Evolution to Extinction
Project Description: In this project my group was tasked with researching and presenting about an endangered animal. We had to answer several questions about their habitat and characteristics as well as predict whether they will go extinct or not. My group chose the Colombia Basin Pygmy Rabbit, indigenous to Washington state. We went about presenting our information in the form of a video and in a slideshow we made, shown below.
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Concepts:
Reflection: During our project my group had a number of pits and peaks. For instance, my group was very creative. In a few short minutes we had come up with several ideas and decided to do a video reflecting the style of Bill Nye. However, this led to a lot of indecision and caused delays. We even had to restart our entire project because the team wanted to do a video. We were able to recover from this by using good time management. This is evident in the fact that we were the first to finish our project. We also found trouble in having too much fun. In our final video we lack a number of the requirements while adding a lot of unneeded jokes and humor, which is why we included the power point. Overall, I think my group did well even with our flaws.
- Evolution: the process in which a species changes over time. An example of this how the peppered moth, during the Industrial Revolution in England, changed the color of its camouflage to blend in with its new environment.
- Extinction: when all members of a species are deceased. An example of this is dinosaurs because there are none remaining.
- Natural Selection: when organisms with favorable traits survive and pass on their genes. An example of this is in the Galapagos Islands where Charles Darwin noticed there were several species of finches and those with favorable traits survived and reproduced.
- Artificial Selection: when humans breed certain organisms together to produce a favorable trait. An example of this is when people breed dogs to produce offspring with desired features for pageants.
- Biodiversity: the variety of organisms and life. An example of this is in Washington state where the habitat of the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit is home to many different species.
- Speciation: the creation of new species through evolution. This appears when there are different species that result from a common ancestor.
- Allopatric Speciation: Speciation caused by a geographic barrier. This can be seen at the Grand Canyon where there are two different species of squirrels that live on opposite sides of the chasm.
- Sympatric Speciation: Speciation that occurs without separation of species. An example of this are two different species of orcas that do not mate due to different mating rituals.
- Survival of the Fittest: when organisms with favorable traits survive and reproduce, and organisms with unfavorable traits slowly die out. An example of this are the rock pocket mice, found in the southwestern United States. They have fur that either matches the color of the sand or volcanic rocks and when the landscape changes, the population of the mice with fur that stands out decreases.
- Gene Pool: the collection of genes that appear in an interbreeding population. An example of this is family lineage, offspring inherit traits from their parents and ancestors which is considered to be a gene pool.
- Mutation: a mistake that occurs in the genetic code of an individual. An example of this is albinism found in both animals and human beings.
- Gene Flow: the movement of genes from one population to another population. An example of this is bees transporting pollen to flowers.
- Shrinking population: when the number of individuals in a species decreases. An example of this the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit because it is endangered due to recent deforestation.
- Non-random mating: when organisms have certain rituals or necessities from their partners before mating. An example of this when a male peacock shows its feathers to try to impress a female.
- Adaptation: physical or behavioral changes that occur in a species that aid in its survival and reproductive success. An example of this is the large brains that humans possess.
Reflection: During our project my group had a number of pits and peaks. For instance, my group was very creative. In a few short minutes we had come up with several ideas and decided to do a video reflecting the style of Bill Nye. However, this led to a lot of indecision and caused delays. We even had to restart our entire project because the team wanted to do a video. We were able to recover from this by using good time management. This is evident in the fact that we were the first to finish our project. We also found trouble in having too much fun. In our final video we lack a number of the requirements while adding a lot of unneeded jokes and humor, which is why we included the power point. Overall, I think my group did well even with our flaws.