How many pieces were you able to get into the dish? Record this number and carefully place the food back into its pile. Now try the damp cotton swab on the smallest type of food for 10 seconds.How many pieces of food could you collect in the dish? Note this on the paper and return the pieces to their pile.Keeping the cotton swab damp, repeat the 10-second "feeding" with the medium-sized food type.Return any pieces of the big food from the dish to their pile.How many were you able to collect? (Note this on the paper.).With the “beak,” collect as many pieces of the biggest "food" as you can and place the pieces in the empty dish. Have someone ready to time the activity using the timer.Place the empty dish within arm's reach.These three piles will represent different food types for example, a hazelnut would be a mouse that a hawk might snatch and a grass seed would be a small drop of nectar a hummingbird might eat. Place the three different sizes of "food" (small, medium and large seeds, nuts, etc.) in three separate piles (separated by size) on a surface.Set out the three types of "beaks" (tweezers, binder clip and dampened cotton swab).Dampen the cotton swab slightly with water.It is best if you have a wide range: some that are tiny (for instance, grass seeds or couscous), some that are medium-sized (black-eyed peas or lentils), and some that are larger (almonds, cashews, walnuts or hazelnuts). Several different kinds of seeds, grains or nuts that differ in size and shape.So, over the generations these adaptive traits become more common in the population until nearly all individuals in a species have the adaptation. They pass on the beneficial adaptations to their offspring. Natural selection happens in a species when individuals that have traits better adapted for their environment survive longer and have more babies. Scientists call this process natural selection. Populations of plants, animals and other living organisms change over many, many generations. To understand how adaptations arise, it helps to understand the process of evolution. Although one adaptation might be very useful for a certain species in a specific environment, that same trait might not be useful for another species in a different environment. Adaptations are traits that developed to perform a certain function and allow organisms to thrive in their environment. When you look at different bird beaks, you’re seeing a great example of something called adaptation. You will use common household items and seeds, grains and nuts to mimic how birds might use their beaks to pick up food. Today we will explore how, in different environments with different food types, specific adaptations, or changes in physical features, are more beneficial than others. How can two species of bird have beaks that are so different? A hummingbird’s beak is long and thin, which helps it dip into the flowers to sip nectar (a sugary fluid the hummingbird uses for food). A hawk’s beak is razor sharp and can tear the flesh off the small animals it eats. Have you ever thought about the differences between a hummingbird and a hawk? They are both birds and yet they look nothing alike! Why do you think they look so different?Īside from hawks being very big and hummingbirds being very small, these two birds exhibit other differences. From National Science Education Standards: Populations and ecosystems
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