Natural Selection and Guppy Evolution

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Assignment: Natural Selection and Guppy Evolution

According to the theory of natural selection, organisms with traits that give them a greater chance of survival are more likely to pass these traits to offspring than organisms whose traits are not especially suited for survival. When Charles Darwin sailed on his 5-year-long voyage onboard the HMS Beagle, he recorded many observations of nature. Among these records, Darwin noted variations in beak shape and size among the finch populations throughout the Galápagos Islands.

Scientists who studied these beak variations realized the differences were not random, but related to the environment in which the finches lived. They discovered that finches tended to have beak types that made it easier for the birds to eat the foods growing in their particular environment (Belk & Maier, 2013). In what type of environment might finches with large, strong beaks have a greater chance of survival than finches with small, pointed beaks? Why might the finches with the smaller, pointed beaks be more likely to survive in a different type of environment?

Like Darwin and other scientists, biologist John Endler was interested in learning how environmental changes might influence the expression of advantageous traits in particular populations. Endler applied the principles of natural selection when he developed an experiment to study changes in guppy populations. He placed guppies in different environments and predicted how the fish populations would change in order to survive in those environments. For this week’s Assignment, you perform a virtual experiment based on John Endler’s experiment. Like Endler, you hypothesize how guppy populations will change to improve their chances of survival. You complete and submit a lab report for this Assignment.

To prepare for this Assignment:

  • Review Chapter 12 “An Evolving Enemy” and focus on the following:
    • What the theory of natural selection asserts
    • What evidence supports the theory of natural selection
    • How the theory of natural selection relates to the theory of evolution
  • Log on to MasteringBiology (see the Media section of the Required Resources) to review the animation “Principles of Evolution” and focus on the relationship between natural selection and evolution.

The Assignment:

By Day 5
  1. Print and save to your computer the Natural Selection Lab Report document from the Natural Selection Virtual Lab. You may complete this report by hand as you complete the lab; however, by Day 7, you submit an electronic version of this document for your Assignment.
  2. Complete the Natural Selection Virtual Lab. See the Required Resources section for the link to this activity.
    • Fill out appropriate sections of the Natural Selection Lab Report as you complete the lab. You may complete the analysis and conclusion sections of the lab report after you exit the virtual lab.

Questions about this Assignment? Post the questions in the Contact the Instructor area, so all class members may benefit from the Instructor’s response.

Refer to the Week 5 Assignment Rubric for grading details.

By Day 7

Following the instructions below, submit your Assignment. In order to receive full credit, all Assignments are due on time. Should you encounter an unanticipated and uncontrollable life event that may prevent you from meeting an Assignment deadline, contact the Instructor immediately to request an extension. Contact information for your Instructor can be found under the Contact the Instructor area. For a full description of the late policy, please refer to the “Policies on Late Assignments” section of your Syllabus.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

  • Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK5Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
  • Click the Week 5 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
  • Click the Week 5 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
  • Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK5Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
  • If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
  • Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/BIOL/1001/CH/mm/virtual_lab_3/index.html

Natural Selection Lab Report

Name: ________________________

Date: _________________________

Updated 05/15/2014

Purpose: To apply the principles of natural selection to the effect of predation and background on the color patterns of male guppies over a period of 15 generations.

Natural Selection Virtual Lab Schedule

Note: You will complete the online Natural Selection Virtual Lab and this lab report in the following order:

1. Link to the online Natural Selection Virtual Lab and follow the lab instructions. Stop when the STOP sign appears in the virtual lab.

2. Complete Step 1 in the Results section of this lab report.

3. Complete the Hypothesis section of this lab report.

4. Return to the virtual lab and finish conducting the virtual experiment.

5. Record your observations from the virtual experiment by completing Step 2 in the Results section.

6. Complete the Analysis and Conclusion sections of this lab report.

7. Submit the finished lab report to your Instructor, following the submission instructions in your online classroom.

Hypothesis (5 points)

Note: Complete Step 1 in the Results section first. The observations you make there are ultimately part of the results and contribute to your hypothesis. Then, write your hypothesis (see instructions below).

In the table below, explain what you expect to observe in the color patterns of the male guppies in each of the ponds based on what you know about natural selection.

Pond 1 Prediction  
Pond 2 Prediction  
Pond 3 Prediction  
Pond 4 Prediction  

Note: After completing Step 1 in the Results section and writing your hypothesis, above, return to the Natural Selection Virtual Lab and select the NEXT button to complete the virtual experiment.

