Anna Naydenova Grade 7B October 29th, 2012 Modeling Natural Selection with Bird Beaks and Prey Problem:

How can I model natural selection of bird beaks and prey? Background: ThinkCentral and classroom discussion. Hypothesis: none needed Materials: as directed Procedure: as directed Data Table: Quantity of Prey Caught by Different Bird Beaks Beak type Spatula Toothpick Spoon Prey 1 Toffix Candy 15 7 20 Prey 2 Mars Bar 6 10 3 Prey 3 Popcorn 65 150 310 Prey 4 Gummy Bears 39 92 70 Prey 5 Lollipops 1 0 5

Data Processing:

Hummingbird: Toothpick beaks (2x)

Anna Naydenova Grade 7B October 29th, 2012

African Stonechat Saxicola Torquatos: Spatula Beak (Pereira)

Northern Shoveler: Spoon Beak (Public Domain Images )

Anna Naydenova Grade 7B October 29th, 2012

Chrysomelid Beetle: Mars Bar (Wikimedia Commons)

Centipede: Popcorn (Mike_tn)

Jellyfish: gummy bears (Teringhi)

Anna Naydenova Grade 7B October 29th, 2012

Turtle: lollipop (geograph )

Slug: toffix candy (Soil Net)

Conclusion:

The best type of beak was the Toothpick beak. It was the most advantageous because it got 92 gummy bears and because it could get almost any type of food except lollipops. It had a big variety of food and they could get anything that was soft which gave meant that they could get a lot of popcorn, toffix, mars bars and gummy bears.

Anna Naydenova Grade 7B October 29th, 2012 Yes, our family/parents did change how they hunted. At the beginning we tried to gather everything but towards the end of the first hunting shift we found out that it would be much easier to gather food if we had something to press our spatula against. So we started to push food to closets and walls and then take it with the spatula. Yes, they were. Because now we could get not only small prey like: popcorn and toffix candy, but we could get mars bars and lollipops. This relates to natural selection because it shows how some mutations/variations are not always helpful to animals in the wild and how some are helpful in getting a big variety of prey and/or more of one type. I think that the Hummingbird will hunt for the Centipede and for the Jellyfish because the jellyfish is soft and the centipede, like the popcorn has some soft parts like the bottom of it and the top of it is hard like some parts of the popcorn. The African Stonechat will hunt for the jellyfish because they come in herds and it can get a lot at the same time, also it will hunt for the slugs because they can stick to its beak and it can get it that way. The Northern Shoveler will hunt for the Chrysomelid Beetle because it can scoop it up and it will also hunt for the jellyfish because they come in herds and when it scoops up it will be able to get a lot of food.

Bibliography
2x, Dave. Giant Hummingbird . 20 April 2012. 29 October 2012 <http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr4127000102>. eva8. Flickr Creative Commons. 25 May 2006. 29 October 2012 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/eva8/153868570/>. geograph . Small Turtle In the Aquarium . 2010. 31 October 2012 <http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2071375>.

Anna Naydenova Grade 7B October 29th, 2012

Mike_tn. flickr Creative Commons. 17 May 2010. 31 October 2012 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/beginasyouare/4672734688/>. Pereira, Jose Paulo Carvalho. Cartaxo African Stonechat Saxicola Torquatus. 26 December 2011. 29 October 2012 <http://www.fotopedia.com/items/b1gXYfSmHZw-n1e9LZMRp2o>. Public Domain Images . Public Domain Images . 29 October 2012 <http://www.public-domainimage.com/fauna-animals-public-domain-images-pictures/birds-public-domain-images-pictures/duckmallard-pictures/steller-eider/steller-eider-duck-female-head-polysticta-stelleri.jpg.html>. Soil Net. Soil Net Photo And Image Library. 15 Augsut 2007. 31 October 2012 <http://www.soilnet.com/album/Animals/Slugs%20Snails/slides/Slug%2004.html>. Teringhi, Matteo. Fotopedia. 23 November 2008. 31 October 2012 <http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-3053750273>. Wikimedia Commons. A Chrysomelid Beetle . 25 January 2012. 31 October 2012 <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Chrysomelid_beetle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1285818.jpg>.