Master’s of Disguise
Masters of Disguise
Objective:
To demonstrate how
camouflage can help an organism to
survive in its environment.
Bell work:
1. What is camouflage?
A method used by organisms to
conceal by altering or obscuring
their appearance
2. How does an animal use camouflage
to survive in its environment?
- Blend in with its environment to
hide from or confuse predators
- Blend in to catch prey off guard
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Nowyou
yousee
don’t!
Now
me!
Traits are inherited and some traits make it
easier for living things to survive and reproduce.
Camouflage is a trait that makes it very hard to
see an animal in its natural habitat. Camouflage
is an important part of their survival. It hides
the animal from its predators while, at the same
time, making the animal a sneaky predator itself.
An animal that is best camouflaged in its
environment has the best chance to survive,
reproduce, and pass its color pattern on.
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Before
the Industrial
Revolution,
the white
Natural
Selection
In Action:
“peppered moth” had the largest population
The
Peppered
Moth
matched
colored
on
Therebecause
are two they
phenotypes
for athe
typelight
of moth
foundbark
in England:
the trees. This
thatspeckled
birds couldn’t spot
blackmeant
and white
them and eat them, so they lived longer.
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
When the Industrial Revolution happened, the factories poured out
black smoke, covering the white trees with black soot. This caused the
white moths to stand out, and the birds ate them sooner than the black
ones. The black moth population then grew rapidly because the birds
were not naturally selecting them. If this progression were to continue
for generations and generations, the gene for the white moths may be
completely eliminated from the species. In other words, the birds would
cause all of the white moths to go extinct because of evolution.
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Concealing Coloration: when an
animal blends in with its background
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The light underside of many
predatory animals like this
ray allow them to blend in
with the sun filled waters as
they hunt for food below
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© Getting Nerdy, LLC
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Disruptive coloration: when an organism’s color is
broken up with a pattern like stripes or spots so it
confuses or conceals when alone or in a group
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Stripes and spots give the
illusion of light and shadow
and often confuse prey and
predator’s eyes alike
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© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Mimicry: when an animal copies or
mimics the form of something else
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OWL BUTTERFLY MIMICRY:
Eye spots on
wings resemble owl eyes. When the butterfly spreads its wings,
the eye spots may scare predators.
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CATERPILLAR-SNAKE MIMICRY:
These
caterpillars have special adaptations that create the illusion of
snake eyes or markings so that when predators see them, they
are often deterred from eating them because they think they
are snakes.
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VICEROY-MONARCH
MIMICRY: The Viceroy
butterfly has a secret
defense. It resembles the
distasteful
Monarch
butterfly which deters
animals from eating it,
resulting
in
their
survival…
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LEAF
MIMICRY:
Many insects
mimic leaves
and other
components of
nature in order
to camouflage
themselves
from predators
and prey…
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FLY-HORNET MIMICRY:
We all know that hornets can
leave a nasty sting. This fly
(pictured upper left) is a
mimic of the common yellow
jacket
hornet
(pictured
below).
Because of this
coincidental
resemblance,
most predators will leave the
fly alone, mistaking it for the
stinging kind…
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Nowyou
yousee
don’t!
Now
me!
So, you think you can make
it in the wild? Try your hand
at creating Camouflage that
will help you survive in
various environments with
this interactive game …
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Camouflaged Chameleons
Objective: To explore and simulate
camouflage in animals
Here’s what you’ll need to
conduct this experiment:
Chameleon pattern, colored pencils,
markers or crayons
What You Do: Day 1
1. Think about the three types of
camouflage we discussed and
design a chameleon so that it can
be camouflaged somewhere in the
classroom.
2. Make the chameleon as invisible as
possible.
3. Cut out the chameleon. Tape the
chameleon to it’s hiding spot.
4. Return to your seat.
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Camouflaged Chameleons
Objective: To explore and simulate
camouflage in animals
Here’s what you’ll need to
conduct this experiment:
um… you see that tasty chameleon over
there or is it just me?
…what chameleon? I
don’t see anything but a
white slide…
Your EYES, a pencil and a piece of
paper to tally your kill!
What You Do: Day 2
You’re a predatory bird! You will
have 10 minutes to quietly stalk
your chameleon prey! Afterward,
answer the following conclusion
questions from your sheet.
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…la…la…la… hope nobody
sees me…
…nobody’s home…
What Happened? The Results and
Conclusions:
1. How many chameleons did you see?
2. Which type of camouflage do you
think was the best at hiding the
chameleon? Why do you think this
type of camouflage made it difficult
to see the chameleons?
3. Which type of camouflage do you
think was least successful at hiding
the chameleon? Why?
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
So what does this all mean?...
Those chameleons that blended in have the traits that help
them to survive. Those that didn’t blend in do not have those
traits. Organisms that do not have the necessary traits to
survive in the environment will not live as long as those that do
have the traits. Therefore, they will not be able to reproduce as
much as the organisms that live a long time. More organisms
with the desired traits will live from generation to generation.
This process is known as natural selection. Remember that
natural selection is what drives EVOLUTION!
Let’s test it out in this fun Natural Selection Game!
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FACTORS AFFECTING NATURAL
SELECTION:
Overproduction: the more offspring
born, the more mouths to feed which
equals fewer resources available to all
Variation: if there is no variation
within species, all individuals will have
the same traits and an equal chance of
surviving and reproducing
Competition:
different species
compete or fight over resources which
can affect the number of organisms that
survive from generation to generation
Environmental change: changes in
the environment may favor certain
characteristics over others – ex. Having
thick fur during a particularly cold winter
may favor an organism’s survival
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
This is the perfect
tool for the job!
Remember that natural selection
does not grant organisms what
they “need,” it only works with
what they are “born” with…
Remember that Natural Selection is what
DRIVES EVOLUTION!
Let’s see natural selection and evolution in action as we
play “Who wants to live a million years?” Complete the
activity on your worksheet as we go through this
interactive evolution website.