Materials and Methods

Before running this experiment you will create four different experimental ponds. The ponds will vary according to the kind of gravel (large, coarse gravel or small, fine gravel) and according to whether a guppy predator is present. In order to set up the experimental ponds you need to “drag and “drop” the correct sand size and the predators into the appropriate pond. You will then view a representative of a typical male guppy from a common pool and place a breeding population of these guppies in each of the experimental ponds. After approximately 15 guppy generations pass, the simulator will allow you to view a representative male guppy from each pond. You will observe and then record the male guppy color pattern representative of each pond in the results table and note any variations from the common ancestor.

Results (16 points)

Step 1:

a. Record your observations of the guppy color pattern before the start of the experiment in the table above. Describe a typical male guppy at the beginning of the experiment here:

b. Complete the Gravel Type and Predator columns in the table below.

Note: After completing Step 1, complete the Hypothesis section.

Step 2: After you select the TIME button in the interactive virtual experiment, record your observations of the changes in the color patterns of the guppies in the Observations Over Time column.

  Gravel Type

(coarse / fine)

 Predator

(yes / no)

 Observations Over Time.

Note the color pattern of typical male guppies in each pool and how they differ from that of their common ancestor.
Pond 1      
Pond 2      
Pond 3      
Pond 4      

Analysis (25 points)

Write a 3+ paragraph analysis of your results that includes the following:

· A summary of the observations of the changes in the guppy populations in each pond.

· A statement that explains whether you observed the results you expected, as well as why you did or did not observe the expected results.

· Explicitly describe the role of natural selection and the selection pressures present in this experiment.

· A statement explaining how, if at all, you think coloration in the male guppy populations in Ponds 1 and 2 would change over time if the predators were permanently removed (Note: Explain your hypothesis in terms of selection pressures.)

· A summary of the overall knowledge you gained from this lab

Conclusion (4 points)

Write a conclusion of one or more paragraphs that includes the following:

· A brief recap of the main points in your analysis

· Propose a question about this lab topic that you would like to research in the future

Natural Selection Lab Report – 1

© 2012 Laureate Education, Inc.

 
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Marine Biology Mod 4

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Marine Biology 1

Running head: Marine Biology

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marine Biology

Student Name

Allied American University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Note

This paper was prepared for Marine Biology, Module 4 Homework Assignment taught by [INSERT INSTRUCTOR’S NAME.

 

Part I

 

Directions: For this homework assignment, you are required to answer one of the following two critical thinking questions. Please provide strong responses that demonstrate critical thinking skills. In this case, short responses may not demonstrate the level of critical thinking skill required for full credit.

 

  1. Two species of sea urchins live practically side by side on sandy bottoms. The two species appear to have the same diet (drift seaweeds and other bits of organic matter). They are able to live in the same environment without competing with each other. How might they be able to share their habitat and food resources?
  2. It is not always easy to categorize a particular case of symbiosis. Suppose a certain species of snail is always found living on a certain coral. No one has found evidence that the snail harms the coral, so the relationship is classified as an example of commensalism. How would you go about testing this hypothesis? What kinds of observations might lead to the conclusion that the snail is a parasite, or that it has a mutualistic relationship with the coral?

 

Part II

 

Essay

 

a the different physical adaptations seen in bony fish, cartilaginous fish, and tooth whales to adapt with the marine environment. Describe and discuss the physical and physiological adaptations for the following: temperature, salinity, and pressure. Look at respiratory and circulatory systems to help identify these adaptations.

 
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Calories and Nutrition

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Calories and Nutrition The following assignment is due Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 4pm uploaded as a PDF to Blackboard. The best manner to create the document is make the graphs in Excel, copy/paste the graphs into a Word document containing the text responses, and export/save as a PDF. Please type your responses as instructed. You may discuss your answers with other students but must submit your own assignment. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in grade of zero for those involved. To aid in completing this assignment, 2 example questions with the correct responses are provided. Introduction

The increasing costs of healthcare have focused scientists and our attention to diseases such type II diabetes and heart disease. It has been shown that both these diseases are related to obesity and may be prevented and controlled with proper nutrition. As the photographs above of the diet of a typical American family and a Peruvian family show, there is a big difference in how people eat, but we don’t tend to make careful evaluations of what we put into our bodies. There is a lot of information on nutrition, diet and calories on newspapers, blogs, television though we live in a world of so many food choices at the grocery store and restaurants that this can just be overwhelming. Is the information we get on food and drinks and on menu items at restaurants helpful? Here we will look at the importance of nutrition, the guidelines set by the FDA and AMA and examine our personal diet and nutrition.

Calories are another way to measure the amount of energy we need and the amount of energy we get from food. Good nutrition is recognized as a balance between the amount of energy we take in from our food and the amount of energy we use in our daily activities. If we take in more calories than we use, the excess may be stored as fat.

