Look Who's Coming for Dinner: Selection by Predation

Resource Type
Description
In this activity, students formulate a hypothesis and collect and analyze real research data about how quickly natural selection can act on specific traits in a population as a result of predation. It is accompanied by a short video that describes the experiment this activity is based on.
Using measurements from a year-long field study on predation in which Dr. Jonathan Losos and colleagues introduced a large predator lizard to small islands that were inhabited by Anolis sagrei, this activity illustrates the role of predation as an agent of natural selection. It emphasizes that strong selective pressure can have measurable effects on trait variations in a population within a short time. After watching the short film The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree, students use a sample of research data from actual field experiments to work through this four-part activity:
- Part 1: Introduction of the field study and formulate a hypothesis.
- Part 2: State the hypothesis formulated by Losos and colleagues and how they tested it.
- Part 3: Collect data, perform simple calculations, and answer questions.
- Part 4: Watch a video on additional findings and answer discussion questions.
The quantitative analysis includes calculating and interpreting simple descriptive statistics and plotting the results as line graphs. The flow of this four-part activity is illustrated in Figure 1 on page 3 of the educator materials.
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Student Learning Targets
- Make predictions based on observations.
- Organize and analyze data by interpreting graphs and performing simple calculations.
- Draw conclusions about advantageous traits that are crucial to survival under certain selective pressures.
Estimated Time
Key Terms
selective pressure, survival advantage, trait, variation
Primary Literature
Losos, Jonathan B., Thomas W. Schoener, R. Brian Langerhans, and David A. Spiller. “Rapid temporal reversal in predator-driven natural selection.” Science 314, 5802 (2006): 1111. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1133584.
Terms of Use
Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.
Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)
Version History
NGSS (2013)
HS-LS2-2, HS-LS4-2, HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4; SEP3, SEP4, SEP6
AP Biology (2019)
EVO-1.C, EVO-1.D, EVO-1.E, EVO-3.A, ENE-4.B; SP2, SP3, SP4, SP5, SP6
IB Biology (2016)
5.2
AP Environmental Science (2020)
Topic(s): 1.1, 2.1, 2.6
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-1.A, ERT-2.A, ERT-2.H, SP1, SP2, SP4, SP5, SP6
IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)
2.1, 3.2
Common Core (2010)
ELA.RST.9–12.7, ELA.RST.9–12.9, ELA.WHST.9–12.9
Math.A-REI.3, Math.F-IF.4, Math.S-ID.1, Math.S-ID.5; MP2, MP4
Vision and Change (2009)
CC1, CC5; DP1, DP2