Juniata College
TEACHER'S NOTES: TURKEY TROUBLE
Turkey Trouble is an exercise extensively modified from the old commercial exercise
"It's in the Genes".
The exercise is written for two class sessions, with separate handout directions and lab
worksheets for each session. Teachers may elect to complete only the first session and
worksheet. In that case students create wild turkey genotypes and determine how
genetically fit they are in their environmental scenario.
If the lab is continued for a second session, students perform a "mating" between two
turkeys and the genetic fitness of the offspring is compared to that of their parents in a
given environment.
Materials in the Kit:
Turkey Trouble handout directions I and II.
Student worksheet handouts I and II
Nine Genotype of Your Turkey cards
Three Genotype and Trait cards with identifying "gene" tiles
Nine laminated Genotype and Trait paper sheets with identifying colored squares
Two sets of Environmental Scenario sheets, six scenarios in each set
Eight containers of "gene" tiles.
Eight labeled dishes that serve as "gene pools" for the tiles
.
Please use care in handling the home-made tile cards (these are for student examples).
The laminated sheets with the same information are for group use.
Concepts:
The exercise demonstrates how survival traits such as coloration, running ability, etc.
are primarily controlled by genes.
By randomly selecting genes from a gene pool, every student team produces a
genetically unique turkey – an example of the genetic diversity found in wild
populations.
Genetic diversity is adaptive in wild populations. In the face of different environmental
challenges, particular genetic traits will be more or less well-adapted.
The chances that a turkey's genes will be passed to offspring depends on the adaptive
value of those genes. This is natural selection in action.
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The Exercise:
In this exercise student teams (up to nine) randomly select genotypes of five survivalrelated traits and place the colored tiles representing genes on their Genotype of Your
turkey cards. This establishes the genotype of the team's turkey. The team
determines the traits that their turkey possesses, writes this information in their
worksheet, and matches the traits against an Environmental Scenario sheet that they
also select at random.
Session I
Each team creates the genotypes of their own turkey, compiles the five traits of the
turkey, and discusses on its worksheet how well-adapted their turkey is in the
environmental conditions of their scenario.
Session II
Each team "mates" its turkey with another team's turkey that has a well-adapted
genotype for the first team's scenario. Using extra tiles, a random gene for each of the
five gene loci is selected from both turkeys. This results in a recombined genotype for a
turkey offspring. Each team checks to see if its offspring is better-adapted to their
scenario than their original turkey.
Genetic terms, such as homozygote, heterozygote, phenotype, and allele, are not used
in the exercise. Teachers can introduce some of these terms if their students have
enough background.
The Scenarios:
The following are only guidelines. Students sometimes come up with
surprisingly good answers that did not occur to us. An earnest, thoughtful writeup is better than agreement with our canned answers. Teachers should use their
personal judgment.
Scenario 1. The most adaptive trait is being able to fly at two weeks. Turkeys cannot
fly far, but the poult can fly into a nearby tree (it is a forested area) to escape from the
fox. Dark color is another adaptive trait, making the poult harder to see against the
dark forested background. Keen eyesight is adaptive, since the poult would have time
to fly or freeze if it spotted the fox. No poult can outrun a fox or fight it successfully, so
running ability and strong/sharp legs and claws are of little help.
Scenario 2. The most adaptive trait is strong legs and claws, which make it possible
to break through the crust of ice to feed and to defend against small predators. Keen
eyesight and fast running ability help in escaping predators. Flying ability is probably
less valuable, since there is only low brush to fly into.
Scenario 3. Since the hen has to protect her young, the most valuable traits are dark
color, making her (and them?) harder to see, and keen eyesight to see predators
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before they get too close. Strong/sharp legs and claws may discourage cats. . Flying
ability is useless, because cats can climb trees (even if the poults can fly into a tree they
still can't get away), and fast running is also useless, because the poults will be caught if
the hen runs away.
Scenario 4. The light colored vegetation in this open area indicates that light
coloration and keen eyesight are assets to survival. Fast running ability may be
useful, although it is unlikely that a young turkey can outrun a coyote. It is also unlikely
that a young turkey with strong/sharp legs and claws can defend itself against a
predator as large, intelligent, and agile as a coyote.
Flying ability is not adaptive because there is no high place to fly to.
Scenario 5. Dark coloration against a forest background is highly adaptive. Ditto,
keen eyesight is valuable in spotting Elmer Fudd early and then freeze in place. Since
shotguns spray pellets over a wide area, it is doubtful that the turkey will survive if it tries
to run or fly. Strong/sharp legs and claws will be of no help in this young turkey.
Scenario 6. A large tom turkey may be able to fight off a starving injured raccoon if it
has strong legs and claws. Since the turkey is fairly close to the forest, fast running
ability might be a useful trait – once in the forest the turkey could fly into a tree. The
injured raccoon might or might not be a good climber.
Note: when students randomly draw the gene tiles, 32 possible genotypes of
turkeys are generated. The outcome of each genotype encountering a particular
scenario will be different. Therefore, 32 x 6 = 192 unique situations can arise. It
is unlikely that any two teams will be faced with the identical situation.
Note: The "gene pool" dishes for the five gene loci do not contain equal numbers
of the two kinds of gene tiles. The only way a high proportion of the turkeys can
express the recessive genotype is for more than half of the tiles to be recessives.
We suggest that the gene pools be composed of 20 tiles (enough for ten teams) in
the proportions marked on the tile containers and dishes.
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