 

 

Go to the Dietary Guideline for Americans 2010 document. Read the section on page 13 about calorie balance and the importance of consuming foods daily that provide this balance. Example question 1: Based upon the information provided on page 13, discuss (and provide examples) of why some of the top calorie sources in our diet are not good for our health. Example question 1 response: Many of the top calorie sources provide calories with few essential nutrients and contain high sources of solid fats and added sugars, such as with grain-based desserts and fried chicken dishes. Example question 2: Using the information in Table 2-2, graph the percentage of calories individuals aged 2-18 and individuals 19 and older consume from Grain-based desserts, pizza, and candy. Example question 2 response:

1) The website’s Table 2-3 lists the estimated calorie needs per day by age, gender, and physical activity level. Use this data to answer the following questions: a. Based on the data presented in Table 2-3 on page 14, discuss in 2-3 sentences why it is complicated to balance calories (2 pts) b. Describe in 2-3 sentences your personal calorie needs per day based on your age and activity level. (5pts) c. Explain in 2-3 sentences why the calorie needs are different for a person’s activity level. (5pts)

0

2

4

6

8

Grain-based desserts

Pizza Candy

Pe rc en t o f t ot al

da ily c al or ie s

Food consumed

Percentage of total daily calories consumed for different age

groups

Ages 2-18

Ages 19+

 

 

2) Use the data in Table 2-3 to graph in Excel the changes in your calorie requirement at present age and as a child of 4-8 years when you are sedentary, moderately active and active. Be sure to provide a descriptive chart title and appropriate data labels to make your chart informative. (5pts) 3) Go to the Key Findings on the ‘Trends in Intake of Energy and Macronutrients in Adults’ document which was taken from the CDC website to see diet breakdown of average American adult in 2007-2008: Calculate the number of calories from carbohydrate, protein and fat for the average adult male and female. Show this data in a table and in two pie charts. (5 pts) 4) Use the information in the Table below to answer the following questions Calories in

food Fat Carbohydrates Protein

Big Mac 530 calories 27 grams 47 grams 24 grams Mac & Cheese 260 calories 3.5 grams 47 grams 10 grams Chicken Breast 170 3 grams 0 grams 32 grams Given 4 calories/gram of carbohydrate, 4 calories/gram of protein and 9 calories/gram of fat, calculate the percentage of calories from carbohydrates, protein, fat and other for each food item. Show the percentage of calories from fat, carbohydrates, and protein in a single bar graph (with all three food types) and in 3 pie charts (one for each type of food). (5pts)

5) Using the calories/gram values provided in question 4 and your answer in question 3, convert the typical male and female ‘calories from fat’ into grams. Assuming this value holds steady for a 75 year lifetime, calculate total fat consumption for an American male and female during their lives. Convert this into tons. (5pts) 6) We have heard about the importance of vitamins but recent studies have shown too much of a good thing can be harmful. Read the following articles in the New York Times and Scientific American, entitled “Don’t take your vitamins” and “Fact or fiction/vitamins” and answer the following questions: Briefly explain the reason that vitamin supplements are not necessary and may not be healthy. How far above the recommended doses are people taking for treatments using Vitamin E as an example. In a study of 18,000 people, the risk of death from lung cancer for those taking vitamins was 46% higher. Does that mean that 46% of the people died from lung cancer? (5 pts)

 

 
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Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing

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Laboratory Report Microbiology

1. It is an independent assignment per student. No group report. Your data may be similar to other students in class but the writing style must be individual.

2. You will the following laboratories to prepare this Laboratory Report:

Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing: The Kirby-Bauer Method (Lab 34)

3. Make sure to collect all data during the laboratory experiment in order to complete this report. (2 pictures supplied from board)

*****my goal is to base this lab report on a hypothesis that shows which antibiotic is the most effective against staph and b.meg; I must show why

4. Follow the guidelines presented below.

Guidelines for preparation of the Laboratory Report

1. The report must consist of:

A. Introduction. It provides background information and the objectives of the experiment. Include a statement of the hypothesis (educated guess) of the possible results.

B. Materials and Methods. Specified the materials used in the experiment. You may present the materials from the lab manual and add some if the practice changed from the manual. No list of materials, incorporate the materials in the methodology. No numbers of steps, all narrative.

C. Results. Report the data collected during the experiment in a narrative form in addition to tables or graphics if necessary.

D. Discussion and Conclusion. Interpret the results and support or reject the hypothesis presented in your introduction. Support your statements with citations of other similar studies or textbook information.

E. References

2. At the end of the report, you must present some references used for the report (minimal 4 including the laboratory book and the textbook).Use the American Psychology Association (APA) style. Check the following site for guidance: http://employees.csbsju.edu/proske/nursing/APA.htm

3. The total amount of pages may vary depending on the experiment; however, a minimum of five pages, double-spaced and typed is expected.

