Lab 1 Natural Selection, Evolution
The Importance of
Camouflage
By
Biology 101
May, 29 2013
Introduction
In life, we have heard the phrase “only the strongest will survive”, and undoubtedly, think of the strength of a lion or the ferociousness of a bear, but this is not always the case to being a dominant species in a community. In this lab, we will explore the theory of natural selection, or as Charles Darwin put it, “Survival of the fittest” (King et al, 1-14). Through this concept, we will come to the understanding that being the fittest is not about being the strongest or most cunning, but simple having the best attributes to survive in a specific environment. For example, would a lion or a camel be the dominant race in the Sahara desert? The answer is the camel; even though the lion surpasses it in almost every aspect, the camel has the specific characteristic of conserving water which was acquired through the process of evolution. This processes essentially means, that the camel is the product of many generations of organisms reproducing and dyeing to successfully survive in their environment. To test the theory of natural selection theory through means of prey and predation, we will brooch the specific trait of camouflage. That is, if the color of the prey is not consistent with the natural habitat, than the prey will experience increased selection pressure; effectively decreasing the chance of surviving natural selection or predation.
Materials and Methods To test our hypothesis we conducted an experiment utilizing a piece of multi-colored fabric (blue, red, yellow, orange and backdrop on primarily yellow) to simulate a rich diverse environment, and punched out color chips to simulate varying organisms within the population. To increase the effect of selection pressure among the organisms we included colors other than that of the natural habitat (dark green, pink, brown, black, and white). These colors essentially represented a negative control to gage the
Camouflage
By
Biology 101
May, 29 2013
Introduction
In life, we have heard the phrase “only the strongest will survive”, and undoubtedly, think of the strength of a lion or the ferociousness of a bear, but this is not always the case to being a dominant species in a community. In this lab, we will explore the theory of natural selection, or as Charles Darwin put it, “Survival of the fittest” (King et al, 1-14). Through this concept, we will come to the understanding that being the fittest is not about being the strongest or most cunning, but simple having the best attributes to survive in a specific environment. For example, would a lion or a camel be the dominant race in the Sahara desert? The answer is the camel; even though the lion surpasses it in almost every aspect, the camel has the specific characteristic of conserving water which was acquired through the process of evolution. This processes essentially means, that the camel is the product of many generations of organisms reproducing and dyeing to successfully survive in their environment. To test the theory of natural selection theory through means of prey and predation, we will brooch the specific trait of camouflage. That is, if the color of the prey is not consistent with the natural habitat, than the prey will experience increased selection pressure; effectively decreasing the chance of surviving natural selection or predation.
Materials and Methods To test our hypothesis we conducted an experiment utilizing a piece of multi-colored fabric (blue, red, yellow, orange and backdrop on primarily yellow) to simulate a rich diverse environment, and punched out color chips to simulate varying organisms within the population. To increase the effect of selection pressure among the organisms we included colors other than that of the natural habitat (dark green, pink, brown, black, and white). These colors essentially represented a negative control to gage the
Cited: Betty L. King, M. F. (2007). General Biology Study Guide and Laboratory Manual Tenth Edition. New York: Pearson.