Select An Animal Or Plant That Your Group Is Familiar With That Is Living Now.
Please read Chapters 9 and 10 of What is Life? A Guide to Biology before beginning this lab.
The purpose of this lab exercise is to demonstrate how a species of animal or plant, alive today,could have small changes over long periods of time and become a totally different species. This is evolution.
For this lab exercise, your group needs to follow the directions below:
1. Select an animal or plant that your group is familiar with that is living now. Describe several characteristics of this present day animal or plant.
2. Take this animal or plant and make small changes over long periods of time in 10 steps – the changes could be caused by factors such as pathogens, environmental, competition, climate, etc. Work as a group. Indicate the factor and what change it caused in the animal or plant at each step. Make small changes.
3. All group members should use the Wiki page and all members should contribute to the changes over time for the selected animal or plant. Remember: Your TA will be checking the Wiki page periodically throughout the semester to ensure group work is being done properly as a group.
4. Clearly describe the changes in the original animal or plant. Remember that small changes are made over time. Show gradual change at each step. Remember to include the cause for the change.
5. This lab exercise is not about the current known fossil history of an animal or plant, such as the evolutionary history of the modern horse. It is about taking the modern horse and changing it into something that has never been seen on earth – or at least we think it has never been seen before.
6. Clearly indicate which group members participated with this group lab exercise. Indicate if a group member had no participation, partial participation (describe partial participation) or full participation. The lab exercise will not be graded if participation is not clearly indicated. Please be honest.
How to submit this exercise: After all discussion, additions and corrections, the group leader should submit this exercise as a Word document, PDF or Powerpoint. Do not submit in any other format or file type This group lab exercise is worth 25 points.. If a group member has no participation, that group member will receive a grade of 0/25. A group member who has participated minimally, but some, will also receive a lower grade on the lab exercise. Check the syllabus for the closing date.
