Natural Selection Simulation

at PHET
http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Natural_Selection
(biol.co/2wolf2)

Exploration of the Simulation

Access the simulation and explore the settings. Answer the following questions.

1. What are some VARIABLES that you have control over in the simulation?

Some variables that I had control over in the simulation were to add mutations, edit
genes, select factors such as wolves, food, environment (artic or dessert), and control
population or pedigree chart.

2. What happens to the bunny population if a friend is never added? What happens when you

add a friend? If a friend is never added then the bunny will die, but when you add a friend

the bunnies sexually reproduce, and the population grows.

3. What happens when you add food as a selection factor?

When you add food as a factor in the simulation, the bunnies live longer because they
need food to sustain life and are being nourished. 4. What is the difference between the
arctic and equator environment?

4. What is the difference between the arctic and equator environment?

In the Arctic environment, there is snow so the environment is cold while there is dirt
or sand in the equator environment, so it is hot.

5. What is a genetic mutation? What are the three mutations you can add to your bunny
population? A genetic mutation is an alteration in the DNA sequence of a gene, which

causes variation within a species. Three mutations I can add to my bunny population is
brown fur, long tail, and long teeth.

Experiment A - How is the fur color trait influenced by natural

selection?
Hypothesis: Natural selection will favor traits that
_________________________________________

Complete the following simulations to answer your experimental question. Jot down
notes for each with what happened.

Add a friend and a brown fur mutation to the bunny population, let the
experiment continue to its conclusion.

Start over and add brown fur mutation (with a friend) but add a selection
factor of wolves when your bunnies start to get overpopulated. Let the experiment
run until you have a clear idea of what is happening with the rabbit and wolf
populations.

Change the settings so that you still have brown fur mutations but this
time remove the wolves and make the selection factor be food. Let the experiment
run until you have a clear idea of what is happening within the population.

Reset and change the settings so that you have brown fur mutation in an
arctic environment, use wolves as your selection factor.
6. Based on the four simulations you ran, describe what happened to your population and
answer the experimental question, consider what happens in both environments and what
happens when there are no predators. Provide evidence from the simulation to support your

conclusions. In the simulation, the brightness of the guppies is directly related to

how fast they are consumed by predators. This phenomenon is explained
simply and reflects natural selection. The brighter guppies are at a selective
disadvantage due to the ease with which predators are able to spot them. The
darker-colored guppies are able to avoid predators better so they live for a
longer time.

Experiment B - How is tooth length influenced by natural

selection?
7. Following the guidelines from Experiment A, determine when long teeth provide an
advantage to the bunny population. Run simulations in a variety of settings. Write the answer to
your experimental question and then provide evidence for your answer from the simulation.

CLAIM (answer): A Tooth length is influenced by natural selection because...

EVIDENCE (specific details and observations that support the claim)

Tooth length is influenced by natural selection when you have healthy teeth If
you lose one tooth chances are your other tooth will be crooked until that tooth
grows back in, Your teeth all help each other keep each other strait. But if you
are not taking care of your teeth then your teeth will not be strong enough to
grow longer or any bigger.

REASONING (discuss WHY your evidence supports the claim, include biological principles as
reasoning for outcome)

Experiment Challenge
8. Using the simulation, determine the conditions when a long tail would be an adaptation. If you
cannot discover this from the simulation, propose any possible situation where a long tail would
provide a selective advantage for bunnies and explain WHY it would be an advantage.

Post-Lab Analysis
9. The process of evolution results from four known factors, for each listed, describe how those
factors were observed in the simulation

Factors that result in Observations

Evolution

Potential for a species to The biotic potential is the ability of a

increase in number
population of living species to increase
under ideal environmental conditions –
sufficient food supply, no predators, and a
lack of disease. ... Humans have a lower
biotic potential than most other organisms
and yet, the human population continues to
grow steadily.

Heritable genetic Heritability is a statistic used in the fields of

variation breeding and genetics that estimates the degree of
variation in a phenotypic trait in a population that is
due to genetic variation between individuals in that
population.

Competition for limited Competition can occur between individuals

resources
of the same species, called intraspecific
competition, or between different species,
called interspecific competition. ...
 Experiments demonstrate that when species
compete for a limited resource, one species
eventually drives the populations of other
species extinct.

The proliferation of Evolution is the change in inherited

organisms that are better
characteristics or traits in a population of
able to survive and
reproduce organisms over many generations. The
mechanism that best explains evolution is a
phenomenon known as natural selection.