sex and single guppy
Sex and the Single Guppy
The purpose of this activity is to analyze how guppy populations change over time. The simulation activity allows you to start with a pool of guppies and your choice of predators, you will be able to watch what happens to your guppy population and how the introduction of predators can affect the guppy's appearance. The simulation will help you understand what pressures drive guppy evolution.
*Activity adapted from PBS - http://www.pbs.org
You will need to open two windows. One for the website and one for the Sex and The Single Guppy.
Introduction
First of all, familiarize yourself with the site, you should know each of the
following before proceeding to the simulation.
View the guppy gallery, know the color variations found among guppies
View the predator gallery, know the types of predators of guppies
Read about John Endler's experiment
View the three types of pools and know what guppy colors are common in each area
Read the three possible hypotheses for guppy coloration
Experiment
Sexual selection and predation both play roles in the evolution of guppies.
Both can affect the coloration of male guppies. In this experiment, you will attempt to answer the following question:
QUESTION: To what degree do predation and sexual selection affect guppy
coloration? (Which has a greater effect, or do they work equally to influence
guppy populations?)
Open up a Word document to begin your lab report - for this activity, the lab report includes only 3 sections (you can also write this by hand)
1. Introduction - includes background information on guppies and your
hypothesis
2. Data - a data table or graph that shows your guppy coloration over several
generations
**You can make a graph with microsoft exel, or you can go to an online graph-maker at http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing
**Make sure your data is defined - include beginning populations, number of generations, colorations and other pertinent labels
3. Conclusions - answer the experimental question. The conclusion can be written in about a paragraph. Be sure to include general information about the trends in the data to support your conclusion.
The Simulation
The simulation allows you to choose your starting population of guppies (coloration) and the number and types of predators in the habitat. Remember that you will need to compare 2 sets of data in order to make a clear determination about how predators and sex selection affect guppy populations. You will need 2 sets of data (and two graphs) to compare - in effect run 2 simulations. You may want to run more than 2 simulations if you cannot make a determination with only 2.
You will also need to make sure the simulation runs through enough generations to show patterns (5 minimal)
Homework: Work on Guppy
The purpose of this activity is to analyze how guppy populations change over time. The simulation activity allows you to start with a pool of guppies and your choice of predators, you will be able to watch what happens to your guppy population and how the introduction of predators can affect the guppy's appearance. The simulation will help you understand what pressures drive guppy evolution.
*Activity adapted from PBS - http://www.pbs.org
You will need to open two windows. One for the website and one for the Sex and The Single Guppy.
Introduction
First of all, familiarize yourself with the site, you should know each of the
following before proceeding to the simulation.
View the guppy gallery, know the color variations found among guppies
View the predator gallery, know the types of predators of guppies
Read about John Endler's experiment
View the three types of pools and know what guppy colors are common in each area
Read the three possible hypotheses for guppy coloration
Experiment
Sexual selection and predation both play roles in the evolution of guppies.
Both can affect the coloration of male guppies. In this experiment, you will attempt to answer the following question:
QUESTION: To what degree do predation and sexual selection affect guppy
coloration? (Which has a greater effect, or do they work equally to influence
guppy populations?)
Open up a Word document to begin your lab report - for this activity, the lab report includes only 3 sections (you can also write this by hand)
1. Introduction - includes background information on guppies and your
hypothesis
2. Data - a data table or graph that shows your guppy coloration over several
generations
**You can make a graph with microsoft exel, or you can go to an online graph-maker at http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing
**Make sure your data is defined - include beginning populations, number of generations, colorations and other pertinent labels
3. Conclusions - answer the experimental question. The conclusion can be written in about a paragraph. Be sure to include general information about the trends in the data to support your conclusion.
The Simulation
The simulation allows you to choose your starting population of guppies (coloration) and the number and types of predators in the habitat. Remember that you will need to compare 2 sets of data in order to make a clear determination about how predators and sex selection affect guppy populations. You will need 2 sets of data (and two graphs) to compare - in effect run 2 simulations. You may want to run more than 2 simulations if you cannot make a determination with only 2.
You will also need to make sure the simulation runs through enough generations to show patterns (5 minimal)
Homework: Work on Guppy
