Welcome to Salvador, Brazil!
February 28, 1832
You have just docked off the coast of South America. You un-board the HMS Beagle and hike through grassy plains and tropical foliage of Salvador, Brazil (23S, 43W). Darwin points out the diversity of the insects that live there.
You have just docked off the coast of South America. You un-board the HMS Beagle and hike through grassy plains and tropical foliage of Salvador, Brazil (23S, 43W). Darwin points out the diversity of the insects that live there.
Explore the Diversity of Insects Simulation:
Click on the insect to begin the simulation.
Click on the insect to begin the simulation.
Click on "30 seconds to eat insect"
Select "Bush or Woodchips" (your choice)
Use your cursor to "collect" the insects by clicking on them. After 30 seconds have passed, click on "Next Generation" and then click on your current counts. You should see a data chart showing how many stickbugs are remaining. Click on "continue" to proceed through another generation. Repeat this process through five generations and then click on "results". Analyze the data in the chart.
Select "Bush or Woodchips" (your choice)
Use your cursor to "collect" the insects by clicking on them. After 30 seconds have passed, click on "Next Generation" and then click on your current counts. You should see a data chart showing how many stickbugs are remaining. Click on "continue" to proceed through another generation. Repeat this process through five generations and then click on "results". Analyze the data in the chart.
Darwin explains that an organism's struggle to survive is a key component of natural selection. He says that when organisms need to compete for a resource or mate then those organisms with characteristics that allow them to compete more successfully will succeed and therefore be able to pass on their genes to the next generation.
In your journal, answer the following questions:
* What did you observe in the simulation?
* How many different types of stick bugs were present in the beginning
of the simulation?
* How many different types of stick bugs were present at the end of the
simulation?
* Which stickbug was better adapted to their environment?
* What strategy enabled this stickbug to survive and therefore pass on its traits to the next generation?
*Illustrate how this simulation represents struggling to survive.
* How will struggling to survive lead to natural selection?