Explore: Who will survive?
Entry Task
 Read the Process & Procedure Part 1: Predator
and Prey p. 296-299
Explore: Predator and Prey
Start a new header/thread “Predator
and Prey”
Learning Target: I can explain that
variations in a characteristic of a
species influence whether an individual
from a population will survive and
reproduce.
I can explain how variation might lead
to change in populations across time.
Update your TOC – don’t forget the
date!
Explore: Predator and Prey
What did the beans represent?
Why were the beans different colors?
What did you represent?
Summarize the simulation…
Explore: Predator and Prey
 The beans represented a population of
prey. The colors represented variations of
color within the population.
 The first generation of the population of
prey was placed in the habitat. Predators
(us) picked up prey from the first
generation. The surviving prey
reproduced. The survivors and their
offspring made up the second generation.
Predators picked over the second
generation of prey. The surviving prey
reproduced to make up the third
generation.
Explore: Predator and Prey
What caused some prey to survive
better than others?
What happened to the prey population
across time?
Do you think populations of animals in
nature change across time?
Explore: Predator and Prey #13
Which colors of prey survived better
than others in the second- and thirdgeneration starting populations?
Did the background make a difference?
Predators did not select the surviving
prey as much as they did the prey of
other colors. Why?
What effect did capturing a particular
color of prey have on the number of
that color in the generations that
followed?
Explore: Predator and Prey #13
 Prey that were similar color to the
environment survived better than prey of
other colors. By the third generation there
was a larger variation in color within the
population.
 Some prey blended into the environment
better, so they were more difficult to see,
and predators did not eat them.
 Once prey were captured, it could not
reproduce and contribute to the next
generation. Future generations were made
up of prey of the colors that survived.
Explore: Predator and Prey #14
 Does your population change over the next
4 generations?
 How?
 What physical or behavioral characteristics
(besides camouflage) might cause some
prey to survive better than others?
 Did the prey on your background change
color, or did the population change across
time?
 Did the prey change color from one
generation to the next? What did change?
Explore: Predator and Prey #14
The prey did not change color, the
number of prey of a particular color
changed. This is because prey with a
better camouflaged color were more
likely to survive and reproduce. The
change in the population results from
more individuals being born of a
particular color. Prey colors with fewer
individuals in the first three generation
will continue to have fewer individuals
in the future.
So…What’s the Point?
Individuals in a population show
variation. Some variations are
beneficial to individuals and make them
more likely to survive. Future
generations will have more individuals
with beneficial traits than individuals
without those traits.
Bird Beaks
Why do
birds
have
different
beaks?
Bird Beaks
How does
variation in
characteristics
of predators
affect their
survival and
What happens to birds
their
with a variety of beaks
population
when
the
food
source
across time?
changes?
Bird Beaks: Investigation &
Discussion
Conduct your investigation
and record your results in
your data table.
Clean up all materials.
Create a class data table.
Bird Beaks: Investigation &
Discussion
Which beak captured the
greatest variety of foods?
Which beak was best at
capturing an individual
food?
So…What’s the Point?
 Individuals in a population show variation.
Some variations are beneficial to
individuals and make them more likely to
survive. Some variations are
disadvantages. As an environment or
population of prey changes, a
disadvantage can become an advantage
(and vice versa). When survivors
reproduce, the advantageous
characteristics are passed on to the
offspring resulting in more individuals
having the characteristics that help them
survive in a particular environment.
Reflect & Connect #1-4 p. 305