Project Description
In the evolution project we had to pick an animal from the IUCN Redlist and research it. We had to answer questions that were related to how the animal evolved, then create a project to display everything we had learned. My group picked the Lesser Anteater to research, and create a slideshow about. Some of the specific questions we had to answer were about how the animal had adapted to its environment, how humans had affected it, and it's ancestral history. Based on what we discovered we predicted that the Lesser Anteater wouldn't go extinct. The big questions that we were investigating were about why all of the diverse animals on earth had so much in common, and how life changed over time. In this project we were supposed to learn about adaptation, evolution, and how animals that lived in the same environment affected each other.
Our Slideshow
Biology Concepts
Evolution- Evolution is a change in gene pool combined with natural selection. Animals evolve to survive when there is a change in the environment, like the amount of predators or food. In this project we researched how an animal had evolved to be better suited to its environment, and what is evolved from. The lesser anteater evolved from the Neo Tamandua.
Artificial Selection- Artificial selection is when humans breed organisms based on the traits that they want to keep. It is basically humans forcing evolution. We used artificial selection in our bacteria lab when we made bacteria antibiotic resistant.
Natural Selection- Natural selection is when nature causes animals to evolve or adapt. Natural selection starts with variation in the gene pool. Some organisms have mutation that make them different from others. When competition for resources arises the animals with helpful mutations will survive. When they reproduce they pass on their genes to their offspring. In this project we could connect our animals adaptations with it's environment and see how natural selection caused it to change. The lesser anteater has a long snout which allows it to get ants. They can also climb trees to find food and avoid the competition for insects on the ground.
Biodiversity- Biodiversity means that there are any diverse species that all co exist in an environment. Biodiversity is vital in nature because there are many different things that an ecosystem needs to thrive. Biodiversity is important for the Lesser Anteater because it eats a diverse amount of food including ants, termites, and fruit.
Speciation- Speciation is when a new species evolves enough that they create a whole new separate species. Our project had speciation involved because we had to look at what species the lesser anteater used to be, but became a new species through speciation.
Types of Speciation- There are eight types of speciation, or ways that speciation can occur. These types are:
.Sympatric Speciation- Two parts of a species aren't able to breed together, even though they live in the same area
.Reproductive Isolation- Two parts of a species can't breed together because of physical differences
.Behavioral Isolation- Two parts of a species can't breed together because they don't have the same mating rituals
.Temporal Isolation- Two parts of a species can't breed together because they have different mating seasons or times
.Allopatric Speciation- Two parts of a species aren't able to breed together because of geographic seperation
.Geographic Isolation- Two parts of a species can't breed because of geographic barriers, like rivers or canyons
.Founder Effect- The gene pool is changed when one part of the species moves away from the original group
.Genetic Drift- The gene pool is changed when a random act causes part of the species to die
Survival of the Fittest- Survival of the fittest is where the organism that is best suited to the environment survives, while the others die. It is similar to natural selection. In our project we got to see survival of the fittest by looking at our animal and how it's adaptation helped it to survive and become better suited to it's environment.
5 Factors of Evolution- The 5 factors of evolution are the 5 different things that cause organisms to evolve.
.Small Population- When the population shrinks the gene pool changes
.Non-Random Mating- Organisms only mate with other organisms that have a specific trait. This changes the gene pool.
.Mutation- The gene pool is changed when a new and mutated gene is added to it.
.Gene Flow- The gene pool is changed when members leave the population or new members join the population
.Adaptations- Because of natural selection helpful adaptations will stay in the gene pool and non helpful ones won't.
Extinction- Extinction is when a species no longer exists because all of them have died. We had to use decide whether or not our endangered species will go extinct based on our research. We predicted that the Lesser Anteater will survive.
Gene Pool- The gene pool is every gene that exists in an environment. Every organisms contributes to the gene pool. Changes in the gene pool can cause evolution and speciation.
Mutation- Mutations are changes in the DNA of a species. Mutations can cause evolution.