4.Check list of common mistakes:

a. Substantiate your introduction with citations and place the reference at the end of the paper

b. Use Scholarly articles.

c. Scientific names spelled right and in italic or underlined.

d. Present the objective of the experiment in the introduction.

e. State your hypothesis at the end of the introduction.

f. Citation (Last name, year)

g. In Material and Methods, no listing of materials, incorporate the materials in the narrative of the procedures. No number of steps.

h. Results must be presented in a narrative form and tables or graphs

i. Title and number for each graph or table

j. No comments in the result section

k. Comments in the discussion section

l. Support discussion with citations

m. Reference in APA style

5. For more information and guidance please check:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/research/paper.html

Laboratory Report Microbiology

 

1

.

 

It is an independent assignment per student. No group report. Your data may be similar to other

students in class

 

but the writing style must be individual.

 

2

.

 

You will the following laboratories to prepare this

Laboratory Report:

 

Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing: The Kirby

–

Bauer Method

 

(Lab 34)

 

3

.

 

Make sure to collect all data

 

during the laboratory experiment in order to complete this report.

 

(2

pictures supplied from board)

 

*****my goal is to base this lab repo

rt on a hypothesis that shows which antibiotic is the most

effective against staph and b.meg; I must show why

 

4

.

 

Follow the guidelines presented below.

 

Guidelines for preparation of the Laboratory Report

 

1.

 

The report must consist of:

 

A.

 

Introduction. It pro

vides background information and the objectives of the experiment. Include

a statement of the hypothesis (educated guess) of the possible results.

 

B.

 

Materials and Methods. Specified the materials used in the experiment. You may present

 

the

materials from th

e lab manual and add some if the practice changed from the manual. No list of

materials, incorporate the materials in the methodology. No numbers of steps, all narrative.

 

C.

 

Results. Report the data collected during the

 

experiment in a narrative form in addit

ion to

 

tables

 

or

 

graphics

 

if necessary.

 

D.

 

Discussion and Conclusion. Interpret the results and support or reject the hypothesis presented

in your introduction.

 

Support your statements with citations of other similar studies or textbook

information.

 

E.

 

Reference

s

 

2.

 

At the end of the report,

 

you must present some references

 

used for the report

 

(minimal 4

 

including

 

the laboratory

 

book

 

and the textbook).Use the American Psychology Association (APA) style

.

 

Check

the following site for guidance:

http://employees.csbsju.edu/proske/nursing/APA.htm

 

3.

 

The total amount of pages may vary depending on the experiment; however,

 

a minimum of five

 

pages, double

–

spaced

 

and typed is expected

.

 

 

4.Check list of common

mistakes:

 

a.

 

Substantiate your introduction with citations and place the reference at the end of the paper

 

b.

 

Use Scholarly articles.

 

c.

 

Scientific names spelled right and in italic or underlined.

 

 

d.

Present the objective of the experiment in the introduc

tion.

 

e.

State your hypothesis at the end of the introduction.

 

Laboratory Report Microbiology

1. It is an independent assignment per student. No group report. Your data may be similar to other

students in class but the writing style must be individual.

2. You will the following laboratories to prepare this Laboratory Report:

Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing: The Kirby-Bauer Method (Lab 34)

3. Make sure to collect all data during the laboratory experiment in order to complete this report. (2

pictures supplied from board)

*****my goal is to base this lab report on a hypothesis that shows which antibiotic is the most

effective against staph and b.meg; I must show why

4. Follow the guidelines presented below.

Guidelines for preparation of the Laboratory Report

1. The report must consist of:

A. Introduction. It provides background information and the objectives of the experiment. Include

a statement of the hypothesis (educated guess) of the possible results.

B. Materials and Methods. Specified the materials used in the experiment. You may present the

materials from the lab manual and add some if the practice changed from the manual. No list of

materials, incorporate the materials in the methodology. No numbers of steps, all narrative.

C. Results. Report the data collected during the experiment in a narrative form in addition to tables

or graphics if necessary.

D. Discussion and Conclusion. Interpret the results and support or reject the hypothesis presented

in your introduction. Support your statements with citations of other similar studies or textbook

information.

E. References

2. At the end of the report, you must present some references used for the report (minimal 4 including

the laboratory book and the textbook).Use the American Psychology Association (APA) style. Check

the following site for guidance: http://employees.csbsju.edu/proske/nursing/APA.htm

3. The total amount of pages may vary depending on the experiment; however, a minimum of five

pages, double-spaced and typed is expected.

4.Check list of common mistakes:

a. Substantiate your introduction with citations and place the reference at the end of the paper

b. Use Scholarly articles.

c. Scientific names spelled right and in italic or underlined.

d. Present the objective of the experiment in the introduction.

e. State your hypothesis at the end of the introduction.

 
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