Recreating Darwin’s
Voyage
Evolution Unit
Intro to Evolution / Natural Selection:
Recreating Darwin’s Voyage Answer Key
Island 1
1. What is evolution?
“the process by which organisms have
changed over time.” Miller & Levine, Biology (p.450)
2. What was Darwin’s contribution to science?
“Darwin developed a scientific theory of biological
evolution that explains how modern organisms evolved
over long periods of time through descent from common
ancestors.” Miller & Levine, Biology (p.450)
3. When did Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle begin?
1831 How long did it last for? 5 years
4. What was the purpose of his voyage?
Map the coastline of South America
Island 2
5.
Look at the map of Darwin’s voyage on page 451. Also have the
world biome map open from page 111. How many different
biomes did Darwin visit on his voyage?
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
6.
Temperate Forest
Temperate Woodland / Shrubland
Tropical Grassland / Savanna / Shrubland
Desert
Tropical Rainforest
Temperate Grassland
How did the geography of Darwin’s voyage give him far greater
exposure to species variability than his fellow scientists back
home had?
While surveying the various coastlines and visiting many continents,
Darwin traveled to many different biomes. The more he traveled to more
ecological environments, the more he was exposed to varying species.
Island 3 & 4
7. The 3 netbooks have 3 different birds from 3
different places in the world. List the names of
the birds and the places in the world they come
from: Bird:
Where it is from:
a. Ostrich
Africa
b. Rheas
South America
c. Emu
Austrila
8. How are these birds similar? How are they
different?
Similar:
Different
Large
Different Feathers
Flightless
Rheas & Emus have 3 toes, Ostriches have 2 toes
Live in Grasslands
Live exclusively to their respective continent
Island 3 & 4
9. This leads us to Darwin’s first set of
observations. Using the birds as examples, what
can you conclude about different species of
birds living in different places in the world?
Darwin saw that different, yet economically similar,
animals lived in similar environments around the world!
For example, he noticed that Rheas, Ostriches, and Emus
were all different, but shared similarities as large
flightless birds that adapted to grasslands.
Island 5
10.Where are the Galapagos Islands located?
Off the coast of Equator in South America
11.What are some interesting species of animals
found there?
–
–
–
–
Giant Tortoises
Mockingbirds
Finches
Marine Iguanas
Island 6 & 7
12.Look at the 2 different netbook pictures of
the 2 different tortoises. These each come
from different islands. What can you infer
about the different tortoises and the shape
of their shell?
Tortoise shells have predictably adapted to their
specific island environment.
Isabella Island Tortoise
Hood Island Tortoise
Dome Shaped Shell
Curved Shells with a Large Neck Opening
Short Necks
Long Necks
Food is abundant and low
Food is sparse and high
Island 8
13.Look at the picture of the different finches on
the Galapagos Islands. What can you infer
about their different beaks?
Platyspiza
Certhidea
Pinaroloxias
Geospiza
Tree Finch
Tree Finch
Ground Finch
Ground Finch
Strips bark from
trees
Eats small exposed
insects
Eats insects, fruit,
and nectar
Eats large, thick seeds
Needs a beak to
grip and hold firm
Needs thin,
straight, narrow
beak, with firm grip
tip
Needs a curved, beak Needs a strong, thick,
that can probe and
sharp beak that can
grip
apply pressure and
break shells
Beak similar to
pliers!
Beak similar to
forceps!
Beak similar to
needle-nose pliers!
Beak similar to a heavy
duty wire cutters!
Island 8
14.Based on questions 11 and 12, what can you
conclude about different animals (even
though they may be related) and the habitats
they live in?
Species Vary…
– Globally (think about the large, flightless birds on
different continents)
– Locally (think about the various finches across
the Galapagos Islands)
– Over Time (think about the various fossils
Darwin found)
Island 9
15. Referring to the displayed fossils. Can you think of any modern day
animals that resemble these fossils? Which animals?
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Fish
Trilobite (Early Arthropod)
Shells
Clams
Coral
Plant leaf, petrified wood
Deer antlers (not fossilized, Just old)
16. Darwin also found fossils that didn’t resemble any living organisms.
How might this finding have affected his understanding of life’s
diversity?
“This wonderful relationship in the same continent between the dead and the
living, will, I do not doubt, hereafter throw more light on the appearance of
organic beings on our earth, and their disappearance from it, than any other
class of facts.” ~ Darwin (Miller & Levine, Biology, p.453)