Extinction Project
By Gabriella Vasquez, Tanner Spence, and Kaleb Ryan
Content
Evolution- The process of which a species develops and changes characteristics over a period of time to adapt to their environment. In this project, evolution was shown in the ferret developing stronger claws, teeth, and skulls after they moved from Europe to America aboard ships to be better adapted to the new environment. Extinction- The eradication of a species from the planet; no living members of the species. In this project, the threat of extinction was shown when the number of black footed ferrets left was eighteen. Artificial Selection- The intentional (human influenced) reproduction of two organisms in a species that have desirable traits. In this project, artificial selection is shown when the last ferrets where put in captivity and bred together to create advantageous offspring that will be released back in the wild. Natural Selection- The process by which an organism that is better adapted to their environment tends to survive and have offspring while the organisms that aren't better adapted die off. In this project, natural selection is shown were the organisms that were better adapted to the Americans plains survived. Biodiversity- The variety of living organisms in an ecosystem. In this project, biodiversity is shown in the environment that the ferrets live in with predators and prey. Speciation: In this project, speciation is shown through geographical speciation when Mustela Stromeri (black footed ferrets ancestor) came to America and evolved to the species we have today. Geographical isolation- The separation of a species due to geographical changes. Temporal isolation- The separation of a species with an internal mechanism that makes it so interbreeding cannot occur. Behavioral isolation- The separation of a species through different mating routines. Allopatric speciation- The separation of a species by a physical boundary. Sympatric speciation- The separation of a species by anything other than a physical barrier. Founders effect- The loss of genetic information Genetic drift- The variation of genotypes in a population. Survival of the Fittest- A phrase used to describe natural selection. In this project, survival of the fittest if shown when the main source of food was greatly decreased and stronger organisms could go out and hunt other animals. Gene Pool- The genetic information in a population. In this project, a gene pool is shown in the new population that moved to the Americas. Mutation- The change in a structure of the gene which then affects a trait in an organism. In this project, mutation is shown through the process of gaining stronger teeth and claws. Gene Flow- The transfer of genetic coding from one population to another. In this project, gene flow is shown when the last 18 ferrets were "collected" and made one population. Small Population- The reduction is a population, which then reduces the gene pool. In this project, small population is shown affecting the species when the ferrets almost go extinct. Non-random Mating- The mating of a species that is based around choosing a more advantageous partner. In this project, non-random mating is shown through ferrets picking a partner and being monogamous. Adaptation- The process of which a species becomes better adapted to their environment. In this project, adaptation is shown through the ferrets adapting to the American plains. |
The requirements of this project was to answer a series of questions on an endangered animal and present it in a creative way. Our species was the Black Footed Ferret that is found in the Mid-West and we chose to present it in a comical video along with a slide show to recap the points covered in the video. To the left is all the information to our project, and each slide is dedicated to one of the questions.
Before this project, we had to learn many different terms (located in content section) and we went over what evolution is, what factors contribute to evolution, different types of speciation, genetic coding, and similarities in DNA. All of these helped us understand and present information on how a specific species evolved and what endangered it. Here is a link to some of the research we did for this project. Reflection
For the first STEM project of sophomore year, I'd say it went pretty smoothly. I really enjoyed being given creative freedom with this presentation because it gave our group a way to present the information in a silly way. One thing that stood out to me that I believe I did well in this project was leadership. Typically, I stand back during projects and let other people take the lead, but with this extinction project, I found myself being a project manager. Another thing I believed I did well was time management. Before we started the project, we had to make a gantt chart which then we used and stuck with the entire project and finished each step on time. But even with good time management, one thing I need to work on is staying on task. Because my group chose to do a simple video, we had a lot of time during shooting that we got off task quite a bit. One other thing I need to work on is splitting up the work evenly. I found myself doing more of the work than others, and in future projects I will work on dividing the work. Overall, even with the final project being more silly than professional, I believe my team did a good job for the task at hand. The below buttons are links to my teammates pages.
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