STATE LAB
Beaks of Finches
Analysis Questions 1-4
1.What characteristics of your “beak” interfered
with feeding success on the original island?
• Answers will vary
• Generally, large, heavy, slippery or flat tools are
less successful.
2. Name three traits other than beak
characteristics that could contribute to the
ability of a finch to compete successfully?
• Ex: eyesight, coordination, aggressiveness,
speed & motivation.
3. It is very unlikely that all of the beaks within a
species of finch are exactly alike. Random
mutations and new gene combinations resulting
from sexual reproduction are the sources of
beak variations. Describe at least three beak
variations that could randomly appear and
further improve your species’ chances of
survival when feeding on SMALL seeds.
• Ex: Small, light & non-skid surface
4. Why did some “beak” types survive on the
new island ( with large seeds) when they
could not survive on the original island?
• They may not have been suited for gripping
small seeds but possessed characteristics
that made them able to grip large seeds.
6. Did those who were successful in round
one survive equally well when others were
competing for food at the same dish in
round two?____ Support your answer
with an explanation.
• (Answers will vary) Fewer should survive.
• Increased competition has an adverse
effect on seed gathering.
7. Why were there fewer survivors at the end
of round three?
• There were fewer survivors due to increased
competition.
8. At the end of Round Three, were the types
of “beaks” that were successful on the new
island the same as the types of beaks that
were successful on the original island? No
Support your answer with an explanation.
• No, because the size difference in the seeds
favored different types of beaks.
9. Explain how this activity simulates each of the
concepts listed below as they are involved in the
process of natural selection. Describe a specific
example from this lab for each concept.
VARIATION: different, different size beaks
COMPETITION: more than one bird feeding at
a bowl
STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL: each bird trying
to get enough seeds for survival
ADAPTATION: “particular characteristics of
“beaks”
ENVIRONMENT: students, seeds, bowls
where competition occurred are all part of the
environment
SELECTING AGENT: type of seed available
10. Predict which species of finch would be
most likely to survive if the weather on the
Galapagos Islands suddenly changed and
the seeds available to finches became larger
with heavier coverings. Support your answer
with an explanation.
• Large Ground Finches, because they have
large, thick beaks.
11. One island is populated by 2 species-Ground
Finches and Small Tree Finches.
a. What 2 types of food would you expect to be
available on this island? Explain.
• Animal food (ex:insects) and plant food (ex:
seeds).
b. Would you expect the 2 species to compete
for food on this island? Explain.
• No, they would not compete as long as
there is enough food for each species. If
either food became scarce, they might
compete.
c. How might the 2 native finch populations be
affected if several dozen Sharp-billed
Ground Finches were to migrate to the
island and survive? Explain.
• The Small Ground Finches might have to
compete with the Sharp-billed Ground
Finches, since they have similar food
preferences and beaks.
12.
a. Explain how an island could support large
populations of both Large Ground Finches
and Small Ground Finches.
•
The island would have to have both large
and small seeds available
b) How could you use the materials provided
in this lab to test your explanation?
•
•
Put many large & small seeds in the same
bowl.
Run trials using tools from the “large-seed
survivors” & tools from the “small-seed
survivors” to compete for seeds in the
dish.