For this project my group and I were assigned an endangered species and asked to research them (ancestors, species history, and so on) then present our information while answering these questions:
1. How have humans affected your species survival? 2. What specific resources does your species require and how do they get those resources? What resources are most limited for your species? How does this affect their survival? |
3. How is your species dependent on other species? How are other species dependent on your species?
4. Why does biodiversity matter in order for your species to survive?
5. How is your species designed to ensure successful reproduction? How is reproductive success threatened for your species?
6. What is the ancestral history of your species? How has your species changed over time?
7. Predict if your species will survive or become extinct. In other words, what direction is the species heading and why?
The steps we took to complete this project was select an endangered animal, research this animal, answer our essential questions, and create a presentation about that animal that includes a fun or different way to present the information. My group and I selected the African Penguin as our endangered animal and researched accordingly and our fun way of presenting the information was having a competition of an online Jeopardy game. A problem that arose for my group was that we could not decide on how we should conduct the game at the end of our presentation. In the end we figured out how we were going to present and practiced what would be happening at all times during the presentation. We created a planning chart which can be seen below, and we also used it as a doc where we left all of our links in (bibliography at end of power point).
4. Why does biodiversity matter in order for your species to survive?
5. How is your species designed to ensure successful reproduction? How is reproductive success threatened for your species?
6. What is the ancestral history of your species? How has your species changed over time?
7. Predict if your species will survive or become extinct. In other words, what direction is the species heading and why?
The steps we took to complete this project was select an endangered animal, research this animal, answer our essential questions, and create a presentation about that animal that includes a fun or different way to present the information. My group and I selected the African Penguin as our endangered animal and researched accordingly and our fun way of presenting the information was having a competition of an online Jeopardy game. A problem that arose for my group was that we could not decide on how we should conduct the game at the end of our presentation. In the end we figured out how we were going to present and practiced what would be happening at all times during the presentation. We created a planning chart which can be seen below, and we also used it as a doc where we left all of our links in (bibliography at end of power point).
We kept all of our information in an organized living document and we did our best to answer all of the questions that we were told to answer on our project guidelines. In it there are facts about the African Penguin, biodiversity, habitat, and other content information that will be explained further in the next section. The way we presented our project, as seen above, was through a traditional power point and a game. Our final product was the information and knowledge that we gained from the researching and the presentation we created. Below is the presentation that we used as our final product and the link to our Jeopardy game can also be found below. You will also find our living document that contains all of our researching information and facts.
To Better Understand Extinction is when a species is completely gone and has no more organisms in it that can reproduce and continue the lineage. This term can be used if the animals are extinct only in the wild but alive in captivity, and so on (vice versa) and it can be used in a number of different ways. This term relates to our project because one of the big questions we were trying to solve was: will the animal we picked go extinct? My group decided that with all of the population statistics and human impact, that the African Penguin will in fact go extinct. The difference of biological organisms/species in a single environment can be referred to as Biodiversity. This term relates to our project because one of the points that we researched was the African Penguins biodiversity. We found that they have a low biodiversity in their environment so any sudden disease or habitat loss has a much greater impact on them as apposed to species that live with rich or a vast amount of biodiversity. |
African Penguin
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Evolution is the process in which a species beneficially changes over time. This term was used in our project, because we had to research when and how the African Penguin evolved. The different ways they evolved from ancestors was based on the location they were in on Earth. For example the African Penguin survives in warm climates, this was a form of evolution because the species changed over time to better equip to their environment.
Speciation is the formation of a new species, or when a new species is formed. This relates to our project because as mentioned above we found out how and why the African Penguin adapted and evolved to their warm environment based on their location on Earth. These types of speciation can be categorized as Geographic Isolation and Allopatric Speciation where a population evolves separately from the rest of the species based off of location or other factors or by a geographic barrier. We know that there was a common ancestor for penguins, but because of some incident the populations separated. This caused them to evolve to their different environments, for example Arctic Penguins have different features than African Penguins because they live in two different habitats. This relates back to the concept of speciation because two different species were formed or created, since they developed different features to fit their environment.
