1. Natural and Artificial Selection
Adaptation
Natural and Artificial Selection
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

2. Adaptation
Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby a population becomes better suited to its environment (where it lives). This process takes place over many generations, and takes time to happen.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

3. Beaver How is this animal adapted to fit it’s environment?
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4. Beaver
Due to a unique respiratory system, the beaver can remain underwater for up to 20-minutes at a time.
The tail of the beaver is unusually broad and covered in scales. Can use it like a rudder and as a communication tool.
Nostrils and ears that can close while under water.
Flaps of skin behind incisors to prevent drowning.
They have specialized teeth that are extra sharp. Beavers exist on a diet of bark, twigs and buds of trees.
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5. Woodpecker How is this animal adapted to fit it’s environment?
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6. Woodpecker
A strong, pointed beak acts as both a chisel and a crowbar to remove bark and find hiding insects.
Barbed or brush-like tongue to extract insects or sap.
Zygodactyl feet, two toes forward and two toes backward.
Skull adapted to absorb shock of pecking on wood. Woodpeckers tap an estimated 8,000 – 12,0000 times/day.
Nose/nostril feathers to prevent inhalation of wood particles.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

7. Camel How is this animal adapted to fit it’s environment?
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8. Camel
The camel‘s mouth adapted to eat desert plants. It has no teeth on its front upper jaw, which is a hard pad. It has teeth on its lower jaw and teeth in the back of its upper and lower jaws.
A camel’s fat filled hump can store up to 20 L of water, and it can go up to three days without water.
Eyelashes (2 rows)/slit-like nostrils to keep out sand.
Large, flat feet to spread their weight on the sand.
Thick fur on the top and thin fur everywhere else.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

9. Adaptations
Having certain colors can help an organism blend in with their surroundings.
Certain organs help organisms survive in their environments (ex. bird’s hollow bones, camel’s hump).
Mimicking other animals (like having yellow and black stripes) only works if the other animals in the environment are familiar with that predator.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

10. Natural Selection
Natural selection is the process in nature by which only the organisms that are best adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce. This passes on their inherited traits to the next generation. Individuals that are not well adapted to their environment tend to die before reproducing.
Therefore the traits that helped the organism survive get passed on to their offspring.
Natural selection is the tool by which animals are able to adapt.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

11. Survival of the Fittest
Millions of years of natural selection have led to a range of canines adapted for survival in many diverse habitats.
Today 35 species of wild canines can be found from the tropics to the tundra.
Wild canines make their homes in a wide variety of habitats. From the hottest deserts to the icy arctic, each wild canine has been modified by natural selection so that it is well suited for survival.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

12. Grasslands The maned wolf is well adapted for life in the tall
grass plains of South America. Their stilt-like legs aren't for running – it is speedster. Instead, long legs help maned wolves peer over tall grasses to spot each other and their prey.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

13. Desert
The fennec fox makes its home in the desert. Pale fur reflects the sun's rays, and extends over the soles of its
paws to protect against hot desert sands. When fennec foxes overheat, its body sends blood to their large ears to rapidly dump the excess body heat into the environment.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

14. Arctic
The arctic fox is the only year- round small canine resident of the Arctic.
Its fur goes from white in winter to brown-gray in summer. For warmth, thick fur covers the soles of its feet and tiny ears to reduce heat loss when the temperature dips far below zero.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

15. Artificial Selection
Artificial selection or more commonly called selective breeding is a result of humans, rather than nature selecting for a certain trait, causing changes in a population.
There are many examples of artificial selection, including the food we eat, domesticated animals, our pets and even the meats we eat.
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19. Man’s Best
Friend
Selective breeding or artificial selection has created the many different dog breeds we are familiar with.
With artificial selection, humans decide which dogs survive and breed.
With natural selection, only those that can meet nature's challenges are the ones that survive and breed.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

20. Downsides to Selective Breeding
Artificial selection essentially removes variation in a
population, so selectively bred organisms can be especially susceptible to diseases or changes in the environment that would not be a problem for a natural population.
Inbreeding – the mating of closely related individuals – is also a problem. In dogs, this has resulted in breeds that have health issues ranging from decreased life span to crippling lameness or painful arthritis.
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21. Downsides Labrador - arthritis Doberman – narcolepsy
Hairless Chinese Crested - skin problems
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23. Darwin’s Finches