Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________

Student Exploration: Rainfall and Bird Beaks

Vocabulary: adaptation, beak depth, directional selection, drought, evolution, natural selection,
range, stabilizing selection

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

During the voyage of the HMS Beagle (1831–1836), the young Charles Darwin collected several
species of finches from the Galápagos Islands. Two of Darwin’s finches are shown below.

1. Which species do you think is best adapted to a diet of small, delicate

seeds? Explain why you think so.

Geospiza Fortis is the best species to diet small, delicate seeds

because Its beak is small and easy to pick up without breaking.

2. Which species do you think is best adapted to a diet of large, tough-

to-crack seeds? Explain.
Geospiza Magnirostris is the best because its beak is bigger and able
to crack the hard bigger shell.

Gizmo Warm-up
Darwin’s finches are one of many types of animals on the
Galápagos Islands that have unique adaptations, or traits that
help an organism survive in its environment. The Rainfall and
Bird Beaks Gizmo™ allows you to explore how rainfall influences
the range of beak shapes found in a single finch species.

1. The beak depth of a finch is the distance from the top of the beak to the bottom, as shown.

A. What is the current average beak depth in the Gizmo? 9.87

B. Select the HISTOGRAM tab. Do all the finches have the same beak depth? NO

2. Click Play ( ) and let the simulation play for five years with average rainfall (5
inches/yr). Select the GRAPH tab and view the Finches vs time and Beak depth vs time
graph

A. How does the finch population change? The finches decrease every year and so
do their beaks depth.
B. Does the beak depth change significantly? Yes, the depth decreases then
increases.
 Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Normal years  Click Reset ( ).

Introduction: The Galápagos Islands are very dry, with an average rainfall on some islands of
only five inches per year. The amount of rainfall has a large impact on the abundance and types
of seeds that are available to be eaten by finches. In the process of natural selection, only the
finches that are best adapted to the available seed types survive and have offspring.

Question: How is the finch population affected by a period of average rainfall?

1. Observe: With the Rain sliders set to 5 inches, click Play, and then Pause ( ) after one
year has passed. Select the TABLE tab and look at the Month and Finches columns.

A. How did the finch population change over the course of one year? The finches
changed by month not really by the course of the year.
The finches have their young during the rainy season. Based on the table, which part of the year
do you think is the rainy season? During month 9 in the fall has the most young during rainy
season.

2. Analyze: Click Reset, and choose the HISTOGRAM tab. The bars represent the numbers of
finches that have different beak depths. The range of beak depths is equal to the difference
between the largest and smallest beaks.

A. What is the average beak depth of the current finch population? 260 mm
B. What is the range in beak depths in the population? 250 mm
C. Do most of the finches have beak depths near the lower extreme, the middle, or the

higher extreme of the range? Most finches have beak depths near the higher

extreme.

3. Experiment: Click Play, and observe the histogram as the simulation plays for five years.

A. What is the average beak depth now? ____________________________________

B. What is the current range of beak depths? _________________________________

C. Based on what you have seen, are finches with very small, medium, or very large
beaks most likely to survive in times of normal rainfall? Justify your answer.

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 Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:
Drought  Click Reset.

Introduction: In years of extreme drought, Galápagos plants don’t produce new seeds. The
small, delicate seeds get eaten up quickly, leaving behind only the largest, toughest seeds.

Question: How does drought affect the finch population and average beak depth?

1. Form hypothesis: What type of beak do you think will be best for finding food in a drought?

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Predict: Select the HISTOGRAM tab. On the left side below, sketch the current histogram
and list the average beak depth and range of beak depths. On the right side, sketch what
you think the histogram will look like after five years of drought. Explain your prediction.

Initial beak depths Beak depths after 5 years (predicted)

Initial number of finches: ___________ Explanation: ________________________

Initial average depth: _________ ___________________________________

Initial range of beak depths: _________ ___________________________________

3. Experiment: Use the sliders to set the Rain to one inch for each of the five years in the
simulation. Click Play, and wait for five years. Observe the beak of the finch.

A. How does the beak depth change over time? _______________________________

B. What is the final average beak depth? ____________________________________

C. What is the final range of beak depths? ___________________________________

(Activity B continued on next page)

Activity B (continued from previous page)

4. Describe: Compare the final histogram to the initial histogram. How have the finches been
affected by drought? Describe at least two changes that you notice.

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5. Analyze: Was the increase in the average beak depth caused by an increase in large-
beaked finches or a decline in small-beaked finches? Explain your answer.

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6. Draw conclusions: What do you think caused the changes in the finch population and
average beak size during the drought?

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7. Interpret: Directional selection occurs when individuals at one end of a range are more
likely to survive than intermediate individuals or individuals at the opposite end of the range.
Stabilizing selection occurs when intermediate individuals are the most likely to survive.

Is directional selection, stabilizing selection, or both operating in this example? Explain.

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8. Think and discuss: Evolution is the process by which populations of organisms can change
over time. How is directional selection related to evolution?

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 Activity C: Get the Gizmo ready:
Rainy days  Click Reset.

Introduction: In years of abundant rainfall, there can be up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain. In
these years, plants produce an enormous number and variety of seeds.

Question: How does plentiful rainfall affect the finch population and average beak depth?

1. Form hypothesis: What beak shape do you think will be best for finding food in a period of

abundant rainfall? __________________________________________________________

2. Predict: Select the HISTOGRAM tab. On the left side, sketch the current histogram and list
the average beak depth and range of beak depths. On the right side, sketch what you think
the histogram will look like after five years of abundant rain. Explain your prediction.

Initial beak depths Beak depths after 5 years (predicted)

Initial number of finches: ___________ Explanation: ________________________

Initial average depth: _________ ___________________________________

Initial range of beak depths: _________ ___________________________________

3. Experiment: Click Reset. Use the sliders to set the Rain to 10 inches for each of the five
years in the simulation. Click Play, and wait for five years. Observe the beak of the finch.

A. How does the beak depth change over time? _______________________________

B. What is the final average beak depth? ____________________________________

C. What is the final range of beak depths? ___________________________________

(Activity C continued on next page)

Activity C (continued from previous page)

4. Describe: Compare the final histogram to the initial histogram. How have the finches been
affected by abundant rain? Describe at least two changes that you notice.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

5. Analyze: Was the decrease in the average beak depth caused by an increase in small-
beaked finches or a decline in large-beaked finches? Explain your answer.

_________________________________________________________________________

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6. Draw conclusions: What do you think caused the changes in finch population and average
beak size during the period of abundant rain?

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7. Extend your thinking: Most scientists think that a small group of finches colonized the
Galápagos Islands thousands of years ago. They would have been the only seed-eating
birds on the islands. Suppose one island was very dry and another had plentiful rainfall.

A. How would the finch populations on these islands change over time? ____________

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B. What might happen to the finch populations after millions of years? ______________

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