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Color Variation Over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations

Diagram from the activity

Topic

  • Evolution
  • Natural Selection
  • Population Genetics

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Card Activities

Level

Middle/Junior HighHigh School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IB
Used In
1 BioInteractive Playlists
Saved By
93 Users
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View in Spanish

Description

This activity allows students to collect and analyze data on the evolution of coat color in rock pocket mouse populations living on differently colored substrates.

Students analyze data from images of rock pocket mouse populations in different settings and over time. They then order those images based on the data and their knowledge of evolution by natural selection. The activity involves collecting and graphing data and making evidence-based claims.

This activity serves as an extension to the short film The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation and as a means of reinforcing the concepts of variation and natural selection.

The “Card Images” ZIP file contains individual image files for the cards used in this activity that can be used in the classroom, particularly in online courses. A document within the ZIP file contains suggestions for their use. These card images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CCC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. We would ask that you attribute these to BioInteractive and not use them for commercial purposes.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.

Student Learning Targets

  • Explain how variation, selection, and time fuel the process of evolution.
  • Analyze, organize, and graph data. 
     

Estimated Time

Two 50-minute class periods.

Key Terms

adaptation, bar graph, camouflage, evolution, mutation, natural selection, trait

Primary Literature

Nachman, M. W., Hopi E. Hoekstra, and Susan L. D’Agostino. “The genetic basis of adaptive melanism in pocket mice.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100, 9 2003: 5268–5273.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0431157100.
 

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

PDF files meet criteria.

Version History

Date Published 03.07.11
Date Updated 06.08.20

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS2-2, HS-LS2-6, HS-LS3-3, HS-LS4-4, HS-LS4-5; SEP2, SEP4

AP Biology (2019)

EVO-1.C, EVO-1.D, EVO-1.E, EVO-1.G, EVO-1.H, EVO-1.J, EVO-1.M, EVO-1.O, EVO-3.A, IST-2.E, IST-4.A, SYI-3.D, ENE-4.B; SP1, SP2, SP4

IB Biology (2016)

5.1, 5.2, 10.3, C.1

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 2.6, 2.7
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-2.H, SP4, SP2, SP5, SP6

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

2.1, 3.2

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9–12.3, ELA.RST.9–12.4, ELA.RST.9–12.7, ELA.WHST.9–12.1
MP2, MP3, MP5

Vision and Change (2009)

CC1, CC2; DP1, DP2, DP3

Materials

Download Resource Google Folder (Link)
Download Educator Materials (PDF) 328 KB
Download Student Handout (PDF) 219 KB
Download Illustrations (PDF) 971 KB
Download Card Images (ZIP) 756 KB
Download Educator Materials - Español (PDF) 249 KB
Download Student Handout - Español (PDF) 592 KB
Download Card Images - Español (ZIP) 756 KB

Additional Materials

  • graphing software or graph paper and colored pencils

Use This Resource With

Video Resource
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation

Explore Related Content

Other Resources About Rock Pocket Mice

Showing of
Screen shot of the quiz
Interactive Videos
Interactive Assessment for Natural Selection and Adaptation
Computer image of an owl grabbing a mouse
Animations
Rock Pocket Mice and Predation
Computer image of a light and dark mouse on cooled lava
Animations
Simulating Evolution of a Rock Pocket Mouse Population
Screenshot of mouse fur evolution animation
Lessons
Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color
A light colored pocket mouse on light colored lava.
Short Films
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation
Photo of a researcher looking at a computer
Lessons
Allele and Phenotype Frequencies in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
Image from the activity
Lessons
Biochemistry and Cell Signaling Pathway of the Mc1r Gene
Photo of a pocket mouse being held by a researcher
Film Activities
Activity for Natural Selection and Adaptation
Photos of different colored mice on different colored terrains
Lessons
What Causes Different Fur Colors?

Other Related Resources

Showing of
Screen shot of the quiz
Interactive Videos
Interactive Assessment for Natural Selection and Adaptation
Bar graph taken from the resource
Lessons
Analyzing Data on Tuskless Elephants
Computer image of a light and dark mouse on cooled lava
Animations
Simulating Evolution of a Rock Pocket Mouse Population
Screenshot of mouse fur evolution animation
Lessons
Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color
A light colored pocket mouse on light colored lava.
Short Films
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation
Photo of a researcher looking at a computer
Lessons
Allele and Phenotype Frequencies in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
Photo of a pocket mouse being held by a researcher
Film Activities
Activity for Natural Selection and Adaptation
Image from the activity
Labs & Demos
Battling Beetles
Photos of different colored mice on different colored terrains
Lessons
What Causes Different Fur Colors?
Image of a glass of milk with a smiley face superimposed
Animations
Natural Selection for Lactose Tolerance

This Resource Appears in the Following Playlists

Showing of
Teaching Natural Selection and the Genetic Code Using the Rock Pocket Mouse
3 Resources
By: BioInteractive
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