1. Evolution and Natural Selection
Essential Question: How does natural selection cause evolution within a population? Think about it:
Which of these will most likely result in variation within a species?
1. mutation
2. succession
3. diffusion
4. competition

2. VariationAdaptationNatural SelectionEvolution
Variation an individual that possesses characteristics different from the others
Adaptation the evolutionary process where a population becomes better suited to its habitat
Which colored bug was better suited to live on the bark of a tree?
How does variation in bug color lead to adaptation?

3. VariationAdaptationNatural SelectionEvolution
Natural Selection organisms best adapted to their environment survive and reproduce
Evolution is change in traits of a population over successful generations
Why is the brown bug more numerous based on Natural Selection?
How long does it take for a population to evolve?

4. Evolution via Natural Selection
Charles Darwin came up with the Theory of Natural Selection
Natural Selection organisms best adapted to their environment survive and reproduce
Therefore a giraffe with a short neck would die and the long neck giraffe live… producing long neck offspring

5. Evolution via Theory of Acquired Characteristics
Jean Baptiste Lamarck came up with the Theory of Acquired Characteristics
Acquired Characteristics are traits that change during the life of an organism (not inherited).
Therefore a giraffe with a short neck would stretch its neck to get the leaves

6. Pollenpeeper’s Evolution Darwinian Evo vs. Lamarckian Evo
Go to
Click “Explore what Darwin called “the mystery or mysteries”
Read and Answer the following questions 1-3 on wkst
Click: “Explore the pollenpeepers’ new homes”
Chose an island: Windsor / Norcross / Warwick Archipelago
Click “Detail View”
The instruction tab along the top will help you navigate on the page.

7. Pollenpeeper’s Evolution Darwinian Evo vs. Lamarckian Evo
Example scenarios:
Darwin’s
Natural Selection
Lamarck’s
Acquired Characteristics
Final Project:
With your partner, write a similar pair of scenarios describing how a particular species of pollenpeeper bird evolved from the ancestral species.
One scenario will be based on Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
The second scenario will be based on Jean Baptiste Lamarck’s Theory of Acquired Characteristics.
1) How they adapted
2) When they adapted
^^ (how long did it take)
3) New feature that they have based on Darwin’s theory (explain how they got from the classic to the new adapted bird)
^^(include food/habitat/ competition/predators in explanation)
Island: Windsor Island
1) How they adapted
2) When they adapted
^^ (how long did it take)
3) New feature that they have based on Lamarck’s theory (explain how they got from the classic to the new adapted bird)
^^(include food/habitat/ competition/predators in explanation)
5mya
(Classic pollenpeeper)
Present
(N. Mainland pollenpeeper)