Microevolution: Changes in Populations

Microevolution

PART 1: EVOLUTION 101

1. How do the authors of this page define microevolution?

The authors of this page define microevolution as evolution on a small scale.

2. How do they define a population?

They define a population as a group of organisms that are interbred with each other.

3. Summarize each of the 4 mechanisms of microevolutionary change that are discussed.

Mutation: a change in a gene

Migration: when one type of organism migrates on way and another type goes a different way

Natural Selection: when a species adapts to their surrounding for easier survival

4.  Summarize the 3 examples of microevolution on this page.

Size of Sparrow: due to different situations and climates the birds have changed size and shape that way they could adapt to their surrounding where they live
Coping with Global Warming: mosquitoes have became familiar with the day length for the time of year and now know a shorter day means to be dormant

Building Resistance: when plants or bacterias grow resistance to a certain poisonous gas/liquid/solution.

5. Summarize the results of the two different experiments (with and without predators).

Without predators there is a huge population of spotted guppies, which females are more attracted to; with predators guppies adapt to blend in and hide, which makes them not as attractive.

6. What types of selection were demonstrated in each experiment?  Are these experiments truly cases of artificial selection? Explain your answer.

--Click on the quick quiz link to go to the quiz.  

7. Pick your three favorite questions from the quiz and write how you would answer them if you were teaching this class.

If I picked guppies that had colorful fins, can I get them to change?
-No it would be impossible to get them to change unless there was a predator and they were trying to hide that way they can survive.

Is microevolution the evolution of small things?
-No this is not true, microevolution is small changes in a species.

PART 2: SEX AND THE SINGLE GUPPY

1. Why do some guppies tend to be drabber than others?

Some guppies tend to be drabber than others that way they can blend in to hide.

1. Why do some guppies tend to be more colorful?

Some guppies tend to be more colorful to attract the opposite sex.

1. What role does color play in guppy survival?

The role that color plays in a guppy for survival is either they are a certain color to attract the opposite sex or they are a certain color to blend in from predators to survive.
4. Explain the push and pull that the environment (including predators) has on the coloration of guppies in Endler’s pools.
Guppies want to find another guppy for sexual reproduction so they are a pretty color to attract other guppies, but the push is they are more obvious for predators and they cannot blend in making it harder to survive.