Unit 8 Reflection

     In class, we have just finished Unit 8, constant change, or evolution. We first learned about artificial selection. This is where humans breed two organisms and manipulate their traits to suite their own purposes. For example, over time, collies were bred for speed and agility for use in sheep herding. Great Danes were bred for their size and strength for use as guard dogs. The list goes on and on.
     The next vodcast was about what Darwin discovered. Darwin traveled as a naturalist on the HMS Beagle. He traveled all around the world collecting fossils and specimens. He noticed a few things. First, all sexually reproducing organisms have high genetic variation. He also noticed that traits were inherited from parents to offspring. All species are able to produce more offspring than nature can handle. He finally noticed that competition is stiff. He concluded that since individuals with better traits survive better and reproduce more than other individuals. In other words, there are winners and losers. His second conclusion was that over time, populations tend to look like those who reproduce more. In other words, populations tend to look like winners. Natural selection is the process of weeding out traits that do not help an organism survive.
     The following vodcast was about the gene pool. The gene pool is the total amount of alleles in a population. Gene pools change over time as a result of natural selection. Allele frequency is how common a certain allele is. To determine this, add up the total of all alleles and the total for each type of allele. For each type, divide by the total. Natural selection acts on the phenotype because those with the best phenotype reproduce more. Lethal alleles still stick around in those who are  heterozygous. Those alleles may become useful if the environment drastically changes.
       The next vodcast was about speciation. Speciation is the process in which two poplations gradually become more and more different, eventually becoming two different species. The cause of this is reproductive isolation. If populations are split, they eventually will not be able to reproduce with each other. One type of speciation is behavioral isolation. This is caused when two population have different mating rituals. The next type is geographical isolation, and it is caused when a natural barrier such as a river or mountain range separate two different populations. The last type of speciation is temporal isolation. This is caused when timing prevents reproduction between two populations. All species have a common ancestor. The closer the common ancestor is, the more related the species are. There are two competing theories for speciation. Gradualism says that speciation occurs slowly over time, while punctured equilibrium says that new species arise suddenly.
     For those of you who do not believe in evolution, there is a lot of evidence that says evolution actually happened. During the first stages of the embryo, many animals look remarkably the same, which suggests a common ancestor. In addition, many organisms have evolutionary leftovers that were needed for our ancestors but not anymore. We also have fossil evidence. Fossils form when an organism is covered in silt and is put under enormous pressure. Fossils tell us that organisms have changed overtime. There is also homologous structures, same structures but different function. Contrasting are analogous structures, same function but different use. Finally, convergent evolution is the process in which unrelated organism evolve similar and analogous structures.
      There are three types of change. Directional selection is where one extreme phenotype is favored. Stabilizing selection favors the intermediate phenotype. Disruptive selection favors both extreme phenotypes. There are many types of change. Genetic drift is when a catastrophic event drastically changes a population. Those who survive do so by luck. Gene flow involves the moving of alleles from one population to the other. Mutations produce new variation that natural selection acts on. Sexual selection selects for traits that improve mating success, but do not help organisms survive. Natural selection selects for traits advantageous for survival.
      The last vodast was about the history of life. Chemical and physical processes could have produced very simple cells. There have been experiment that have shown that abiotic synthesis of organic molecules is possible. RNA molecules could have been produced from simple molecules, and DNA could have come from RNA. Earth's timescale is huge. There have been 5 mass extinctions and many periods of adaptive radiation. Earth has changed dramatically and humans are just a blink of an eye in Earth's history.
     I want to learn more about evolution. I want to know more about real world examples of evolution. I am also intrigued about the idea of intelligent design. I am still curious on how life on Earth formed. It is one of the great mysteries.
     In the Unit 7 Reflection, I learned more about my conflict style. I am trying to become more assertive. I have done this by asking more questions when I am confused. In addition, I have tried to become more of a leader in my group projects. I think that I am becoming more assertive.

