5 Points of Darwins Natural

Selection
Read the following situations below and identify the 5
points of Darwins natural selection.

1) There are 2 types of worms: worms that eat at night

(nocturnal) and worms that eat during the day (diurnal).
The birds eat during the day and seem to be eating ONLY
the diurnal worms. The nocturnal worms are in their
burrows during this time. Each spring when the worms
reproduce, they have about 500 babies but only 100 of
these 500 ever become old enough to reproduce.

a. What worm has natural selection selected AGAINST? diurnal worms FOR?
nocturnal worms

b. Darwin's 5 points: Identify the 5 points in the scenario above.

Population has variations. There are 2 types of worms in the area (diurnal and
nocturnal)
Some variations are favorable. Birds do not eat nocturnal worms (nocturnal
worms advantage)
More offspring are produced than survive. 100 of the original 500 worms survive
to reproduce
Those that survive have favorable traits. More nocturnal worms survive and
reproduce
A population will change over time. Nocturnal worm population increases; diurnal
worm population decreases

2) There are 3 types of polar bears: ones with thick coats, ones with thin coats and
ones with medium coats. It is fall, soon to be winter. The temperatures are
dropping rapidly and the bears must be kept warm, or they will freeze to death.
Many of the bears have had 2 cubs each but due to the extreme temperatures,
many mothers only have one cub left.

a. What bear will natural selection select AGAINST? thin coats FOR? thick coats

b. Darwin's 5 points: Identify the 5 points in the scenario above.

Population has variations. There are 3 types of bears (thick, medium, and thin
 coats)
Some variations are favorable. Thick coats provide
warmth to survive (thick coat advantage)
More offspring are produced than survive. Half of the total
cubs born survive
Those that survive have favorable traits. Bears with
thicker coats have a higher survival rate
A population will change over time. Survial rate of bears with thicker coats rises,
population of bears with thin coats will gradually decrease

3) In ostriches, there are 2 types: ones that run fast and those that run slowly. The
fast birds can reach up to 40 miles an hour. Jackals love to eat ostrich, and they
can reach speeds of up to 35-40 miles per hour. A flock of ostrich will lay
approximately 10 eggs (each mother only lays 1), but many rodents break into
the eggs and eat the fetus before they hatch.

a. What ostrich will natural selection select AGAINST? slow ostriches FOR? fast
ostriches

b. Darwin's 5 points: Identify the 5 points in the scenario above.

Population has variations. There are slow and fast ostriches
Some variations are favorable. Fast ostriches can out run the jackals (fast
ostriches advantage)
More offspring are produced than survive. Rodents eat the eggs before they hatch
Those that survive have favorable traits. The fast ostriches can outrun the jackals
A population will change over time. Fast ostriche population increases; slow
ostriche population decreases

4) There are two types of rabbits: those that strictly eat grass and those that strictly
eat berries and flowers. A drought occurs one year, and the
plants have difficulty producing any extras (flowers, berries,
etc.). They can only try and keep themselves green. The
rabbits have had babies all year long but many are eaten by
foxes or hawks. Due to the drought, many have starved to
death.

a. What rabbit will natural selection select AGAINST? Eat berries and flowers
FOR? eat grass
b. Darwin's 5 points: Identify the 5 points in the scenario above.
Population has variations. There are 2 types of rabbits (eat grass and eat berries
and flowers)
Some variations are favorable. Rabbits that eat grass have food (grass eating
advantage)
More offspring are produced than survive. Babies are being eaten by predatos or
starving
Those that survive have favorable traits. The grass eating rabbits can eat the
others cannot
A population will change over time. The population of grass eating bunnies
increases and the population of berry/flower eating bunnies decreases

Living things that are well adapted to their environment survive and reproduce. Those that are not
well adapted dont survive and reproduce. An adaptation is any characteristic that increases fitness,
which is defined as the ability to survive and reproduce.

Over many generations heritable adaptive characteristics become more common in a population.
This process is called evolution by natural selection. Evolution by natural selection takes place over
many, many generations. Evolution by natural selection leads to adaptation within a population. The
term evolution by natural selection does not refer to individuals changing, only to changes in the
frequency of adaptive characteristics in the population as a whole .