Derek Morton

Anthropology 1020

Professor Shaefer

January 28, 2018

Evolutionary Hypothesis of Darwin’s Finches

Evolution is a scientific theory that has helped to shape how we understand the natural world

around us. Without it, we would have a tough time explaining who we are and how we came to be.

Evolution helps us to understand that we are more complex and amazing than we may have imagined

before. We humans and the biological world around is can adapt and survive thanks to the evolutionary

processes that take place during generations of time. One of these processes is natural selection, which

determines which species will thrive and which one will not. Natural selection came about after Charles

Darwin’s voyage around the world in the Beagle. As Darwin stopped at the Galapagos Islands, he

recorded and noted the different beak structures of various species of finches. From these observations,

he would eventually draw the conclusion that species evolve in attempt to survive changing

environmental demands (PBS 2001).

Even today, Darwin’s finches on the Galapagos Islands serve as an important tool in the

scientific community (Institute 2017). These birds are still considered one of the fastest evolving

vertebrates, making them ideal to study how an animal adapts to its environment. The beaks of

these birds played a significant role in the development of the theory of natural selection. For

example, scientists Rosemary Grant and Peter Grant explain of an event that occurred in 1977.

In this year, there was a drought that dramatically affected the food supply of the finches. This

made small, easy-to-open seeds harder to find, causing a “selective mortality rate” among the
finches. Because of the scarcity of the small seeds, finches with narrow, small beaks died out.

This created more favorable conditions for finches with large, thicker beaks that could eat the

larger seeds that were still available (BioScience 2003). To test this, we had an in-class activity to

demonstrate the importance of natural selection. My original hypothesis was that the tweezers

would perform the best for picking up individual seeds. I figured that the small and narrow beak

type would allow for precise, easy pickup of the seeds.

Materials and Methods

The materials to conduct this experimented included various beak types, represented by

tongs, tweezers, and chip clips. The experiment included using the various tools to pick up as

many seeds possible in the space of one minute. This would test the abilities to collect sufficient

food and compete against other birds and beak types. The beak types that collected the most

seeds would continue and reproduce, and the two with the fewest seeds would die out and not

reproduce, thus going extinct. This would demonstrate that those who had more favorable

mutations would thrive, while those with less favorable would die.

Results

The results of this experiment proved interesting. I figured that the birds with the

smaller beaks (i.e. the tweezers) would have performed the best for picking up seeds. However,

the results proved the opposite. The tongs were able to pick up more seeds in less time, most

likely because they had a greater surface are for picking up more seeds. The results were as

follows:

Beak Initial G1 G2 G3 G4 G5
Chip Clip 4 3 3 4 4 5
Tweezers 4 3 2 2 2 2
Tongs 3 5 6 5 4 4
Total 11 11 11 11 11 11
 As the data table above shows, the tongs made a consistent climb from the beginning, then for

the last two generations lowered to four, where it eventually remained. Contrary to my original

hypothesis, the tweezers weren’t able to survive and collect enough food, thus their numbers declined

from the beginning and then remained consistent at a population of 2. The chip clips maintained a

constant increase across the board, only varying by 1 difference each generation. This graph shows the

data clearly:

Chart Title
7

0
Initial G1 G2 G3 G4 G5

Chip Clip Tweezers Tongs

As you can see, the tongs fared best out of all the different beak types. By the end of the

experiment, the populations leveled out to a steady population. The chip clips also kept increasing

across the generations, though very slowly. The tweezers did the worst, declining rapidly at the

beginning and leveling out at only 2 for the rest of the experiment.

Conclusion

Based on the evidence from the table and chart, my hypothesis of the tweezers being the best

beak type did not hold its theory and can be deemed erroneous. As the data suggests, the tweezers
were not able to pick up enough food to maintain their population and reproduce, thus causing a

decline in the amount of tweezers in the population. The tongs and chip clips were able to collect more

food, thus causing more competition for the tweezers and causing them to die as less resources became

available. As the number of tongs increased, so did the environmental pressure. They used up more

resources- there was simply not enough food for the tweezers to survive. This is what caused the

population boom in the tongs and the resultant population decline at in the tweezers at the same

period.

Possible errors or outside factors that could influence the results of this experiment could

include time and environmental factors. In my opinion, five generations are a somewhat short amount

of time to measure the population of these birds. I infer that, if the experiment was continued for a

longer amount of time, that the chip clips could have a possibility of gaining more ground over the

tongs. The other factor that I believe could affect the data is the environment. It could be that not

enough area was observed, thus only a small portion of the population was seen and documented by

scientists. The current climate could also have caused abnormal changes in the population, something

that might not usually take place. By allowing more time for experimentation and observation, we could

see how climate affects the population as well, if at all.

