Vocab 1
The general term for an observatable feature, characteristic, or behavior of an organism.
Trait
A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area.
Population
The number of individuals with each trait in a population can ______________
change over time.
What type of trait can a newt use to defend against predators?
What do sticklebacks have under their skin to protect from predators?
The time between parents and offspring.
Generation
Codes for proteins.
Genes
Whether or not a trait is adaptive depends _____________
on the environment
What specific species of newt did we study in class?
Rough-skinned Newt
How big is a stickleback?
The size of your finger/a few inches.
Where an organism lives
Environment
Builds different traits.
Protein Molecule
A new trait will only become more common in a population if ____________
it is adaptive.
What is a major predator of newts, even if they are slightly toxic (be specific)?
Garter Snakes
Name a trade-off for stickleback adative traits. If a stickleback has more armor it moves _______.
What you think will happen, an educated guess.
Prediction
A change in DNA
Mutation
_____ are instructions for making protein ________ and protein molecules determine an organism's ______.
Genes; molecules; traits.
Dragonfly nymphs move into an area where there are sticklebacks living. Predict what could happen to the stickleback population over time.
The population could either go extinct OR become faster because only fast sticklebacks would survive to reproduce.
When a characteristic of an organism allows it to survive in an environment.
Adaptive Trait
When an organism has a characteristic that does not allow it to survive in an environment.
___________ can introduce new genes and thus ultimately new _______ into a population.
Mutations; traits
A newt population in the past mostly contains newts that are not toxic. 30 generations later, the population contains a majority of newts that are very toxic. Infer what happened to the newt's environment over time.
A predator that eats newts must have moved into the area, and only the newts that were toxic were able to survive to reproduce.
Salmon move into an area where sticklebacks are living. Predict what could happen to the stickleback population over time.
The population could either go extinct OR increase their amount of armor because only armored sticklebacks would survive to reproduce.