Name: _______Hannah Ness_________________ Date: ____10/2/20_____

Assessment for MS-LS4-4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity T3

Standard: Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic

variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving
and reproducing in a specific environment.

Read the following information

about finches in the
Galapagos Islands. Answer all
three of the prompts using
complete sentences and
science vocabulary.

Peter and Rosemary Grant

have studied finches in the
Galapagos Islands for over
40 years, beginning in 1973.
During their studies they
have observed that drought
years yield larger plant seed
sizes. Rainy years yield
smaller seed sizes. These
seeds are the main food
source for the finches.

Prompt A: Make a claim about the effect of the amount of rainfall on plant seed size.
The amount of rainfall will greatly impact the amount of seed growth and therefore
the population size of finches. Response does not answer prompt.

Prompt B: Explain the relationship between plant seed size and beak depth of finches
(use evidence from the graph). _______
The data shows that during years where the soil is dry and we can infer that there is
not much rain fall, the population size of the Finches will increase. This happens
because during those dry years the size of seeds and the tenderness of the soil will
decrease. Since the Finches have large beaks this will not be a big problem for their
population. However, many birds with much smaller beaks will begin to die out,
causing there to be more food for the Finches, giving them more time and energy to
reproduce at a higher rate and their population density to increase.

Prompt C: How has the variation of beak depth among the Galapagos finches
affected their population during past dry years?

_______the data shows that during the dry years in the past their population rate has
increased. This is because the other Finches which they would have had competition
with for food would have died out because they did not have the correct variations for
the environment of the time. Causing the Finches to have less competition and their
survival rate to increase.

Based on past data, how will future generations of finches be affected by droughts?
______
Future generations of Finches will also thrive under the dry years. This is because of
natural selection. Since the Finches population size is proven in the data to increase
during dry years because of their long beaks there will be much more of them in their
environment for many years to come.