❏ Answer the question “​How do organisms change over time in response to 

changes in their environment?”  

Organisms over time usually change with adaptation or a modification that helps 
the organism survive in new environments. This genetic variation is moved down 
to later generations till it matures to a regular characteristic of the organism. 

❏ How natural selection occurs (include the terms environment, genetic variation, 
fitness, and adaptation). 
Natural selection occurs when individuals with certain genotypes are more likely 
than individuals with other genotypes to survive and reproduce, and thus to pass 
on their alleles to the next generation. 
Genetic variation is important because natural selection can only grow or lower 
the frequency of alleles that previously lived in the population. Genetic variation 
is created by mutation and mating among organisms. 
Fitness is a survival and differential reproduction result from natural selection, 
which is a tool in evolution. Organisms that are fitter and better suited to their 
environment will proliferate more and raise the proportion of the population with 
their fit traits. 
Organisms that are accustomed to their environment are prone to survive and 
carry on the genes that helped their survival. This is why natural selection is the 
process that makes species change and develops over time. 

❏ Summarize multiple types of evidence of evolution. 

Homologous structures present proof for common ancestry, analogous structures 
prove that similar selective pressures can create similar adaptations. 
The fossil record, biogeography, comparative anatomy, comparative 
embryology, and molecular biology. 
Fossil evidence, biogeographical evidence, and anatomical evidence are 
Darwin’s lines of evidence to prove his theory of evolution. 

❏ Explain the effects that rapidly changing environments can have on a 

population of organisms. 
When an environment rapidly changes it can cause certain species with 
undesired traits to have a decrease in population. This is because the undesired 
trait makes it harder for a said organism to survive and reproduce. For example, 
the moths in a previous lesson had to survive in an environment that was rapidly 
 changing. In their case, it was the color of the trees that caused changes in the 
ability of the moths to camouflage. At first, the white speckled moth thrived 
because the trees were still white which made camouflage easy. This changed 
when the industrial revolution began which caused an increase in pollution/soot 
which coated the trees in black. This resulted in the white speckled moth 
population decrease, while soon after, the black colored moths began to thrive 
and increase in population due to the rapidly changing environment that 
changed in their favor. When laws were passed that reduced the amount of 
pollutants factories could produce, the trees returned to normal, and once 
again the white speckled moths were back on top. This is just one of the many 
hundreds of examples that show how a rapidly changing environment can 
affect a species or group of organisms. 

❏ Provide an example of a population's response to a rapidly changing 

environment. 
Humans are modifying the world in many ways, and many of the changes are 
harmful to organisms and animals living in environments that, are being rapidly 
changed. The changes we cause are often severe challenges to animals, plants, 
and microbes in nature, from the introduction of pathogens or exotic invasive 
species to adding toxic substances or excessive nutrients or causing climatic 
change. That isn’t the only reason environments are changing but it is the most 
significant. This leaves organisms forced to respond, some of the species that are 
impacted by the change respond with drops in their numbers, sometimes to the 
point of extinction, while others benefit from to surplus of organisms in the 
population and become very dominant. By evolving rapidly organisms can 
adapt to the environment and depending on the generation time they can 
evolve in a few years passing on the adapted and fit trait to organisms in the 
population.  
 
❏ Provide an example of an organism's adaptation to its environment. 
An example of an organism adapting to its environment could be when a 
chameleon changes its colors to blend in and avoid predators.  
Tibetans flourish at elevations where oxygen levels are up to 40 percent below 
sea level. Tibetans’ bodies have evolved in their body chemistry. Most people 
cannot survive at high altitudes for long periods because the body will raise the 
levels of hemoglobin. But, raised levels of hemoglobin are threatening, so a lot of 
 hemoglobin is not a safe resolution to high-altitude survival in the long term. 
Tibetans have evolved genetic changes that enable them to use oxygen for 
longer periods and use it more efficiently without needing hemoglobin.  
 

Biology Art Paragraph

In this picture, I represent the theme of evolution through the peppered moths. In the photo, the
first thing you probably notice is the Yin Yang sign. This represents camouflage because we see
that when the moths are in opposite colors, it is easy to spot them, but if you were to put the
right moth on the right color of tree in the photo they then would be properly camouflaged. The
arrows represent how the moth’s population rises and falls depending on what period of the
industrial revolution they are in. The bigger meaning behind the picture is how the moths choose
to evolve to, meet the standards of their new environment so that they can survive and thrive.
They do this by evolving their body colors through natural selection to match the environment.