Skip to main content
HHMI BioInteractive
  • Español
  • Site Search
  • Log In/Create Account
  • BioInteractive Resources
  • Planning Tools
  • Professional Development
  • About Us

Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color

Screenshot of mouse fur evolution animation

Topic

  • Evolution
  • Natural Selection
  • Population Genetics
  • Scientific Skills & Literacy
  • Explanations & Argumentation

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Lessons

Level

High School — AP/IBCollege
Used In
1 BioInteractive Playlists
Saved By
53 Users
Share This
View in Spanish

Description

In this activity, students collect and analyze evidence for each of the major conditions for evolution by natural selection to develop an explanation for how populations change over time.

This activity is based on the study of fur color evolution in rock pocket mouse populations shown in the film The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation. Students summarize the evidence for evolution by natural selection shown in the film and in figures from a scientific paper. They should then be able to apply the same concepts to any trait that changes in response to natural selection in any species. The activity helps students develop skills aligned with the science practices of constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence.

This activity is adapted from an activity in the “Evolution of Human Skin Color” curriculum unit for AP Biology, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution’s “Teaching Evolution through Human Examples” project (NSF Grant No. 1119468).

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

  • Summarize, analyze, and describe the evidence needed to make claims about natural selection.
  • Develop an explanation for a case of evolution by natural selection that includes logic and evidence, by linking claims to evidence through scientific reasoning.
     

Estimated Time

One to two 50-minute class periods.

Key Terms

adaptation, argument, explanation, inheritance, melanin, rock pocket mouse, variation 

Primary Literature

Hoekstra, H. E., Kristin E. Drumm, and Michael W. Nachman. . “Ecological genetics of adaptive color polymorphism in pocket mice: Geographic variation in selected and neutral genes.” Evolution 58, 6 (2004): 1329–1341. https://doi.org/10.1554/03-418.

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

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Version History

Date Published 07.06.17
Date Updated 04.09.20

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS3-1, HS-LS3-2, HS-LS3-3, HSLS4-2, HS-LS4-4; SEP4, SEP6

AP Biology (2019)

EVO-1.C, EVO-1.D, EVO-1.E, EVO-1.H, EVO-1.J, EVO-1.L, EVO-1.M, EVO-1.O, IST-2.E, EVO-3.A, SYI-3.D; SP5, SP6

IB Biology (2016)

5.1, 5.2

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

Common Core (2010)

ELA.WHST.9–12.1, ELA.WHST.9–12.5, WHST.9–12.9
Math.S-IC.3; MP2

Vision and Change (2009)

CC1, CC3; DP2

Materials

Resource Google Folder (Link)
Educator Materials (PDF) 312 KB
Student Handout (PDF) 241 KB
Additional Evidence (PDF) 356 KB
Explanation Table (PDF) 144 KB
Educator Materials - Español (PDF) 338 KB
Student Handout - Español (PDF) 303 KB
Additional Evidence - Español (PDF) 377 KB
Explanation Table - Español (PDF) 125 KB

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
A light colored pocket mouse on light colored lava.
Short Films
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation
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
Photos of different colored mice on different colored terrains
Lessons
What Causes Different Fur Colors?
Photo of a pocket mouse being held by a researcher
Film Activities
Activity for Natural Selection and Adaptation
Diagram from the activity
Card Activities
Color Variation Over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
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
Computer image of a light and dark mouse on cooled lava
Animations
Simulating Evolution of a Rock Pocket Mouse Population

Other Related Resources

Showing of
Diagram from the activity
Card Activities
Color Variation Over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
Image from the film
Lessons
Identifying Patterns in Observations
Image of Darwin drawing his tree diagram from the film
Lessons
Reading Primary Sources: Darwin and Wallace
Photo of a manatee with bone structure superimposed
Lessons
The Making of a Theory: Fact or Fiction
A light colored pocket mouse on light colored lava.
Short Films
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation
Screen shot of the quiz
Interactive Videos
Interactive Assessment 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?
Photo of a pocket mouse being held by a researcher
Film Activities
Activity for Natural Selection and Adaptation
Photo of a researcher looking at a computer
Lessons
Allele and Phenotype Frequencies in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations

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
HHMI BioInteractive
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Newsletter Signup
  • HHMI.org
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility