Peppered Moth Simulation
Which moth is more visible?
by Kristine Fong and Serena Sra
Feb 29­10:01 PM
1
VS.
Which moth is more visible here?
What do you notice about this tree compared to the tree on
the previous picture?
Which moth is more likely to survive to mate and pass on its
traits to its offspring?
If the tree continues to be covered with this much soot, what
color trait will you see more off generation after generation?
Feb 29­10:12 PM
2
Peppered Moth Simulation Continued...
Explain how your newspaper/white paper simulation with
the hole punches relates to the peppered moth example.
Explain how this simulation models natural selection.
Explain your observations of what is happening in the
graph situation and what might be causing this situation.
Feb 29­10:20 PM
3
-Each Island is distinctly different in climate and environmental features
i.e. hot, dry rocky vs. rain and vegetation
Feb 29­11:17 AM
4
-13 species of finches (unique
to galapagos islands)
-closely resemble one finch
on South American mainland
-Make a reasonable
hypothesis based on this
information.
Feb 29­11:25 AM
5
-Key characteristic = beaks
-adapted to specific foods
-How did these different beaks arise??
NATURAL SELECTION!!!
Feb 29­11:32 AM
6
Population of organisms
Overproduction
Variation
Struggle for existence
Theory based on two sets of observations
Individuals with best-suited inherited traits are
more likely to survive and reproduce
Differences in reproductive success
Evolution of adaptations
Process repeats over many generations
Each new generation has a higher proportion of
individuals with the advantageous traits
Feb 29­11:37 AM
7
Bird's on an Island Lab Discussion
-Describe the general trend of each beak type.
-Why were the spoon's successful over the wet & dry season
-Which round did the knives become extinct? Why may this have happened?
-Which season were the fork's more successful in?
-How can we relate this to the finches?
-If we continued this for 50 rounds what do we think would happen to the population of the
forks?
-What bird was 'selected' and what was 'natural' about it?
Feb 29­12:27 PM
8
Pesticides - Natural Selection in Action
Feb 29­12:48 PM
9
Feb 29­12:39 PM
10
Feb 29­3:27 PM
11