Embryology 

Experiment that showed abiotic synthesis of organic molecules is possible

Geologic Timeline Individual Reflection

      In class this week, we have been learning about the history of life. To demonstrate our knowledge, my group made a timeline on the history of Earth.
      One of the main events in Earth's history was the Cambrian explosion. The Cambrian explosion was a sudden diversification of many animal phyla in the early history of the Earth. This is important because many of the organisms that came from the Cambrian explosion are still here today. It was the first biological magnification event in Earth's history. The Cambrian explosion occurred for many reasons. One of the main reasons was the introduction of photosynthetic organisms led to more oxygen in the atmosphere. This led to larger organisms being able to survive. In short, the Cambrian explosion  resulted in many different animals, some of which are still alive today.
     Another event in Earth's history was mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period. This extinction led to 90% of all species being wiped out. The best supported theory for this extinction says that the extinction was caused by a meteorite crashing into Earth and blocking the sun's light. The result of the extinction was the gradual rise of the dominance of mammals. Without this extinction, mammals would have never become the dominant species.
     The final event that I feel is important is the first humans. Humans have evolved to become the dominant species and have changed the world dramatically. In the past few centuries since the start of the Industrial Revolution, humans have caused the extinction of thousands of organisms. We are currently trashing our planet and emitting green house gases that are warming the globe. If nothing is done, we will eventually kill ourselves.
     The Earth has been around for 4.4 billion years. That is a long time. Life on Earth did not appear until 3.5 billion years ago. Most of what we consider ancient is actually not all that old compared to the life of Earth as a whole. What surprised me is that so much of Earth's history is about the formation of Earth and life.
     We have had a huge impact on our Earth. We have slowly been killing off Earth's life. We are emitting toxic waste and greenhouse gases into the environment and have been polluting our Earth. We are currently causing the 6th major extinction in Earth's history. Something needs to be done to stop it.
     I still have a few questions. I still wonder why there are sudden increases in diversity and why there are vast time periods where change happened slower. I still wonder about how exactly humans evolve.

    Overall, I would say this project was a success. I have learned a lot about the history of life and have had fun too.

Hunger Games Lab Analysis

1.) In class, we did the Hunger Games Lab. There were three different types of feediing techniques. Stumpys could only pick up food with their wrists. Knucklers could only pick up food in between their knuckes of their index and middle fingers. Pinchers could only pick up food between their thumb and index finger. Corks were spread around in a circle and people could pick them up using their respective feeding technique. Once all the corks were picked up, Mr.Orre announced how much corks were needed to survive. If you had collected enough corks, you could "reproduce" with someone else. We simulated "sex" by flipping coins labeled with different alleles. If you did not collect enough corks, you "died" and were "reincarnated" as the offspring of those who collected enough corks. This lab stimulated natural selection. Those that had better traits survived and were able to produce offspring.
2.) The phenotype that was best able to collect food was the pincher phenotype. They were the best at collecting the food because they usually had the most amount of corks collected.
3.) In this lab, we asked the question of whether populations evolve. We found out that populations do evolve. In the first round, the allele frequency was 52% for "A" and 48 for "a." By the seventh round, the allele frequency for "A" was 40% and was 60% for "a." This makes sense, because as a result of natural selection, populations begin to look like the winners. The stumpys, who were AA, were really bad at collecting food, but the pinchers, who were aa, were the winners.
4.) In this lab, the placement of food and location of the individuals were random. The things that were not random were mating and the amount of food. Random events such as when all the food was placed in the middle resulted in a bottleneck effect. Only those who were lucky, not necessarily evolutionary fit, survived.
5.) The results would have been different the food was smaller or bigger. If it was smaller, the pinchers would have an easier time collecting it. If it was bigger, pichers and knucklers would have a harder time collecting the food. In nature, for example, if fruit got bigger, it will favor those with bigger beaks.
6.) The results would be different if there was no incomplete dominance. The population would be all pinchers. Since the knucklers would die in the first few rounds, there would be no way for the knuckler population to come back.
7.) Natural selection is what causes evolution. Natural selection means that those with better genes are more likely to reproduce. This changes the allele frequency, which is what evolution is.
8.) Some strategies that people used included being agressive, using their hood, and diving. These behaviors allowed them to have a better chance at reproducing. However, since these behaviors were not genetic, they were not passed on to their offspring.  Some birds are less afraid of diving, so they can get more fish. Since that trait is not genetic, it is not passed on to their offspring.
9.) In evolution, the population is what evolves. Natural selection acts on just the phenotype. Nature has no idea what genes organisms have. It only rewards those whose phenotype gives them an advantage.
10.) I still wonder about the effects of cheating and other factors that cannot be measured. I wonder how much of an effect they actually had on the population

