Written Assignment Unit 7

Adaptation and Adaptive Trait

Withheld for peer assessment

Bachelor of Science in health science, UoPeople

BIOL 1301 Introduction to Biology - AY2021-T5

Dr. Rita Mourya (Instructor)

3rd August 2021

Written Assignment Unit 7 1

Introduction

To answer these questions, first, we need to know what “adaptive trait” means.

According to Wikipedia contributors (2021), an adaptive trait in biology has “three related

meanings. First, it is the dynamic evolutionary process that fits organisms to their environment,

enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Second, it is a state reached by the population during that

process. Third, it is a phenotypic trait or adaptive trait, with a functional role in each individual

organism, that is maintained and has evolved through natural selection” (para. 1).

Something interesting I found is that according to KC Moore (2017), not all “traits are an

adaptation. Some might be exaptation, vestigial and others by-products that has never and maybe

will never serve a particular function” (2:20).

Adaptation and Adaptive Trait

An adaptive trait common to more than one species that I selected for this assignment is

the different types of beaks in birds and octopuses.

1. Describe what makes this trait an adaptation.

This trait is an adaptation because depending on the type of food and location, each bird has its

beak for that specific environment. For example, I live near mountains and jungle, and I have

never seen a bird that eats seed or fruit has its beak like a pelican, likewise, I have never seen a

bird that eats fish or octopus has a beak like a hummingbird, for this reason, this trait is an

adaptation.
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2. Briefly describe how the trait evolved.

This trait is a natural selection. According to Lumen Learning (2021) when Darwin

observed that beak shape varies among finch species. He postulated that the beak of an ancestral

species had adapted over time to equip the finches to acquire different food sources. Hence,

Darwin called this mechanism of change natural selection and was an inevitable outcome of

three principles that operated in nature (para. 11). 

Out of these three principles, Darwin reasoned that offspring with inherited

characteristics that allow them to best compete for limited resources will survive and have more

offspring than those individuals with variations that are less able to compete. Due to that

characteristics are inherited, these traits will be better represented in the next generation. This

will lead to change in populations over generations in a process that Darwin called “descent with

modification,” or evolution (Lumen Learning, 2021, para. 11).

3. What is the difference between homologous and analogous traits? How does your trait

of choice fit either of these descriptions?

The difference between homologous and analogous traits is that homologous have similar

structures, different functions, and comes from a common ancestor. Analogous had a different

structure, similar function, but are not from a common ancestor (2 Minute Classroom, 2016).

In the case of the trait I choose, the type of structure is analogous. The reason is that bird

peaks have a different structure, used for the same function which is eating but comes from

different ancestors compared to other animals that have beaks such as octopus, platypus, etc.
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4. What is convergent and divergent evolution? Describe whether the trait is a result of

convergent or divergent evolution.

“Convergent evolution is when two species with different ancestral origins develop similar

characteristics, while divergent evolution refers to when two species diverge from a common

ancestor and develop different characteristics” (2 Minute Classroom, 2017).

For the trait I used (beaks), they are convergent evolution. That is because both of them,

bird and octopus, comes from a different ancestor, and each of them develops beaks they use for

eating but each of them evolves those beaks independently.

Conclusion

I don’t believe in evolution and stuff like that. For Christians like me, who have read and

study the Bible and believe in God, know that he created everything according to their gender

(Genesis 1:25-28). I do believe that there has been mutation in certain organisms like bacteria

and viruses and eventually, they change. Still, this was a very interesting topic and I believe I

answer the question right.

The comparison between bird and octopus beaks is great. Even though both of them

come from different genders and species, both have beaks and are used for the same reason,

eating. Likewise, in birds alone, there is a great variety in size and structure on their beaks,

depending on the environment they live in. As I mentioned at the beginning of this assignment, I

have never seen a bird near my community, which is located between forest and mountains, with
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beaks like pelicans, nor I have seen a bird that lives near sea/ oceans, that have beaks like a

hummingbird or woodpecker.
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Reference

2 Minute Classroom. (2016, October 25). Homologous Structures vs Analogous Structures | Key

Differences [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N3OPRodRvk

2 Minute Classroom. (2017, March 8). Convergent Evolution vs Divergent Evolution | Shared

Traits Explained [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-XtZyHcck4

KC Moore. (2017, April 21). Not all traits are adaptive [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUpESNpKO50

Khan academy medicine. (2013, December 11). Adaptive value of behavioral traits | Behavior |

MCAT | Khan Academy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=tp4I9J5viS4

Lumen Learning. (2021). Understanding Evolution | Boundless Biology. Lumen.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-biology/chapter/understanding-evolution/

Rye, C., Wise, R., Jurukovski, V., DeSaix, J., Choi, J., & Avissar, Y. (2016). Biology. OpenStax.

https://openstax.org/books/biology/pages/1-introduction

Wikipedia contributors. (2021, July 12). Adaptation. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation