance. If there were no incomplete dominace, then the "Knucklers" would not have existed. Only the "Stumpys" and "Pinchers" would have existed. Since the "Pinchers" were so much better than the "Stumpys" at gathering food, this means that the "Stumpys" would eventually start to die down and the "AA" trait would go down with them.
7). There is a very strong connection between natural selection and evolution. Natural selection is one of the few factors that cause evolution. Natural selection is the process of "weeding" out all of traits that are not beneficial for survival or reproduction. This means that slowly over time, populations will look like the "winners", in other words the individuals who have survived and reproduced. This causes evolution because all of the individuals with "loser" traits do not reproduce, which means that their traits are no longer passed on in the population.
8). One strategy that was talked about was that of a "group mentality". This mentality increases their likelihood of survival and reproduction by working together. This changed the allele frequency of the population because species that may have died out on their own, grouped together greatly increasing their chance of reproducing. This is very common in nature for species to group together to form a much more powerful pack. An example of this "group mentality" is a school of fish. A single fish would not be scary to many predators, however a giant group of them may be quite intimidating.9). In evolution, populations evolve over time, not individuals. Evolution is not an overnight process. Natural selection acts on both the phenotypes and genotypes of organisms. It acts on organism's phenotypes in the sense that by changing the genetic makeup (the genotype) of an organism, the phenotype is also affected. After this process is run through over and over again, the population evolves to look like the "winners".
A question that I have been thinking about is that have we as humans reached our peak evolutionary form, or will we still evolve as time goes on?
Pic creds:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/58/85/aa/5885aa0b9d7f4fb114a936ce26996fea.jpg
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