Let’s do a little experiment

What is Natural Selection?

• It is a simple concept, with many complexities surrounding it.

• Favorable heritable traits become more common, and unfavorable heritable traits become less common.

• Those that have favorable traits survive and reproduce

• Our environment and our genes make us who we are---environmental pressures force our species to adapt

• If we adapt, our genes are passed on

Which one would you choose?

Here are some examples of highly adapted creatures

Antibiotics—the perfect example of natural selection

Bacteria reproduce quickly—more mutations—more change—more

likely to adapt

Guided Practice

• I want you all to each write down an advantageous trait of an organism, and tell me why the species had to adapt to obtain that trait

• Can anyone think of a disadvantageous trait in an organism that is still around?

These Changes occur very very

SLOWLY

Our earth has been around for 4.6 billion years and has had abundant life for over

500 million years, so a great deal can and has happened.

• http://www.reneliomarin.com/images/img_large/canvas/FirstStepEvolu.jpg• http://dezignus.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/psevolution.jpg• http://www.listadodeanimales.com/animales/images/hojainsecto.jpg• http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/1122/1122Dogs.jpeg• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://tugagames.com/victor/wp-content/uploads/

2007/10/crescent-moth.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.drollthings.com/%3Fp%3D682&h=332&w=450&sz=49&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=ygRYo626M60NsM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcamouflage%2Bmoth%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG

• http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/images/poplar_hawkmoth_caterpillar.jpg• http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/essential/life/images/show5.maize_teosinte.jpg• http://homepage.mac.com/wildlifeweb/mammal/african_wild_dog/african-wild-dog_02tk.jpg• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/

primary/dingo.jpg• http://www.bioteams.com/images/what_teams_can.jpg• http://www.africanfauna.com/images/jackal.jpg• http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/orchid-thumb.jpg• http://farm1.static.flickr.com/55/117768119_b1b76f67d3.jpg• http://lifeboat.com/images/bacteria.jpg