Selection on Beak Length (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD)

Hits the standard: HS-LS3-3 Inheritance and Variation of Traits Variation & Distribution

Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.

Lesson Brief:
Traits within a population vary around the average value. Variation within a population is necessary for natural selection to occur as it allows for different reproductive success, or genetic fitness, based upon the traits. In this activity we will examine how a morphological trait, beak length, may be selected for depending upon the environmental conditions.
This activity may be paired with the HS-LS3-3 Lesson Variation in a Population by assigning different beak lengths to the different bins in the resulting distribution from that activity.