Geologic Timeline

      Three very important events in earth's history were the first prokaryotes, the Cambrian explosion, and the Permian-Triassic Extinction. Prokaryotes were the first life forms on earth, so I believe that the creation of the first prokaryotes was extremely significant, as they paved the way for life on earth. If they have never been created, life on earth may not exist now or be as diverse as it is. The Cambrian explosion was radiation of a lot of species, and when a lot of complex fossils began to appear. This event was very a very important evolutionary event, and may have paved they way for many species we have now. Although the Permian-Triassic extinction was the largest mass extinction in history, it paved the way for a lot of new species. These species include dinosaurs, which are a very unique and valued part of earth's history.

      Earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago, but it was just fire and no life. The simplest life appeared about 4 billion years ago and complex life forms only began to become more common about 542 million years ago. I was surprised by how large the amount of time was that we had no life or only prokaryotic cells. More complex life and life that we are more familiar with only showed up towards the end of the scale. 

      Even though humans have not been around for a long time, I believe that we have had a huge impact. We have changed the environment fundamentally by deforestation, pollution, etc. We have also affected not only the earth itself, but everything that lives on it as well. However I believe that when the human race is no longer dominant, our impacts may not have effects effects on the life then. I wonder what the future looks like for the earth. Was life before the humans really what we have estimated it to be like, or was it completely different?

Unit 8 Reflection

      This unit was all about constant change. We learned that population are always evolving and there are many different factors that can cause this. Darwin was a very important scientist, who made significant conclusions about natural selection. He also discovered that natural selection is the cause of evolution. The hunger games lab was a very hands on lab that was able to help illustrate the concept of natural selection. We learned about the different pieces of evidence for evolution, like fossils and homologous structures, and how there are other factors and selection that can lead to evolution, such as genetic drift and directional selection. Lastly, we looked at the big picture by learning about earth's timeline and how earth formed, which gave us a scale on which all the previous topics have happened. 

https://mbmg.mtech.edu/gmr/gmr-everybody.asp

       In the future, I would like to learn more about the evolution of different specific species. I especially want to learn more about the evolution of the human species, and the evolution of human populations in the area where I live, or in different countries. I wonder what species and populations have been evolving in the area where I live, as there is a lot of different animals that live near me. 

      In order to be assertive, I have been trying to reinforce in my head what it is that I really want or want to ask for. I need to work on my confidence when asking or saying something, as I am sometimes scared that I might offend someone or my words may be taken the wrong way.

Hunger Games Final Analysis

1. In this lab, we divided the class into three different variants of a species and competed for food and survival. This lab simulated how natural selection can cause evolution in a population.

2. The "Pincher" phenotype was the best at capturing food because it was quickest to pick up the corks with two fingers compared to between your wrists and knuckles. That is the the most natural way for us to pick up objects, which is why it was more effective than the other two phenotypes.

3. In this lab we asked the question: Do populations evolve? I found that the population did evolve, as both the allele frequency and amount of each phenotype has changed. All the phenotypes started with 10 individuals, but by the end there was only 1 stumpy, 14 knucklers, and 6 pinchers. The frequency of the "A" allele has decreased while the "a" allele has increased. This is because the pinchers (aa) have been able to reproduce significantly more than the stumpies (AA), resulting in the "a" becoming more common.

4. The flipping of the coins to simulate sex was random, and the distribution of the food was random, except for when it was in one big pile. Our mates were not random, as we got to choose who to mate with. The non random mating could affect the population, as if you mate with someone with the same genotype as you, your offspring may be more likely to look like the parents. When the food was all in one pile, there was more competition, whereas when it was randomly distributed, everyone was in their own space.

5. If the food had been larger, the population would look more like the stumpies, as it is easier to pick up big pieces of food between the wrists, but the knucklers would not have thrived because it is very difficult to pick up large objects between the knuckles. If the food had been smaller, the population would look more like the pinchers, as it is easy to pick up small objects with your fingers, however there would be few stumpies.

6. If there were no imcomplete dominance there would be no knucklers as they are the result of the heterozygous genotype. Although the genotype for a pincher is homozygous recessive, I believe that pinchers would become more common as they are significantly more efficient at picking up food than the stumpies.

7. Natural selection is a cause of evolution. Over time natural selection can lead to a change in allele frequency in a population, which is considered evolution.

8. Some individuals were more aggressive than other individuals. In real life, this resembles competition and the fight to survive. I even saw some individuals use their phenotype improperly. For example, I saw some stumpies using their hands to scoop up food as well. This can lead to an inaccurate measurement of allele frequency.

9. In evolution, populations evolve due to natural selection. Natural selection acts on phenotypes rather than gentoypes, because factors in the environment only are exposed to the physical traits of the individuals rather than their genes.

10. I wonder how natural selection has affected populations in the area where I live. Has there been a lot of evolution recently?