Bird Beaks Lab

1
Bird Beaks Lab

• Who will survive?
• LT I can construct an explanation based on
  evidence that describes how beak shape (trait)
  can affect the fitness of a bird.

2
Instructions

• Take out your notebook and a pencil.
• Clear off your desk.
• Follow directions on the following slides to
  create your lab report.

3
Galapagos Islands
4
Problem?

• How did the finches on the Galapagos Islands all
  end up with different shaped beaks?

5
Hypothesis

• FINISH THE STATEMENT BELOW.
• If the finches on each island all have different
  beak shapes, then they got that way because
• Skip a few lines to add more information in a
  minute!

6
Create the data table below in your notebook.
Record the amount of food eaten by each beak for
trials 1-4.
Beak Type Trial 1 Marble Trial 2 Pennies Trial 3 Tooth Pick Trial 4 Rubber bands
Chopsticks
Spoon
Small Binder Clip
Binder Clip
7
Hypothesis

• What do you think will happen in each trial?
• Which beak will be successful?
• Use what you know about natural selection
• and survival of the fittest to create your
• prediction.

8
Procedure

1. Select your beak type.
2. Place plate in center of table.
3. Wait for food.
4. Eat as much as you can in 30 seconds.
5. Place each item you eat in your cup.
6. After time, count how much each bird ate.
7. Record numbers in data table.
8. Repeat for trials 2-4.

9
ResultsCreate a bar graph showing your results
for the trial when you ate the most food.
Y
Amount Eaten
X
Chopsticks Spoon Clothes Pin
Tooth Pick
10
ResultsCreate a bar graph with FOUR columns
showing results for each trial.
Y
Marbles Popcorn Rubber bands Toothpicks
Amount of Food Eaten
X
Chopsticks Spoon Small Binder
Binder Clip Clip
Beak Shape
11
ResultsCreate a bar graph with FOUR columns
showing results for each trial.
Y
Marbles Popcorn Rubber bands Toothpicks
Amount of Food Eaten
X
Chopsticks Spoon Small Binder
Binder Clip Clip
Beak Shape
12
Conclusions

• The ____ beak is the best adaptation for this
  experiment.
• My evidence is (use your graphs and data
  tables).
• An adaptation is _____. My evidence supports my
  claim that the ______ beak is the best adaptation
  because _________________________________
• ________________________________________

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Conclusions

• Which type of beak was best adapted to each type
  of food? Which beak was least adapted to each
  type of food?
• What if the popcorn were high-protein beetles
  that were 4 times more nutritious than any of the
  other food items? How would your feeding strategy
  change?
• 3. If we came back to the island with toothpicks
  in 50 years, what should we expect to see? (What
  type of birds will live on the island?) Explain
  your answer.
• 4. How are Darwins finches an example of
  natural selection?

14
Materials

• Tooth Pick
• Small Binder Clip
• Binder Clip
• Spoon
• Chopsticks
• Pencil

• Paper Plate
• Cups
• Marbles
• Popcorn
• Paper