20 Time Check In: The Idea Comes!

     Hello again! I have learned a lot about water filters in these past two weeks. I have a basic idea on what to do now. Through my research, I have found out that a charcoal filter is one of the easiest and most effective ways to filter water. However, microorganisms can still pass through the filter. I will solve this problem by using a solar heater to heat the water to ensure that it is pathogen free.
     I have learned a lot about myself. I am very passionate about this topic. I have found myself doing research out of class for this project. It shows that I am very committed to doing this.
     One of my main setbacks for this project is finding the material that I need to use at a cheap price, or perhaps better. I am solving this by going through my family's recycling and checking to see if anything can be used for my project. Using this method, I have come up with the materials for my main filter. I just need charcoal to complete. I have yet to find materials for my solar heater though.
     My next steps involve finalizing my building plans and perhaps starting to build my actual filter and solar heater. I have had some setbacks, but I have been resilient and have managed to overcome them. I have applied this resiliency to my school work as well.
   Thanks for reading :)

Bird Beak Lab

     In this lab, we learned about natural selection through investigating which types of bird beaks ate the most food, and whether they could stand environmental stresses.

Hypothesis(Claim)	Evidence of this occurring?	Explanation
Individuals  with better traits leave more offspring	The spoon bird had 39% of the population of chicks	Since the spoon bird’s superior traits allowed them to eat more food, they were able to have more chicks.
Populations begin to look more like winners	39% of the chicks were spoon birds	Since more chicks of the individuals with better traits are produced, the population starts to look like them.

     In this lab, we asked the question of whether individuals with better traits leave more offspring. We found out that the spoon beak bird ate the most food and therefore had the most amount of offspring. 23 chicks of the spoon beak were born, 39% of the total amount of chicks born. This was compared to 22 chicks of the tweezer bill, 37% of the total population, and 14 chicks of the scissor beak, 24% of the total population.  This was expected, because the spoon could easily scoop of large amounts of food. The data supports our claim because the spoon bill ate the most food and had the most offspring.
     In this lab, we asked the question of whether populations begin to look more like the winners. We found out that the spoon beak bird ate the most food because of its better traits. As a result, the spoon beak bird had the most offspring.  39% of the total amount of offspring were of the spoon beak type. This compares to 37% of the total populations were of the tweezer bill type and 24% of the total population  that were of the scissor bill type. This makes sense, because since the spoon beak bird was able to eat the most food because of its favorable traits. Since the spoon beak bird ate the most food, they were able to have the most offspring.
     In this lab, we asked the question of if natural selection occurs in a population, how do changes in selective pressures affect the evolution of species. We discovered that since the tweezer bird was most adept to our selective pressure, a diminished food supply, the population gradually started looking like tweezers. This makes sense, because since the tweezer bird had an advantage over other birds, it was able to eat the most food, and therefore have the most chicks. The other types of birds would gradually die out, because their genes were not as favorable as the tweezer bird. The data supports our claim, because the tweezer bird had 12 chicks, compared to 11 by the spoon bird and 7 by the scissor bird.
    While our hypothesis was supported, there could have been errors due to uneven distribution of food and lack of significant space to conduct the experiment. An uneven distribution of food could have helped an individual who was really good at collecting one type of food, but not another. Next time, we should make sure that there is equal numbers of the different foods in the distribution. Our second problem was a lack of space to conduct the experiment. Since there was 3 of us, and only a small area where the food was, we ended up fighting with each other to collect food. This led us to not having the greatest results. A possible solution to this is having more food on the table.
     This lab was done to demonstrates Darwin's idea of natural selection. From this lab, we learned that natural selection actually works, it is not just an idea. From this lab, we learned about the big picture of evolution. Normally, evolution takes millions of years. We got to see the results of evolution in just one class period. Doing these labs helps you get a better grasp on abstract ideas. Based on my experiences with this lab, I could conduct a similar lab, except with different beaks and food.

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