Speciation is the formation of a new species, or when a new species is formed. This relates to our project because as mentioned above we found out how and why the African Penguin adapted and evolved to their warm environment based on their location on Earth. These types of speciation can be categorized as Geographic Isolation and Allopatric Speciation where a population evolves separately from the rest of the species based off of location or other factors or by a geographic barrier. We know that there was a common ancestor for penguins, but because of some incident the populations separated. This caused them to evolve to their different environments, for example Arctic Penguins have different features than African Penguins because they live in two different habitats. This relates back to the concept of speciation because two different species were formed or created, since they developed different features to fit their environment.
South West Africa is where most of the African Penguin population is located.
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Evolution is forced, or has five main factors: adaptations, shrinking population, non-random mating, mutations, and gene flow.
1. Adaptations are the process of changes in which a species becomes better suited for their environment. The African Penguin adapted to its environment by becoming more diligent at swimming. 2. Shrinking Population causes evolution because that species will have a lack of gene variation ( the amount of gene difference in a species). 3. Non-Random Mating ensures that the most desirable and healthy traits are passed down to future generations. 4. Mutations are when there is a change in the gene pool which can be either detrimental to the species or beneficial, and will affect future generations. 5. Gene Flow is the migration of gene variation from one population to another and in turn leads to changes in the gene pool of the receiving population. |
My group and I used all of these terms/concepts in our project, because these are the bases of evolution in a species. We needed to understand what forces or plays a role in species evolution, specifically the African Penguin.
Artificial Selection is when humans interfere with something and change a variable or outcome. This can be seen in numerous labs and experiments, where we change something or choose the trait/feature that is the most desirable. This term relates to our project because humans are using artificial selection now, to save the African Penguin species from going extinct. While my group and I have come to the conclusion that in the wild these penguins will go extinct, that doesn't mean that it is the end of the species as they can still be populated in zoos and so on. Conservation groups and informing the public about endangered species is a huge part of us using artificial selection to ensure that the species will survive and not become extinct.
Natural Selection is when the organisms that are best equipped for their environment will survive and pass their traits down to future generations, whereas the undesirable traits die off. For the African Penguin, my group and I found that their small size was due to natural selection. These penguins nest in small burrows under rocks, for protection from the sun and predators. If there were any African Penguins that were larger they could not live like this, and thus natural selection comes in and the small penguins survive and pass that trait down.
Survival of the Fittest is when the organisms with the most desirable trait survive because they are the most “fit” for their environment, while the undesirable trait filled organisms die/ get eliminated (similar to natural selection). This term was used in our project because like the example above we found that some traits, such as small size, are more beneficial for this particular species.
Gene Pools are the collection of genetic materials or information of a species. This relates to our project because we found that the gene pool of our species is very small due to their severe endangerment.
Artificial Selection is when humans interfere with something and change a variable or outcome. This can be seen in numerous labs and experiments, where we change something or choose the trait/feature that is the most desirable. This term relates to our project because humans are using artificial selection now, to save the African Penguin species from going extinct. While my group and I have come to the conclusion that in the wild these penguins will go extinct, that doesn't mean that it is the end of the species as they can still be populated in zoos and so on. Conservation groups and informing the public about endangered species is a huge part of us using artificial selection to ensure that the species will survive and not become extinct.
Natural Selection is when the organisms that are best equipped for their environment will survive and pass their traits down to future generations, whereas the undesirable traits die off. For the African Penguin, my group and I found that their small size was due to natural selection. These penguins nest in small burrows under rocks, for protection from the sun and predators. If there were any African Penguins that were larger they could not live like this, and thus natural selection comes in and the small penguins survive and pass that trait down.
Survival of the Fittest is when the organisms with the most desirable trait survive because they are the most “fit” for their environment, while the undesirable trait filled organisms die/ get eliminated (similar to natural selection). This term was used in our project because like the example above we found that some traits, such as small size, are more beneficial for this particular species.
