1) In the Hunger Games Lab, we went outside to the field and stimulated generations of birds and how they survive and reproduce with natural selection. There were 3 different types of birds, "Stumpies" which picked up food using only their wrists, "Knucklers" which picked up food between two knuckles of their fingers, and "Pinchers" which could use their thumb and forefinger to pinch food to pick it up. The lab stimulated natural selection, evolution, as well as competition between organisms.
2) The phenotype that was best at obtaining food were the organisms that could pick up food with their fingers, the "pinchers". It was the easiest to pick up food being a "pincher" because we have more coordination with our thumb and forefinger and can pick things up easier using them, compared to in between the knuckles and with your two wrists.
3) In this lab, we asked the question "Do populations evolve?". We found that populations do evolve eventually over time. Evolution is the change of allele frequency over time. The allele frequencies for both dominant and recessive alleles changed every time, throughout the trials. We began with 52% allele frequency for the "A" allele and 48% allele frequency for the "a" allele. We ended with 28% allele frequency for the "A" allele and 72% allele frequency for the "a" allele.
4) Things that were random in the lab were where we stood in the circle. We couldn't choose where the food would be located, and most times, some of us were closer to more food than others. Another random thing was what kind of phenotype that the offspring had. Since the food was sometimes scattered all over, or in piles, or one big pile, or in a line, some people were a lot closer to the food than others. Just like in nature, you never know where the food will be located and what it will look like.
5) If the food was larger, it might have been easier to pick up, especially for the "Stumpies", but it would also limit the amount of food you could carry and the amount of food you need to survive and reproduce. If the food was smaller, it would be easier to carry more, but the number of food you need to survive and reproduce would probably increase. In Darwin's observations at the Galapagos, he notice that birds with larger beaks ate larger seeds and birds with smaller beaks ate smaller seeds. The birds with larger beaks wouldn't need to pick up as many seeds as the smaller seeds because each larger seed provides more energy to the bird.
6) If there was not incomplete dominance, the results would have been very different. The generations would slowly turn into "Stumpies" because the dominant "A" allele would cover up the recessive "a" allele in the heterozygotes.
7) Natural selection and evolution both result in a population changing over time. In natural selection, some organisms are picked out as winners because of their traits, which can lead to evolution. Because evolution is the change of allele frequency over time, natural selection can help by changing the allele frequency in a population.
8) The knucklers population increased because they wanted to survive and reproduce with only other knucklers. Instead of trying to mate with the preferred phenotype, pinchers, they wanted to ensure the survival of their own phenotype and only wanted to mate with individuals of their phenotype. This affected the allele frequency because the allele frequency still had "A" alleles, but mostly "a" alleles. This is a good example of sexual selection because, even though the knucklers phenotype isn't the most advantageous, they still chose to reproduce with each other, instead of thinking of their own survival and reproducing with the pinchers.
9) In evolution, the entire population "evolves". The population, as a whole, changes over time because of changes in allele frequency. Natural selection acts on phenotype. Evolution acts on the genotype of a population.
A question I still have is if we could do the same lab, but with multiple different variables and assess how those variables affected the results.
2) The phenotype that was best at obtaining food were the organisms that could pick up food with their fingers, the "pinchers". It was the easiest to pick up food being a "pincher" because we have more coordination with our thumb and forefinger and can pick things up easier using them, compared to in between the knuckles and with your two wrists.
3) In this lab, we asked the question "Do populations evolve?". We found that populations do evolve eventually over time. Evolution is the change of allele frequency over time. The allele frequencies for both dominant and recessive alleles changed every time, throughout the trials. We began with 52% allele frequency for the "A" allele and 48% allele frequency for the "a" allele. We ended with 28% allele frequency for the "A" allele and 72% allele frequency for the "a" allele.
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| The "a" allele frequency increased and the "A" allele frequency decreased. |
5) If the food was larger, it might have been easier to pick up, especially for the "Stumpies", but it would also limit the amount of food you could carry and the amount of food you need to survive and reproduce. If the food was smaller, it would be easier to carry more, but the number of food you need to survive and reproduce would probably increase. In Darwin's observations at the Galapagos, he notice that birds with larger beaks ate larger seeds and birds with smaller beaks ate smaller seeds. The birds with larger beaks wouldn't need to pick up as many seeds as the smaller seeds because each larger seed provides more energy to the bird.
6) If there was not incomplete dominance, the results would have been very different. The generations would slowly turn into "Stumpies" because the dominant "A" allele would cover up the recessive "a" allele in the heterozygotes.
7) Natural selection and evolution both result in a population changing over time. In natural selection, some organisms are picked out as winners because of their traits, which can lead to evolution. Because evolution is the change of allele frequency over time, natural selection can help by changing the allele frequency in a population.
8) The knucklers population increased because they wanted to survive and reproduce with only other knucklers. Instead of trying to mate with the preferred phenotype, pinchers, they wanted to ensure the survival of their own phenotype and only wanted to mate with individuals of their phenotype. This affected the allele frequency because the allele frequency still had "A" alleles, but mostly "a" alleles. This is a good example of sexual selection because, even though the knucklers phenotype isn't the most advantageous, they still chose to reproduce with each other, instead of thinking of their own survival and reproducing with the pinchers.
9) In evolution, the entire population "evolves". The population, as a whole, changes over time because of changes in allele frequency. Natural selection acts on phenotype. Evolution acts on the genotype of a population.
A question I still have is if we could do the same lab, but with multiple different variables and assess how those variables affected the results.
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Stumpies, Knucklers, and Pinchers race to pick up food.
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