Name period date assigned date due date returned. Variation Lab

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Debra Parks
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1 Name period date assigned date due date returned Introduction: The Island Strawling bird lives on a remote island in the South Pacific. It feeds on strawberries and drinks from the freshwater lakes that are sparsely located on the island. Only those birds that can accomplish the lengthy flight from freshwater lake to freshwater lake will live long enough to breed successfully. In this lab, you will breed several generations of the Island Strawling bird and observe the effects of various changes in genetic traits that can occur through natural selection. Materials (per group): paper clear tape ruler scissors six-sided die straws (4) penny Procedure: 1. Prepare the parent bird: a. mark one end of each straw with a marker. This will be the bird s. b. Cut 2 strips of paper, each should be 30cm long and 3cm wide. c. Loop one strip of paper with a 1cm overlap, and tape the ends together with a small piece of tape. Repeat with the other strip. d. Tape each loop 3 cm from the end of the straw. Your bird should look like the one below. 30 cm 30 cm 1

2 dice coin Mrs. Keadle 2. Test fly this parent bird by gently releasing it with an overhand pitch. 3. Create offspring. (each bird lays 3 eggs). Altering the placement and width of the loops will be determined by a coin toss and roll of a die. Use the following charts to determine where to place the wings and. s s outcome how the mutation affects the wings/ the change will occur on the end of the straw the change will occur on the end of the straw The wing will move 1 cm toward the end of the straw The wing moves 1 cm away from the end of the straw The circumference of the wing/ increases by 2 cm. (add 2 cm to the length of the existing wing/) The circumference of the wing/ decreases by 2 cm. (subtract 2 cm from the length of the existing wing/) The width of the wing/ increases by 1 cm. (add 1cm to the width of the wing/) The width of the wing/ decreases by 1 cm. (subtract 1cm from the width of the wing/) a. The first chick has no mutations and will look exactly like the parent. You have already built this bird and will use it to test flight distance. b. The other two chicks have variations. You will flip a coin to see if the variation is on the or end. Then you will roll the dice to see what variation will occur. c. Record the variation. 2

3 GENERATION 1 Chick 1: identical to the parent. You have already built this bird. Keep this chick intact, mark it with a 1. 30cm 30cm Chick 2: this chick will have variations from the parent. First, roll the dice to see if you will change the end (wing) or the end () of the parent bird. On the diagram, circle the word or based on your coin flip.. Fill in the new numbers on the diagram before building the chick. Chick 3: this chick will also have variations from the parent. First, roll the dice to see if you will change the end (wing) or the end () of the parent bird. On the diagram, circle the word or based on your coin flip.. Fill in the new numbers on the diagram before building the chick. 3

4 GENERATION 2 4. Now, test fly all three chicks. a. release the birds with a gentle overhand pitch b. It is important to release the birds the same way every time c. test each bird twice. d. on page 3, circle which chick flew the best. This will become your new parent bird. 5. This parent bird has three chicks. Flip the coin and roll the die to see what variations it s three chicks will have. Chick 4: The first chick is an exact copy of the parent. Keep this chick intact, mark it with a 2. Chick 5: this chick will have variations from the parent. First, roll the dice to see if you will change the end (wing) or the end () of the parent bird. On the diagram, circle the word or based on your coin flip.. Fill in the new numbers on the diagram before building the chick. Chick 6: this chick will also have variations from the parent. First, roll the dice to see if you will change the end (wing) or the end () of the parent bird. On the diagram, circle the word or based on your coin flip.. Fill in the new numbers on the diagram before building the chick. 4

5 GENERATION 3 6. Now, test fly all three chicks. a. release the birds with a gentle overhand pitch b. It is important to release the birds the same way every time c. test each bird twice. d. on page 4, circle which chick flew the best. This will become your new parent bird. 7. This parent bird has three chicks. Flip the coin and roll the die to see what variations it s three chicks will have. Chick 7: The first chick is an exact copy of the parent. Keep this chick intact, mark it with a 3. Chick 8: this chick will have variations from the parent. First, roll the dice to see if you will change the end (wing) or the end () of the parent bird. On the diagram, circle the word or based on your coin flip.. Fill in the new numbers on the diagram before building the chick. Chick 9: this chick will also have variations from the parent. First, roll the dice to see if you will change the end (wing) or the end () of the parent bird. On the diagram, circle the word or based on your coin flip.. Fill in the new numbers on the diagram before building the chick. 5

6 8. Now, test fly all three chicks. a. release the birds with a gentle overhand pitch b. It is important to release the birds the same way every time c. test each bird twice. d. on page 5, circle which chick flew the best. This will become your new parent bird. 9. Now, test fly the parents marked 1, 2 and 3 against your best chick from page 5 to determine the overall winner. Results: 1. What generation did the best flying chick come from? 2. Which chick number flew the best? 3. Which design flew the best out of ALL of the winning chicks? Diagram it. 4. Did your experiment result in better flying birds? 5. How did your experiment produce variation among the offspring? 6. How did your experiment select offspring to breed for the next generation? 7. Did you notice any trends with wing and size or distance from the end of the straw that seemed to show better adaptations for flying? What were they? 8. In a real life situation, what happens to organisms that cannot travel to find food? 9. What happens to organisms that have better adaptations? 6

7 10 Which of the following traits would most likely improve the chances that an organism will survive and reproduce? A brightly colored scales, which makes a fish easier to spot by its predators. B poor vision, which makes it more difficult for an eagle to see its prey C bright colors, which attract bees to a flower D dull-colored feathers, which make it less likely that a bird will find a mate 11 Identify which of the following is not an example of a trait that increases an animals chance for survival. A An insect that blends in with it s physical surroundings B A skunk s ability to spray other animals with a strong smelling chemical. C A peacock s bright feathers make it easier to be spotted by predators. D A frog s brightly colored skin alerts predators that it is poisonous. 7

ii. The die throw determines how the mutations affect the physical traits.

ii. The die throw determines how the mutations affect the physical traits. Origami Bird Lab Names: Date: LT: I can use a simulation to model and explain how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time. In this lab, you will