Anthropology 1020 ePortfolio Signature Assignment- Lab Report

Madison Hogge

Natural Selection Lab Report

Introduction
Darwin found that the finches found on the Galapagos Islands had four different types of beaks.
There was a heavy type, thick and short, stout and straight, and slender (Jurmain, Kilgore,
Trevathan, Pg. 37). He used the scientific method by observing that the finches differed from
each other in beak size and shape, he also noticed that the beak varieties were associated with
diets based on different foods, he concluded that when the original South American finches
reached the islands, they dispersed to different environments where they had to adapt to different
conditions (Early Theories of Evolution) Darwin realized that the finches all came from a
common ancestor and had changed over time from different island habits and diet (Jurmain,
Kilgore, Trevathan, Pg. 37). My initial hypothesis was that I predicted that the tweezers will do
the best and the chopsticks will do the worst. I chose this hypothesis because I know that
chopsticks are hard to use and the tweezers seemed like the easiest to hold and pinch.
Materials and Methods
For this lab we used tongs, clothes pins, chopsticks, tweezers, hair clips, chip clips, and binder
clips, sunflower seeds, and a small cup.
In this activity everyone in the class was given a beak which was either or of the materials
listed above. We had sunflower seeds spread across the table and we had a certain time limit to
see how many seeds we could pick up with our beaks and put into our cups, which represented
our stomachs. We tried this experiment for 5 rounds and then counted how many seeds we had in
our cup at the end of each round. Out of all the people in the class whoever had the least amount
of seeds died and whoever had the most seeds reproduced and handed down to the next
generation whichever beak they used. So each round new beaks were appearing and some beaks
were disappearing making those favorable variations more common in the population.

Results

Natural Selection Lab Report

10
9
8
7
6

Number of Finches

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4
Round 5

2
1
0

Type of Beak

Conclusion
The tongs did the best, so my hypothesis was rejected. The tongs and the clothes pins did the
best. The tongs will survive to the end and the clothes pins will increase in frequency. The
tweezers did the best after those, so they also will increase in frequency. The chopsticks and
binder clips did the worst so they will not survive and they will eventually go extinct. The chip
clips and hair clips did okay, but not well enough so they too will decrease in frequency. Those
individuals having a variation that gives them an advantage in staying alive long enough to
successfully reproduce are the ones that pass on their traits more frequently to the next
generation (Early Theories of Evolution). Possible errors or outside factors that could have
impacted my results are the environmental factors. These birds lived on an island where it there
is a tropical climate, affecting their differential adaptation and diet (Jurmain, Kilgore, Trevathan,
Pg.37). If this experiment was replicated by other researchers they may get different results
because of selective pressures or more variations in the population.

Discussion
The scientific method is first to observe and make a hypothesis, collect and analyze data to test,
and then draw conclusions (Jurmain, Kilgore, Trevathan, Pg. 20). Another example that uses the
scientific method is Darwin in the discovery of natural selection. He formed a hypothesis that
these finches beaks looked similar from other birds, but werent identical (Jurmain, Kilgore,
Trevathan, Pg.37). He had to collect data and learn more about the birds. Then eventually formed
the theory of natural selection. This activity demonstrated the use of the scientific method by
forming a hypothesis, performing an experiment which gave us the data, and then we formed a
conclusion by referring back to the data and hypothesis. The theory of evolution by natural
selection is the most important aspect of evolutionary change and is the genetic changes in the
frequencies of certain traits in populations from differential reproductive success between
individuals (Jurmain, Kilgore, Trevathan, Pg. 28). d. This activity simulated the theory of
evolution by natural selection because at the end of each round some birds reproduced and those
favorable variations became more common. Also, because at the end of each round some birds
died off and decreased the frequency of that type of beak in the population. One specific human
example of evolution by natural selection is how humans have evolved and how we are still
evolving. Specifically how we look different from Neanderthals and how we can become
immune to diseases.
References
Jurmain, Robert, Lynn Kilgore, and Wenda Trevathan. Human Origins: Evolution and Diversity.
9th ed. 2013. Print.
"Early Theories of Evolution: Darwin and Natural Selection." Early Theories of Evolution:
Darwin and Natural Selection. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
<http://anthro.palomar.edu/evolve/evolve_2.htm>.