Adaptations (Stations 1-4)
Station 1:
Define adaptation:
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Look at the definition of natural selection and adaptation. What is the difference between natural
selection and an adaptation?
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Using the peppered moth idea, how does Darwin explain how complex adaptations, such as the
vertebrate eye, arise over time?
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Station 2:
Examples of Adaptations: Looking at the provided website, find three interesting organisms with
adaptations and fill in the table below.
Animal/Plant Name
Environment
Two Adaptations
Station 3:
Types of Adaptations: Using the website provided, define the three types of adaptations and list one
example of each.
a) Anatomical adaptations:
Example:
b) Behavioral adaptations:
Example:
c) Physiological adaptations:
Example:
Station 4:
Think of one adaptation the human species has today:
Sexual Selection (Stations 5-8)
Station 5:
Define sexual selection:
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How is this different than natural selection?
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Station 6:
Examples of Sexual Selection in nature: Looking at the provided website, find three interesting
organisms that display sexual selection and fill in the table below.
Animal/Plant Name
Environment
Behavior/Phenotype for
Sexual Selection
Station 7:
Sexual Selection and the Environment: Watch the video provided and answer the questions.
What does the bird do to attract a mate? ___________________________________________
Does this sexual selection depend on the surrounding environment for survival? Explain.
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Station 8:
Think of one case in nature where a mate is chosen specifically for its phenotypes, rather than the
environment.
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Artificial Selection (Stations 9-12)
Station 9:
Define artificial selection:
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How is this different than natural selection?
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Station 10:
Examples of Artificial Selection in nature: Looking at the provided website, find three interesting
organisms that display sexual selection and fill in the table below.
Animal/Plant Name
Desired Trait Selected
Station 11:
Artificial Selection and the Environment: Click through the powerpoint at this station and see if you can
guess the “before and after” fruit/vegetable pictures. Answer the questions below.
Which fruit/vegetables did you get right? ___________________________________________
Which fruit/vegetables did you guess incorrectly?
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Were you surprised by how natural selection can change phenotypes of organisms so drastically?
Explain. _______________________________________
Station 12:
Think of one case in nature where traits are selected for a desired result, rather than from the environment.
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ADAPTATIONS ARTICLE: STATION 1
Adaptation is a term used to describe the ways in which organisms change over time in response to the
changing demands of their environment. Organisms seem to accumulate certain physiological, behavioral, and
structural traits gradually, and these traits aid them in their ability to survive and reproduce under existing
environmental conditions. The grasping hands of primates, the sensitive antennae of insects, and the flowers and
fruits of plants are all forms of adaptation that promote survival, reproduction, or both.
Historical background
Up until the eighteenth century, scientists generally believed that every species was created separately and
remained unchanged for centuries. Many features of living things—the bee's sting, the vertebrate (an animal
with a backbone) eye, the human brain—appeared to have been designed by a master engineer to serve their
specific purpose. A philosophy known as natural theology, which arose in the seventeenth century, argued that
the elegant and often complex features of organisms were the products of a direct design by God.
But during the eighteenth century, the scientific community began to take a closer look at the immense diversity
(the vast differences) and interrelatedness of (connections between) living things. The excavation of plant and
animal fossils prompted a new view that life on Earth developed gradually and unevenly from simple to
advanced organisms. The observation that species have "adapted" to survive in particular habitats raised new
questions about the ways organisms could "fine-tune" themselves to meet the demands of their environment.
Words to Know
Adaptation: From the Latin ad ("toward") plus aptus ("fit for some role"); any structural, physiological, or
behavioral trait that aids an organism's survival and ability to reproduce in its existing environment.
Coadaptation: Mutual dependence between members of two species.
Evolution: The theory that all plants and animals developed gradually from earlier forms over a long period of
time and that variations within a species are the result of adaptive traits passed on from generation to
generation.
Exaptation: Any adapted trait that performs a beneficial function different from the one it originally evolved to
serve.
Natural selection: A natural process that results in the survival of individuals or groups best adapted to the
conditions in which they must exist.
Different species that live in different environments often exhibit similar characteristics. Fish, whales, and
penguins all use fins or flippers to propel themselves through water. The common plan of such features
demanded an explanation, so researchers set out to explain this similarity of traits in unrelated organisms.
