This week, we will look for modern-day examples of biological evolution, those that were recently discovered, the use of newer technologies, or simply finding out more about past projects.

You are to find an article on biological evolution. If you are stuck, a great place to start is either the APUS library or Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/ using choice keywords (“evolution” or “current topics in evolution” brings up a lot of results).

• Choose an article that is different than your classmates – which means you should have a very descriptive title to your post.
• Summarize the main points of the article.
• Was there a new technology used? How? What did it discover?
• Was there a new species discovered? New information on an already discovered species?
• What was the species? What was the information?
• What were the methods used? Is this groundbreaking?

250 words + I will let you know what topics are taken.

Response 1

As we have learned in class, the theory of natural selection is when an organism tends to survive and reproduce more offspring when they are better adapted to their environment. Or have a trait that makes them more likely to survive. The article I found is an example of how an organism may be able to have a choice in how natural selection has an affect on them.

Grasshoppers can camouflage themselves with color and shapes to make them less susceptible to be eaten. They use their environment to their advantage. What the researches did in this study was look at a population of grasshoppers that were adapting to living on an abandoned paved street. They verified that grasshoppers were aware of their own color because they choose to live in the color that is most like their own. To validate their theory, the researchers used watercolor paint to change the color of different grasshoppers and observed what substrate that they chose to live in. What they observed seemed to prove their theory. The grasshoppers that were painted dark colors moved to the dark asphalt areas and the lighter color painted grasshoppers moved to the lighter colored sidewalks. “It is the first time that it has been demonstrated in such detail that variation between individuals affects their choice of environment” (Staff, 2020). This is something that I did not think creatures other than humans had the intelligence to do so. I want to add that according to the article, watercolor does not harm the grasshopper rather it just changes their color.

Reference:

Staff, S. (2020, May 21). Grasshoppers are perfectly aware of their own coloration when trying to camouflage. Retrieved May 23, 2020, from https://phys.org/news/2020-05-grasshoppers-perfectly-aware-camouflage.html

Response 2

First, I want to apologize for my late post. It has been a rough week, but I am moving forward. For this week’s forum I wanted to research one of the most amazing creatures on this planet, sharks. There is no wonder why people tend to fear the depths of the sea. Yes, they are dark and mysterious, but the main reason why we fear and respect the ocean is because of the powerful creatures that live in it. I was aware from a young age that sharks were around long before dinosaurs. However, I did not know that they had survived five major extinction events. I was surprised to read that sharks evolved from a cartilaginous species called Chimaeras (Shark Evolution, n.d.). Throughout the different periods in history, and with every extinction event, the sharks continued to undergo a series of changes that allowed them to have a diverse diet. It is believed that having multiple food sources across a diverse selection of species, sharks were able to survive these catastrophic events (Shark Evolution, n.d.). The study of these creatures is mainly done by analyzing their teeth, since the conditions for shark fossil preservation are not present. I wouldn’t call this information groundbreaking, but there are some similarities between humans and sharks. Sharks thrive in deep and shallow waters, and some can even move up streams to hunt. Humans also thrive in various environments such as the tropic, artic, deserts, and maintain a wide variety of food sources. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Resources

Shark evolution: A 450 million year timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2020, from https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/shark-evolution-a-4…