Finches of the Galapagos

Hey All-Stars!

Question One (discuss): What do you already know about Darwin's finches?

Today we'll learn a bit more and you'll get a little background for your lab and Project Part D.

Question Two (doodle): 
First, pretend you are a finch. What would your beak look like if you ate seeds? Insects? Flowers? Leaves? The blood of seabirds?

On the various islands of the Galapagos, these were available food sources on different islands. Over time, certain variations helped finches survive and have offspring. Eventually the birds became so different that there are now at least 15 different finch species in the Galapagos. There are vampire finches and seed-eating finches and everything in between!

From the common ancestor, the finches experienced adaptive radiation.

This image shows the ancestor and current finches of the Galapagos and their food sources.

Question Three (define in your notes): In your own words, after watching this video, describe adaptive radiation.

Question Four (write in your notes): What caused adaptive radiation?

Question Five (discuss and write in your notes): How would you classify and sort the finches to figure out which other finches they are related to?

This phylogram shows is one way that scientists classified the finches:

Simple phylogenetic tree of finches. 

Scientists can look at genetic similarities, morphology (physical characteristics), and more to determine how species are related. The lines can show percent similarity in DNA. 

When you create your phylogenetic tree (and we'll have more practice with this), you'll think about what current species would be the ancestor for your species in the future.

Question Six (discuss): How would you design a Darwin's finches video game? How would a finch move to the next level?

If you want more explanation of natural selection and finches, watch this video:

We'll spend the rest of class preparing for our lab tomorrow. SALAMANDER SEARCHING!

Happy Thursday!

Ms. Nickel