1. Huh?
Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old, and the planet has changed a great deal during its existence. For organisms to survive, they would have to change (mutate) also. A mutation is any permanent change in the DNA of a gene or chromosome.
Some mutations are BAD, some can be GOOD and some don’t really have any effect.
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2. Examples of Mutation: Albinism
…the absence of pigmentation within the skin – true albinos have pink eyes due to the flow of blood to the retina and the absence of pigment within the iris…
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3. Examples of Mutation: Flu Virus
…every year, scientists that study the flu virus must devise a new vaccine to combat the current strain of flu going around. The flu virus mutates often so new vaccines must be created each year…
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4. What did you come up with?
Mutation Nation:
Two mutations are discussed on the previous slides – Albinism and the Flu virus. List three more mutations that exist in nature and whether they are good, bad or neutral in the chart on your paper…
What did you come up with?
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5. Some mutations lead to adaptation…
When a mutation is beneficial and helps an organism to survive in its environment, the organism has the opportunity to live longer, find a mate, and pass on its good traits to its offspring.
How are a zebra’s stripes considered a helpful mutation?
A zebra’s stripes allow it to confuse predators when traveling in herds. This allows them to survive another day to pass on their traits during reproduction.
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6. What is an Adaptation?
An adaptation is a characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment. They include structures and behaviors for finding food, a mate, for protection, and for moving from place to place.
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7. Can you list some adaptations of the animals below?
Large ears to hear predators
Powerful back legs for jumping long distances
Pouch for carrying young until they are able to survive on their own
Jaw that can “unhinge” to swallow prey whole
Basks in the sun to warm cold-blooded body
Can “smell” with it’s tongue
Adaptation:
behavior or characteristic for survival
Have special hairs on their back which they can release when under attack to irritate the eyes and nose of predators
Can easily sense vibrations in the ground
Have opposable thumbs for grasping items
Prehensile tail for hanging from trees
Teeth designed for omnivorous diet
Trunk used to bathe, drink and wash themselves
Large tusks for defense
Large feet to distribute body weight and to dig out water holes
Has spots that camouflage them from predators and prey alike
Teeth designed for meat eating
Have special ankle bones that allow them to climb down trees headfirst
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8. Who figured all of this stuff out?
Charles Darwin, studied the characteristics of organisms in the Galapagos Islands and noticed that they were similar to those on nearby South America. He hypothesized that animals came to the Galapagos from the mainland. The environment determined which animals would survive and which would die off. Those adapted to the new environment survived and became different from their mainland relatives.
Example: Iguanas & Finches
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