Adaptation- Adaptations are helpful changes in a species that causes them to be better suited to their environment. We researched what adaptations the Lesser Anteater has and how it helps it survive in it's environment.
Artificial Selection- Artificial selection is when humans breed organisms based on the traits that they want to keep. It is basically humans forcing evolution. We used artificial selection in our bacteria lab when we made bacteria antibiotic resistant.
Natural Selection- Natural selection is when nature causes animals to evolve or adapt. Natural selection starts with variation in the gene pool. Some organisms have mutation that make them different from others. When competition for resources arises the animals with helpful mutations will survive. When they reproduce they pass on their genes to their offspring. In this project we could connect our animals adaptations with it's environment and see how natural selection caused it to change. The lesser anteater has a long snout which allows it to get ants. They can also climb trees to find food and avoid the competition for insects on the ground.
Biodiversity- Biodiversity means that there are any diverse species that all co exist in an environment. Biodiversity is vital in nature because there are many different things that an ecosystem needs to thrive. Biodiversity is important for the Lesser Anteater because it eats a diverse amount of food including ants, termites, and fruit.
Speciation- Speciation is when a new species evolves enough that they create a whole new separate species. Our project had speciation involved because we had to look at what species the lesser anteater used to be, but became a new species through speciation.
Types of Speciation- There are eight types of speciation, or ways that speciation can occur. These types are:
.Sympatric Speciation- Two parts of a species aren't able to breed together, even though they live in the same area
.Reproductive Isolation- Two parts of a species can't breed together because of physical differences
.Behavioral Isolation- Two parts of a species can't breed together because they don't have the same mating rituals
.Temporal Isolation- Two parts of a species can't breed together because they have different mating seasons or times
.Allopatric Speciation- Two parts of a species aren't able to breed together because of geographic seperation
.Geographic Isolation- Two parts of a species can't breed because of geographic barriers, like rivers or canyons
.Founder Effect- The gene pool is changed when one part of the species moves away from the original group
.Genetic Drift- The gene pool is changed when a random act causes part of the species to die
Survival of the Fittest- Survival of the fittest is where the organism that is best suited to the environment survives, while the others die. It is similar to natural selection. In our project we got to see survival of the fittest by looking at our animal and how it's adaptation helped it to survive and become better suited to it's environment.
5 Factors of Evolution- The 5 factors of evolution are the 5 different things that cause organisms to evolve.
.Small Population- When the population shrinks the gene pool changes
.Non-Random Mating- Organisms only mate with other organisms that have a specific trait. This changes the gene pool.
.Mutation- The gene pool is changed when a new and mutated gene is added to it.
.Gene Flow- The gene pool is changed when members leave the population or new members join the population
.Adaptations- Because of natural selection helpful adaptations will stay in the gene pool and non helpful ones won't.
Extinction- Extinction is when a species no longer exists because all of them have died. We had to use decide whether or not our endangered species will go extinct based on our research. We predicted that the Lesser Anteater will survive.
Gene Pool- The gene pool is every gene that exists in an environment. Every organisms contributes to the gene pool. Changes in the gene pool can cause evolution and speciation.
Mutation- Mutations are changes in the DNA of a species. Mutations can cause evolution.
Adaptation- Adaptations are helpful changes in a species that causes them to be better suited to their environment. We researched what adaptations the Lesser Anteater has and how it helps it survive in it's environment.
Reflection
One good part of this project was that my group was able to divide up the work well. Everyone did a fair share of the work and there wasn't one person that had to do all the work. Everyone had to research and answer the same amount of questions. Another good part was that we were able to work quickly together and get the project done early. We worked efficiently because everyone worked hard, and whenever someone was stuck we all helped each other. Something that we didn't do well was that when we finished the project instead of finding something else productive to do we just messed around. We could've been practicing our presentation but since we had finished the slideshow we just stopped working and wasted a couple days. Another thing that I could improve on is making our project as good as possible. When we finished what we were required to do we decided it was good enough instead of working to make it better.