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Darwins Modern Finches

Intro

The finches that Charles Darwin collected when he visited the Galapagos islands helped lead him
to the theory of evolution. Although he initially wasnt the one to connect that the birds were similar but
varied in beak shape. The finches with thin pointed beaks were better suited to eating bugs and the finches
with larger beaks were superior at breaking open the shells of seeds. For example, the woodpecker finch
with its thin pointed beak naturally probes into the bark of a tree in search of bugs, this act of probing for
food was very uncommon for Large Tree finches whose beaks would have a difficult time searching for
small insects. Breeding, and the survival of offspring to breed (recruitment), vary greatly among years as
a result of annual fluctuations of rain fall and food supply in this seasonally arid environment (Grant pg
132). The traits that would make a one type of finch better suited to their environment, resulting in a
dominant species, could also be what makes them vulnerable. Through environmental evolution animals
change to better suit their surroundings but if their surroundings change then that bird would suddenly be
in danger. For example if there were suddenly a decrease in food that was made up the main diet of the
Large Tree Finches, such as nuts, they would struggle to find enough food because they would no longer
be suited to their environment and unlike the Woodpecker Finch their large beaks would hinder their
ability to search and catch insects.

Materials and Methods

Before the experiment of Darwins Finches began I believed that the tongs would preform better
than the chop sticks and the tweezers. The tweezers and chop sticks were small delicate tools and that led
me to the hypothesis that the bird using them would have difficulties picking up the seeds because it
would require very precise motions but the tongs that represented a larger beak would be able to scoop up
the sunflower seeds easily and quickly. I also believed that the chip clips would be slow and hard to work
with but that they would still be faster than the hair clips that seemed to be unfit to pick up the sunflower
seeds due to the gaps in between the prongs.

To represent the variety of beaks found on the finches that Darwin collected we used: tongs, chip
clips, tweezers, chop sticks, and hair clips. Sunflower seeds were used as the food that the finches had
access to. The goal was to pick up as many seeds as possible in one minute, the sunflower seeds were then
placed into a small cup that represented the stomach of the bird. The two students with the most seeds and
the two students with the least seeds are separated from the group. The two students that had the least
amount of seeds had their tools taken and replaced with the tools that most successful finches had. For
example, if one of the students with the most seeds had a chip clip and the other had a tweezer they would
then pass the gene (the tool that they were using) to the students who had the least amount of seeds so that
the population of chip clips and tweezers increase.

Results

By generation 6 the chip clips won with a total of six chip clip finches and won the spot of
dominant beak in the population. The tweezers came in second with an end total of four beaks in the
population. The tongs and the chopsticks were the lowest with only one of each by generation six. The
tweezers managed to stay consistent during the six generations, they only varied by one and ended by
with a total of four. Although the hair clips fluctuated a little during the third and fourth generation they
ended with a remaining total of three.

Beak Begin Gen 1 Gen 2 Gen 3 Gen 4 Gen 5 Gen 6


Tongs 3 3 2 3 3 2 1
Chopsticks 3 2 1 1 1 1 1
Tweezers 3 3 4 3 3 4 4
Chip Clips 3 4 5 4 4 5 6
Hair Clips 3 3 3 4 4 3 3
Total 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
Conclusion

The initial hypothesis of the tongs being better than the chop sticks and tweezers was wrong.
Although the chopsticks didnt do very well by the generation 6, the tweezers were the second highest
beak being used in generation 6. The chip clips managed to take the lead with a total of 6 by the
generation 6. My initial belief was that the chip clips would be to slow and bulky to use, when in reality
their flat sides and spring made them the perfect tool to pick up and carry the sunflower seeds. This
advantage that the chip clips seemed to have may not have only been due to the tool that was used but by
the student using the tool. A student/bird that is unmotivated, no matter the tool, isnt going to survive. To
actually conclude that the chip clips are the best tool/beak for the finches/students to use, the experiment
would need to be replicated with and entirely new group of students. This would help ensure the integrity
of the tool and help to eliminate student error.

Discussion

The scientific method is a series of steps used to answer a question. It begins by forming a
hypothesis that needs to be tested. Then an experiment is created to help prove or deny the hypothesis.
The experiment must be able to be repeated multiple times for it to yield accurate data. After the
experiment is finished a conclusion is formed reporting on the data collected and comparing it to the
hypothesis. In this activity of pretending to be Darwins finches we hypothesized what tool would be the
most successful in picking up seeds. We set the parameters and began the test, making sure that it was
repeatable. At the end of every timed minute we counted our seeds and reported the data. When we
finished the six generations we compared our original hypothesis and noted the dominant tool that was
being used as a beak. Many fields use the scientific method in their daily lives, the most common one I
would think of is a doctor. To be able to help a person they must form a hypothesis based on their
patients symptoms and then through trial and error they use detailed notes, technology, and medicine to
prove and cure or heal the patient.

The theory of natural evolution is based on environmental factors that act on species to create
changes that will make the animal and their offspring better suited to the environment, who in turn have
higher odds of surviving and are more likely to produce more offspring who will also have higher chances
of survival. The test of using tools showed how a particular beak in a specific environment can
significantly impact the offspring. In the natural world natural variation/ mutations has to already be
present in a species. Every generation there are more offspring produced than will survive to reproduce.
The successful finches that managed to survive because of characteristics that made them well suited for
their environment are more likely to reproduce. The mutations that make the birds well suited to their
environments occur naturally because without the mutations and the selective pressures placed on them
from their environment, there would be genetic mutations. These factors that cause natural selection are
slow and take time but overtime the birds that have adapted and evolved to better suit their environment
become the dominant species in the area. The same thing happened to wolves 15,000 years ago. As
civilizations began to settle and remain permanent, wolves learned that being near the people meant
having access to food (the garbage that was thrown out). The wolves that began to stay closer and closer
to the humans began to develop shorter jaws and were smaller in size. The wolves that were smaller and
weaker began to rely on the people for survival and the wolf was domesticated.

References

Tebbich, Sabine, Michael Taborsky, Birgit Fessl, Michael Dvorak, and Hans Winkler. "Feeding Behavior
Of Four Arboreal Darwins Finches: Adaptations To Spatial And Seasonal Variability." The Condor 106.1
(2004): 95. Web.

Grant, P. R., and B. R. Grant. "Non-random fitness variation in two populations of Darwins
finches." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences267.1439 (2000): 131-38. Web.

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