Megan Simonson APES I. A Simulation of Natural Selection II.

Purpose How does genetic variability support the survival of certain individuals? How does environment affect the genetic variation of a population? III. Background Evolution is the process that changes the genetic make-up of a population. Natural Selection the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. An individuals ability to reproduce depends on the individuals ability to survive. A characteristic is naturally selected if it increases the organisms ability to survive or create more offspring. IV. Materials
White Northern Beans Pinto Beans Black Beans Two Different Environments

V. Procedure
Gather 10 beans of each type of bean. Choose two different environments. Scatter the beans randomly in the first environment. Choose a predator to pick up (eat) 20 beans. Assuming each survivor has two offspring add the offspring to the scattered survivors. Repeat the procedure two more times for the first environment. Repeat the entire procedure for the second environment.

VI. Data Hypothesis: The survivors of Environment 1 will mostly consist of the northern white bean. The survivors of Environment 2 will mostly consist of the black bean.
X2 Analysis of Beetle Captures
Environment 1 Characteristics

Expected(P1) 10 10 10 30

Observed(P4) 0 0 30 30 10 10 40

X2

Lab Floor Lab Floor Lab Floor Lab Floor

Black Pinto Northern White Total

Lab Floor
Environment 2 Characteristics

*N= Expected(P1) 10 10 10 30 Observed(P4) 24 6 0 30 *N=

P= X2 19.6 1.6 10

Media Room Floor MRF MRF MRF

Black Pinto Northern White Total

P=

Summary of Beetle Capture Environment #1: Lab Floor North ern White A B C D E F G H I P1 10 Pinto Black Total Environment #2: Media Room Floor North ern White 10 7 3 6 9 9 0 0 0 Pinto Black Total

10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

10 6 4 8 12 11 1 2 3

30 20 10 20 30 20 10 20 30

10 6 4 8 12 8 4 8 12

10 7 3 6 9 3 6 12 18

30 20 10 20 30 20 10 20 30

Eaten 4 Surviv ors 6

Offspri 12 ng P2 18

Eaten 9 Surviv ors 9

Offspri 18 ng P3 27

North ern White J K L M Eaten 17 Surviv ors 10

Pinto

Black

Total

North ern White 0 0 0 0

Pinto

Black

Total

0 0 0 0

3 0 0 0

20 10 20 30

10 2 4 6

10 8 16 24

20 10 20 30

Offspri 20 ng P4 30

VII. Analysis Environment 1 was the floor of the lab. The lab floor is a bright off-white. It would be help camouflage the Northern White beans. The Northern White beans were difficult to see against the white environment. Because the Northern White beans were well-hidden by the white background, it is expected that most of the survivors would be Northern White beans. In the experiment the only survivors were the Northern White beans. The black and pinto beans did not survive because they were not well-hidden by the white environment. They drastically contrasted with the lab floor, so they were easy to see. The probability of a predator eating a black or pinto bean is much greater than the probability of a predator eating a northern white bean. The experimental results supported our hypothesis. Environment 2 was the media room floor. The media room floor is a dark navy color. The dark nature of the media room floor would support the survival of the black beans. The dark color of the black beans is closest to the color of environment two. The northern white and pinto beans are light and contrast with the dark media room floor, so it is expected that they will be more frequently eaten. In the experiment the dominant survivors were black beans. There were a few pinto beans that survived, but most of the survivors were black beans. None of the northern white beans survived which supports the hypothesis that most of the survivors would be black beans. VIII. Conclusions The genetic variation of a population shifts to favor individuals with the genetic trait that best suits their environment.