The Galapagos
PART ONE
1. How did the Galapagos Islands come into existence?- hydrothermal vents belching sulphurous gases., biologists believed that these vents were the sites of the origin of life.
2. Were plate tectonics involved?
-The subduction of the Nazca plate under the South American plate causes the volcano formation on the island, ultimately creating the island.
3. How old are the Galapagos Islands?
-300 years old
4. What kinds of animals and plants are endemic to the islands?
-sea lions. black iguana, stingrays, white-tipped sharks, sea turtles, and the Galapagos penguin
5. How do species become endemic?
-They become endemic when they adapt to their environment and the area which is different as well
6. Where did the original colonists come from and how did they get to the Galapagos?
-The original colonist came from Europe
7. What kind of special adaptations do the animals and plants have? How do adaptations evolve?
-adaptations evolve when a sudden change is done within their environment
-nondescript birds had beaks with amazing adaptations to eat different types of food
-finches had specialized by using small sharp sticks to probe the recesses of cactus plants for grubs
8. How did these islands figure into Darwin’s ideas on evolution?
-These figure into Darwin's ideas of evolution because all the animals there adapted to their environment and even if some of the species were the same their adaptations were different depending on where they lived
PART TWO
1. What is DNA fi ngerprinting and how is it done?
-A scientific procedure used to determine identity or parentage using DNA
-we can identify through taking fluids of an individual
2. How can we measure evolution?
-How the seeds of plants vary in their hardness.
-The adaptation differences of animals through time
3. What is the diff erence between natural selection and evolution?
-Natural selection is when a specie is selected with a characteristic of some time or chose out of something when evolution is when animals evolve and change through time
4. What is genetic drift and how could it be involved in evolution?
-Genetic drift is the change in the frequency of a gene variant in a population due to random sampling, with this the animals will have a higher ans faster rate of evolving
5. What is resource partitioning and character displacement?
-Resource Partitioning relates to evolutionary change in species in response to selection pressures generated by inter-specific competition.Character displacement is when similar species habits overlap, and they are in direct competition for food and other vital resources.
6. What is sexual selection?-natural selection arising through preference by one sex for certain characteristics in individuals of the other sex.
7. How might one test if beak size is due to genetic or environmental factors?
-have one species of birds be measured in beak through a process of time
8. If hybridization occurs during good times, what does this suggest about the degree of genetic
differences between species?
-It proves the benefit of it
9. What are reproductive isolating mechanisms and how do they evolve?
-Reproductive isolating mechanisms are the reproductive characteristics which prevent species from fusing. These characteristics change according to how much food and such is available to a species.
10. Must populations of finches be separated in order to evolve into different species?
-No, some don't interbreed due to their characteristics
11. What causes an El Niño?
- when wind blows with strength from the east to the west along the pacific ocean.
PART THREE
1. Should Kate have chosen to work on a different species than the tortoises that are being threatened?
Her thesis work might be destroyed by the politics of the islands.
-no she shouldn't because it was a very important task and work effort
2. Should Kate get involved in the politics of saving the islands, the way Dian Fossey did in trying to save
the Mountain Gorilla?
-Yes!
3. Should fishing, tourism, or inhabitants be allowed in the islands?
-I think that tourism should but only on specific areas and time
1. How did the Galapagos Islands come into existence?- hydrothermal vents belching sulphurous gases., biologists believed that these vents were the sites of the origin of life.
2. Were plate tectonics involved?
-The subduction of the Nazca plate under the South American plate causes the volcano formation on the island, ultimately creating the island.
3. How old are the Galapagos Islands?
-300 years old
4. What kinds of animals and plants are endemic to the islands?
-sea lions. black iguana, stingrays, white-tipped sharks, sea turtles, and the Galapagos penguin
5. How do species become endemic?
-They become endemic when they adapt to their environment and the area which is different as well
6. Where did the original colonists come from and how did they get to the Galapagos?
-The original colonist came from Europe
7. What kind of special adaptations do the animals and plants have? How do adaptations evolve?
-adaptations evolve when a sudden change is done within their environment
-nondescript birds had beaks with amazing adaptations to eat different types of food
-finches had specialized by using small sharp sticks to probe the recesses of cactus plants for grubs
8. How did these islands figure into Darwin’s ideas on evolution?
-These figure into Darwin's ideas of evolution because all the animals there adapted to their environment and even if some of the species were the same their adaptations were different depending on where they lived
PART TWO
1. What is DNA fi ngerprinting and how is it done?
-A scientific procedure used to determine identity or parentage using DNA
-we can identify through taking fluids of an individual
2. How can we measure evolution?
-How the seeds of plants vary in their hardness.
-The adaptation differences of animals through time
3. What is the diff erence between natural selection and evolution?
-Natural selection is when a specie is selected with a characteristic of some time or chose out of something when evolution is when animals evolve and change through time
4. What is genetic drift and how could it be involved in evolution?
-Genetic drift is the change in the frequency of a gene variant in a population due to random sampling, with this the animals will have a higher ans faster rate of evolving
5. What is resource partitioning and character displacement?
-Resource Partitioning relates to evolutionary change in species in response to selection pressures generated by inter-specific competition.Character displacement is when similar species habits overlap, and they are in direct competition for food and other vital resources.
6. What is sexual selection?-natural selection arising through preference by one sex for certain characteristics in individuals of the other sex.
7. How might one test if beak size is due to genetic or environmental factors?
-have one species of birds be measured in beak through a process of time
8. If hybridization occurs during good times, what does this suggest about the degree of genetic
differences between species?
-It proves the benefit of it
9. What are reproductive isolating mechanisms and how do they evolve?
-Reproductive isolating mechanisms are the reproductive characteristics which prevent species from fusing. These characteristics change according to how much food and such is available to a species.
10. Must populations of finches be separated in order to evolve into different species?
-No, some don't interbreed due to their characteristics
11. What causes an El Niño?
- when wind blows with strength from the east to the west along the pacific ocean.
PART THREE
1. Should Kate have chosen to work on a different species than the tortoises that are being threatened?
Her thesis work might be destroyed by the politics of the islands.
-no she shouldn't because it was a very important task and work effort
2. Should Kate get involved in the politics of saving the islands, the way Dian Fossey did in trying to save
the Mountain Gorilla?
-Yes!
3. Should fishing, tourism, or inhabitants be allowed in the islands?
-I think that tourism should but only on specific areas and time