Should other scientists replicate this experiment, it would help establish validity to the

experiment that we conducted in class. For example, if a scientist chose a different area of the world to

study a different population or species and, upon observation, determined similar results, we could infer

that the experiment conducted in class was true and valid. We know that many different biological

processes function in a comparable way, and population growth and decline are no different. As other

scientists watch different mutations and examples of natural selection, we can determine that the

theory of evolution through natural selection is valid.

Discussion

The scientific method is defined as “an approach to research whereby a problem is identified, a

hypothesis is stated, and that hypothesis is tested by collecting and analyzing data (Robert Jurmain

2017).” This is a process that helps scientists to define a thought or idea and then prove it right or wrong

through experimentation or testing. There are other many fields other than anthropology that use the

scientific method. One can find this same process in biology, chemistry, and less scientific fields such as

engineering.

This activity incorporated the philosophy of the scientific method by allowing us to create a

hypothesis as to how certain birds with different beak types would survive while others died. We then

took that hypothesis (where I theorized that tweezers would be the best beak type due to dexterity and

precision) and put it to the test through experimentation. As we conducted the experiment and drew

results from the data, we could see that the hypothesis proved to be wrong. We could then come up

with a conclusion and answer our own question or idea that was originally created to be tested.

When I think of using the scientific method outside of class, I really imagine using it for

something less scientific and more unorthodox and problem-solving. One thing that I imagine using it for

is to figure out what might be wrong with a car. For example, if the engine of a car is making a noise, we

can create a hypothesis or idea of what is wrong. As we conduct tests and experiments to figure out

what is wrong, we can see if our idea was right or wrong, thus solving the problem or continuing on to

make another hypothesis. Another idea that comes to mind pertains to my field of study- education. As

we look for new and effective ways to educate our children, we must come up with ideas that we

believe with meet the needs of the children and help them to better grasp concepts. This requires using

psychology, social understanding, and other different fields to help understand how children learn.

Psychologists and educators can come up with different theories or hypothesis on how to create a new
education plan, and then test it. According to the results of the test, they can develop a better plan or

implement the one that was created. Thus, by creating hypothesis, experiments, and analyzing the data

to draw conclusions, we can learn about the world around us and create better, more effective ways of

life.

The theory of evolution by natural selection is a theory that was in part developed by Charles

Darwin. This theory, in its most basic form, is best known by the phrase “survival of the fittest.” Those

organisms that are best fit to their environment will be the most likely to survive and thrive. There are a

few requirements for the process of natural selection to take place. A few factors that the book

Essentials of Physical Anthropology are as follow:

 There must be a variety of genetic factors already present in a population (i.e. white mice and

black mice).

 A mutation must be genetic, not a “Lamarckian” mutation.

 Reproduction must occur, otherwise the mutation cannot pass from one generation to the next.

 Traits must change as the environment changes. Environments are dynamic and don’t stay the

same, thus the traits must change with it.

This activity simulated the process of natural selection by showing the different environmental

factors and genetic mutations that a population is exposed to. The population included different

genetic mutations (the beak types). This was something that changed over time with the

environment, such as the drought and the availability of diverse types of seeds. As the smaller seeds

became harder to find, the birds with small beaks died out. The finches that had the larger beaks

were able to eat the larger seeds that remained, thus improving their chances for survival (Robert

Jurmain 2017). The experiment that we conducted in class reflected this concept. The smaller beaks

(tweezers) died off while the larger beaks (tongs and chip clips) were able to survive and reproduce.
 Thus, by this experiment, we were able to see how natural selection influences evolution and

change in populations and varied species throughout time all over the world. We can see how

Darwin’s finches have helped us to gain new insights on how organisms are able to adapt and

survive to their environment, while other populations come to extinction and don’t thrive. We can

see how natural selection is a considerable influence in the biological world.

Works Cited
BioScience. 2003. What Darwin's Finches Can Teach Us about the Evoluntionary Origin and Regulation of

Biodiversity. October. Accessed January 28, 2018.

https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/53/10/965/254944 .

Institute, EarthWatch. 2017. Darwin's Finches and Natural Selecition in the Galapagos. Accessed January

28, 2018. http://earthwatch.org/Expeditions/Darwins-Finches-and-Natural-Selection-in-the-

Galapagos.

PBS. 2001. Adaptive Radiation: Darwin's Finches. Accessed January 28, 2018.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/6/l_016_02.html.

Robert Jurmain, Lynn Kilgore, Wenda Trevathan, Eric J. Bartelink. 2017. Essentials of Pysical

Anthropology. New York: Cengage Learning.