1. Natural Selection process by which of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.

2. 1.There is variation in traits. For example, some beetles are green and some are brown.

3. There is differential reproduction. Since the environment can't support unlimited population growth, not all individuals get to reproduce to their full potential. In this example, green beetles tend to get eaten by birds and survive to reproduce less often than brown beetles do.

4. 3.There is heredity. The surviving brown beetles have brown baby beetles because this trait has a genetic basis.

5. End result: The more advantageous trait, brown coloration, which allows the beetle to have more offspring, becomes more common in the population. If this process continues, eventually, all individuals in the population will be brown.

6. Rules All birds must wait outside the feeding grounds until the teacher says “Go!” Birds may only touch food with their beaks. No hands! Food must make it into the stomach (paper towel) to count. Do not hurt other birds. Do not touch other birds’ stomachs. When the teacher blows the whistle, all birds must immediately leave the feeding ground. Any bird that doesn’t get to eat that year does not live the next year and must sit down. Any feeding ground that has a population of two organisms of that species will reproduce one offspring.

7. Natural Selection Homework In 2-3 sentences, describe how the bird population changed over the 5 years of feeding and reproducing. Which beak trait was best suited to this environment? Explain why that beak trait did so well. Could you imagine a different environment (perhaps with a different food source) where a your beak trait would survive better? Describe that imaginary environment and how it would affect the survival of these birds. In 2-3 sentences, describe how the candy bug population changed over the 5 years of being preyed upon by birds and reproducing. Which candy bug trait was best suited to this environment? Explain why that candy bug trait did so well. Could you imagine a different environment (perhaps with a different colored ground surface) where a different candy bug trait would survive better? Describe that imaginary environment and how it would affect the survival of the beans. What Darwin said can be summed up in 4 statements: –Variation: Different individuals have different traits. –Heredity: Traits can be passed on from parent to offspring. –Competition: There is competition so that some individuals survive and reproduce more than others. –Natural Selection: The individuals whose traits best fit them to the environment are the ones that are most likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their genes to the next generation. Describe an example of variation that you saw in this activity. Describe an example of heredity that you saw in this activity. Describe an example of competition that you saw in this activity. Describe an example of natural selection that you saw in this activity. Natural Selection Homework In 2-3 sentences, describe how the bird population changed over the 5 years of feeding and reproducing. Which beak trait was best suited to this environment? Explain why that beak trait did so well. Could you imagine a different environment (perhaps with a different food source) where a your beak trait would survive better? Describe that imaginary environment and how it would affect the survival of these birds. In 2-3 sentences, describe how the candy bug population changed over the 5 years of being preyed upon by birds and reproducing. Which candy bug trait was best suited to this environment? Explain why that candy bug trait did so well. Could you imagine a different environment (perhaps with a different colored ground surface) where a different candy bug trait would survive better? Describe that imaginary environment and how it would affect the survival of the beans. What Darwin said can be summed up in 4 statements: –Variation: Different individuals have different traits. –Heredity: Traits can be passed on from parent to offspring. –Competition: There is competition so that some individuals survive and reproduce more than others. –Natural Selection: The individuals whose traits best fit them to the environment are the ones that are most likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their genes to the next generation. Describe an example of variation that you saw in this activity. Describe an example of heredity that you saw in this activity. Describe an example of competition that you saw in this activity. Describe an example of natural selection that you saw in this activity.