Gene Pools are the collection of genetic materials or information of a species. This relates to our project because we found that the gene pool of our species is very small due to their severe endangerment.
Reflection
Two skills that I utilized in this project were organization and time management. The first skill that I did well in was organization, because I implemented and set up our living document with all of our research information and their specific categories. An example of when I used this skill was one day my group member asked me where we were he could find our sources for a bibliography because he forgot to write the links down. Luckily I had taken the lead and recorded all of our citation information on a separate document, which saved us a lot of precious time for practicing our presentation. The other skill that I did well in was time management because I kept my group up to date with all of the work we needed to complete each day so we were not rushing or wasting time. On example of when this came in handy was one morning a group member asked what we were going to do that day and I showed him the work chart I had set up which showed everything we needed to do that day, what materials to bring for our presentation and when we planned on finishing/presenting. This tool helped keep us on the right path, and the efficient use of our time let us not have to rush and we presented our best version of our final product.
Two skills that I still need to work on for the next project are communication and problem solving. One skill that I still need to improve upon is communication, because this became an issue for my group when we were not being clear in explaining information to one another. On the day of our presentation, as we set up our Jeopardy game, we had some miscommunication of how we were going to score points and how the game worked. Our instructions were very vague and this lead to a complete riot in our class with people yelling and screaming. In the future I will make sure that my communication with my team is clear and concise so this kind of incident will not happen again. The second skill that I still need to work on is problem solving, because my lack of quick thinking to overcome an obstacle hurt my group. One day we were all looking at our project work chart and we saw that we did not bring in the supplies for that day, so we could not work on that aspect of the project. Instead of not be productive that day I should have taken initiative and solved our problem. In the future I will be more quick to solve any problems that occur while we are working on a project, and not hesitate to take the lead. In my next projects this year I will make sure to work on these specific skills and not have them be a problem again.
All in all, this was a very fun and exciting project! I had a wonderful group and learned a lot about all of our biology and evolution concepts. I look forward to more fulfilling projects like this one in the future!
Two skills that I utilized in this project were organization and time management. The first skill that I did well in was organization, because I implemented and set up our living document with all of our research information and their specific categories. An example of when I used this skill was one day my group member asked me where we were he could find our sources for a bibliography because he forgot to write the links down. Luckily I had taken the lead and recorded all of our citation information on a separate document, which saved us a lot of precious time for practicing our presentation. The other skill that I did well in was time management because I kept my group up to date with all of the work we needed to complete each day so we were not rushing or wasting time. On example of when this came in handy was one morning a group member asked what we were going to do that day and I showed him the work chart I had set up which showed everything we needed to do that day, what materials to bring for our presentation and when we planned on finishing/presenting. This tool helped keep us on the right path, and the efficient use of our time let us not have to rush and we presented our best version of our final product.
Two skills that I still need to work on for the next project are communication and problem solving. One skill that I still need to improve upon is communication, because this became an issue for my group when we were not being clear in explaining information to one another. On the day of our presentation, as we set up our Jeopardy game, we had some miscommunication of how we were going to score points and how the game worked. Our instructions were very vague and this lead to a complete riot in our class with people yelling and screaming. In the future I will make sure that my communication with my team is clear and concise so this kind of incident will not happen again. The second skill that I still need to work on is problem solving, because my lack of quick thinking to overcome an obstacle hurt my group. One day we were all looking at our project work chart and we saw that we did not bring in the supplies for that day, so we could not work on that aspect of the project. Instead of not be productive that day I should have taken initiative and solved our problem. In the future I will be more quick to solve any problems that occur while we are working on a project, and not hesitate to take the lead. In my next projects this year I will make sure to work on these specific skills and not have them be a problem again.
All in all, this was a very fun and exciting project! I had a wonderful group and learned a lot about all of our biology and evolution concepts. I look forward to more fulfilling projects like this one in the future!