The Peppered Moth
Henry Bernard David Kettlewell's study of the peppered moth, Biston betularia , is one of the most widely cited
cases of natural selection producing adaptation. Before the Industrial Revolution in England in the late 1800s,
this moth was predominantly light in color. (The Industrial Revolution was a time of major change in England's
economy, marked mainly by the introduction of power-driven machinery.) Light coloring afforded perfect
camouflage for the moth from predatory birds, since it blended so well with the similarly colored lichencovered tree trunks on which it rested. When pollution from factories caused the lichen on the trees to die, the
moths' resting place became the darker color of the bark beneath. Kettlewell observed that, as this
environmental transformation occurred, a dark form of the moth became increasingly common, eventually
making up more than 90 percent of the population of moths in the affected areas. In the unpolluted areas,
however, the original light form of the moth remained common.
Kettlewell attributed the moth's color change to selection by predatory birds, which locate the moths by sight,
and so remove (by eating) individual moths that do not blend in with the background coloration of trees in their
environment. He tested his idea that the moths' color protected them from predation (being captured) by placing
each of the two forms on trees in different areas, photographing birds in the act of capturing moths, and
measuring the rates at which the two moth forms were eaten by birds. Kettlewell concluded that the moths'
color was indeed the result of adaptation to conditions in their habitat.
One effort to explain adapted traits was proposed by French botanist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829). In
1809, he theorized that changes in the environment cause structural changes during an organism's life that are
passed on to offspring. According to the notion of the inheritance of acquired characteristics, also known as
Lamarckism, giraffes would have "acquired" their long necks from stretching to reach leaves not available to
other animals. Members of each succeeding generation stretched their necks to attain leaves at a higher level,
which led to the modern giraffe. Although Lamarck's theory was later discredited, he remains the first scientist
to acknowledge the adaptability of organisms.
In 1859, Charles Darwin (1809–1882), the great English naturalist, published his influential book The Origin of
Species by Means of Natural Selection. In it, Darwin discusses the adaptations of organisms as the product of
natural selection. Natural selection implies that—when forced to compete for limited resources such as food—
those organisms best adapted to their specific environment are most likely to survive, reproduce, and transmit
their traits to offspring.
Biologists now recognize natural selection as the means by which evolutionary adaptation occurs. Exactly how
specific adaptations arise, however, is far from solved. It is easy to imagine how natural selection might produce
relatively simple adaptations such as camouflage: a rabbit that lives in regions covered by snow in winter is
better protected from prey if it produces a white coat during the winter months. The difficulty arises in
explaining the evolution of extremely complex adaptations, such as the vertebrate eye. Invertebrates, animals
lacking a backbone, have simple eyes that detect only changes in light and form only a poor image at best.
Vertebrates, animals with a backbone, detect changes in light and motion and can form detailed images. How
did such a superb adaptation come about?
Darwin suggested the answer lies in very gradual changes over many generations, in which each intermediate
stage leading to a fully formed eye had some adaptive value. All the parts making up a fully functioning eye
could evolve independently in small steps, each one building on and interacting with earlier changes. Thus,
even a partially developed eye could be quite advantageous—indeed, could mean the difference between life
and death—for an ancient vertebrate.
ADAPTATION EXAMPLES: STATION 2
Use the website provided to fill in the table on your station sheet.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/57204/20-amazing-animal-adaptations-living-desert
TYPES OF ADAPTATIONS: STATION 3
Use the following website to define the types of adaptations found in nature. List two examples in the table.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/adaptations
THINK! ON YOUR OWN: STATION 4
Come up with one adaptation humans have developed over time.
DEFINE SEXUAL SELECTION: STATION 5
Come up with one adaptation humans have developed over time.
EXAMPLES OF SEXUAL SELECTION: STATION 6
Using the article provided, find three examples of sexual selection found in nature.
http://necsi.edu/projects/evolution/evolution/sexual%20selection/evolution_sexual.html
EXAMPLES OF SEXUAL SELECTION: STATION 7
Watch the video provided.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7QZnwKqopo
EXAMPLES OF SEXUAL SELECTION: STATION 9
Use the website to answer the question on your worksheet
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_selection
EXAMPLES OF SEXUAL SELECTION: STATION 10
Use the provided website to fill in the table on your worksheet
http://wallace.genetics.uga.edu/groups/evol3000/wiki/ce8b9/Selective_Breeding_or_Artificial_Selection.html