Weekly Blog 10/7/17 - Natural Selection

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Summary

     Natural selection is the process in which animals more adapted to the environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. For example, when Darwin studies the same species of finches located on the different island of the Galapagos he noticed that all of them were slightly different. Each of the finches had certain variations of color, beak or claw shape, size, etc.) depending on what adaptations helped them survive long enough to reproduce in their particular environment. Darwin learned that this was due to natural selection. Let us say in this environment there are a lot of little bugs for the finches to eat. If one finch with a fat beak had 4 finch babies one of which was born with a long skinny beak. The finch with a long skinny beak would be more likely to survive because it can more easily consume the small insects. That finch would have kids who would survive to have kids and over time the finches would all be better adapted to their environment. That is why all of the finches on each island were different. They all adapted to their own environment.

SP6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions 

     I constructed explanations after I read passages and played games to explain the mechanics of natural selection. While playing the games, I evaluated the information given to me by the game. With that information, I was able to design solutions to the problems given to me and understand how exactly natural selection works. I did this with two topics: peppered moths, and Darwin's findings.

XCC: Stability and Change

     In the peppered moth's forest ecosystem, originally the system was stable. There were lots of white moths and a few black moths. However, when the Industrial Revolution took place, pollution turned the trees black causing change within the before stable system. The black moths were now better adapted to the environment. Through natural selection, the white moths were eaten and the black moths reproduced changing the ratio of black moths to white. Over time and generations, the system would stabilize. There are now only a few with moths in the once all-white system. If the trees turned white again, the system would once again change.