Assignment 1

05 Sep Assignment 1

Answer the questions below.

How did the image of an owl’s eye end up on the wings of a moth?

What would a proponent of intelligent design say?

What would a proponent of evolution say? What do you say?  When an Io moth detects a predator, it may flick its forewings apart to reveal the eyespots on its back wings. Does that mean the Io moth knows that it has eyespots?

Section2

·

· The initial discussion introduced the concept of evolution by natural selection. In the background material, we’ll look at the details of this process.  Evolution is an ongoing process: As the environment changes, the characteristics that are advantageous also change. This means researchers can study evolution as it is happening.  For an example, watch this video on rock pocket m i ce.  Then test your understanding by answering a couple of quiz questions.

·

· MC questions Choose the best answer.

1. Why do dark mice on dark lava flows not have dark bellies?

Top of Form

A : There is no selection for dark bellies by visual predators

B: Mutations causing dark bellies do not occur

C : There is a reproductive advantage to having a dark belly.

D: White bellies are an important part of camouflage.Bottom of Form

2. Evolution involves a random process. What is it?

Top of Form

A : natural selection

B : inheritance

C : mutation

Bottom of Form

· In rock pocket mice, having a dark coat is an adaptation to living on dark lava rock.  This adaptation increases the mice’s ability to reproduce, that is, it increases the mice’s fitness. “Fiitness” in animal behavior doesn’t refer to body condition, instead it refers to how well adapted an animal is to its environment as measured by its ability to produce offspring.  It’s important to understand that adaptations aren’t always perfect solutions; they are just better than the alternative. In other words, natural selection can only act on the available options – current characteristics plus characteristics that arise from mutations – so evolution always builds on what already exists.  To understand why an animal is the way it is, you need to understand where it came from. These videos provide concrete examples of this concept. After you watch each video, answer a quiz question.  Why do seahorses have an S shape?

3. According to the video, the shape difference between seahorses and pipefish can be explained by the fact that

Top of Form

A : seahorse males raise their young

B : seahorses have a hard covering

C : seahorses generally remain stationary and wait for their prey to come to themBottom of Form

· How did the human eye evolve? 

4. The human eye is a complex and powerful, but it isn’t perfect. The reason it isn’t perfect is because the human eye evolved from simpler eyes. An example of this imperfection is

Top of Form

A : the hardness of the lens

B : the shape of the iris

C : the blindspot

Bottom of Form

Want to learn more?

Checkpoint Question (Short Answer, around 50 words each) Humans created dog breeds by selectively mating certain dogs.  For example, humans desiring small lap dogs chose the smallest dogs to breed together, eventually developing Chihuahuas and Pomeranians. At the same time, humans desiring guard dogs, chose the largest dogs to breed together, eventually developing Dobermans and Mastiffs. Compare this artificial selection with natural selection. How does selection work in each case?

1. What is being selected for under artificial selection?

Top of Form

Answer:

Bottom of Form

2. What is doing the selecting in artificial selection?

Top of Form

Answer:

Bottom of Form

 

3. What is being selected for under natural selection?

Top of Form

Answer:

Bottom of Form

 

4. What is doing the selecting in natural selection?

Top of Form

Answer:

Bottom of Form

Section 3 – Write a short essay , around 250 words

Argue with this statement, “Evolution happened back in the day, it really has no effect on my life.” In developing your counter-argument, consider: Diseases that evolve in your body (HIV, cancer, Ebola) The evolution of drug resistant bacteria The effects of climate change on wildlife (You don’t need to watch/read all of these resources, but to write an informed post you might need to check out at least one of them.)