I just found this nice interactive activity that I think you will find useful and fun. You can find it here:
Play with it, and then report back here as to what you have learned.
Have fun!
This is due by Friday, April 9th.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Peppermoth Thingee - Period 1
We are just beginning our study of evolution (in case you forgot over the break).
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21 comments:
I liked the Peppermoth Activity, I think it was interactive and explained a lot using a very simple, easy to understand vocabulary. I liked the bird's view activity, I think it was very fun.
I remember reading about the Peppermoth previously, and the activity brushed up my memory and I also learned a few more things. I think it's absolutely fascinating how creatures adapt to better fit into their environment, it's really great, and it very quick too.
I think it's really cool, how the nearby country side has moths that retain the original peppered color, and how in the industrial area the moths are mainly black, it shows how small changes changes in the environment can really affect a community of organisms.
The activity shows how natural selection works. I have learned more about the research that scientists did, and the what they theorized to be the reason that the moths were "changing" color, and how they finally figured out the the "changing color" was genetically linked.
I really enjoyed the activity. It showed natural selection in the best ways possible. I really liked the bird activity but there was one problem. When I went into the dark forest I ate more dark moths than light moths so I wasn’t sure what happened. I think it was the fact that there were more dark moths than light ones on the screen.
I remember the moths being mentioned last year. I think it was the fact that it is easy to show. Also the idea is easy to see. The moths were changing and people didn’t know why. Then when an experiment is used and people start to understand.
This activity was short and fun so I think that people won’t get as bored. If you have to read an article with big words it is annoying and you get bored. I think the fact that it was easy to read and you had some knowledge it was easy and fun.
I really liked this activity. Most science activities use lots of big vocabulary that's hard to understand, but this used easy vocabulary which was easier to understand, and it had lots of pictures which were cool to see.
I never actually heard of the Peppered Moth until reading this, so it was really interesting to learn about a new creature.
This really helped me understand how natural selection works in a way that was easy and fun. I think kids will learn a lot more from this because it's on an easier learning level and not boring.
I thought the Pepper moth activity was very interesting. I got the chance to learn about how pollution affects moths and animals, along with how important the environment that the moth or animal is located, in really matters. I never really thought about the impact that the environment has on moths or animals, and to learn about the Pepper moth, I was able to think about all of it more, and to a greater extent.
I find it very interesting how the larvae of the moth look like a branch. I also think it’s interesting how the moth camouflages to match the bark that they stay on. It’s amazing how an animal or insect can change color to fit its surroundings in order to survive.
I think this activity showed natural selection very well, and explained it in a very simple and easy way. I feel I understand natural selection more, and I now have an actual example of it to relate back to.
I really liked this activity. I though it showed how natural selection and evolution work, in a fun and interactive way. I especially like reading about how the pollution affected the peppered moths. I thought it was really interesting how quickly the species adapted, and changed to the new difference in its environment. It also made me wonder when the mutation occurred. Did the first moth have the mutation all of it’s life, and the color only changed when passed to its offspring? Or did the mutation occur when it was a larva and have dark wings when it became a moth?
These moths are a perfect example of natural selection, because the darker moths were caused by a mutation, which worked in the moth’s favor, so their species adapted and kept the trait. I especially liked the Bird’s Eye activity. You got to see how the changes in the species affected the moth’s prey.
It makes me wonder if the population of bird’s changed at all during the moth’s changing of color. It also makes me wonder how much of man’s activity has changed species entirely, by polluting the air, we changed the color of the moths. I think this activity is great for learning about natural selection, because it's such a dramatic example of it, and shows the direct impact from the change in the organism's environment.
I’ve never heard of a Pepper Moth before reading this article and learned a lot of interesting facts.
One fact that I learned was that Pepper Moths have a camouflage pattern to them to survive from predators. I find it interesting that they don’t look like the tree on that they live in, but the mold that grows on it (lichens) making them looking on lichen on a tree. I’m wondering if they evolved this way.
Another fact was that some Pepper Moths have black patches on them or are all black. This isn’t just because they are a different type of Pepper Moth though it’s because of the impact of the pollution we have today. Black Pepper Moth’s were only rare until the past 150 years and now there are more and more of them. By 1900 98% of the Pepper Moths were black because it was during the Industrial Revolution time when factories were being built and run by fuel or coal (covering a dark smoke over the countryside). Trees that were covered in lichen were just black now. Some think that the Pepper Moth turned black because of the polluted air and other think it’s because they’re adapting to their environment like other insects can change colors when they want to camouflage with something.
Dr. Kettlewell was a scientist in the 1950’s and did experiments with the moths trying to figure out why they were black. Dr. Kettlewell had many predictions about why the Pepper Moth was black. He did some experiments and found out that in dark forests black Pepper Moths survived more than light colored Pepper Moths (bird saw the lighter ones so they ate it). His answer was natural selection was the best explanation of the black Pepper Moths.
I thought the activity was a good example of how evolving can help a species survive in certain environments. I think that this was very interesting, I'd never heard of pepper moths before and the whole thing is pretty incredible. I learned that a single mutation could help the population of pepper moths in polluted forests survive, and completely change how the moths looked.
I thought it was interesting that for the whole life of the moths, they are camouflaged. Even as caterpillars they blend in by looking like a small branch, and they can change their color according to what sort of plant they are on. Then when they grow into moths they still blend in by living on trees that look similar to their colors.
This activity showed me exactly what natural selection was, the pepper moths are a really good example of that. First all pepper moths were a light color with darker spots, but when more and more trees got darker because of pollution, darker moths would survive for a longer amount of time and then would have more time to breed. I thought it was very interesting that a this environmental change could change the species like that.
I learned a lot about evolution and adaptation during the Peppermoth Activity. I learned that humans can affect the evolution of different species in ways you wouldn't even think. The pollution during the Industrial Revolution caused there to be a mutation in the DNA of the Peppered moth, and one moth passed the coloring gene to their offspring. The color was genetic, a light colored moth would produce more light colored moths, and the same for the dark moth. Natural selection then started to play into the situation, because the dark moths were starting to appear more and more all over the polluted forests. This was because the dark colored moths would blend into the dark colored trees so as not to be seen by birds. Light colored moths stood less of a chance in the polluted forests than in the clean forests, where the trees were light. This all shows that when a species experiences a change to their environment, they will adapt to it to ensure their survival. It all goes back to the essential question "How do living things pass on 'how to live' to their offspring?" This is one way how. This also got me thinking about how animals become extinct. I know that one way for them to become extinct is that a predator of theirs kills them out if that predator experiences overpopulation. But it made me start thinking about how evolution can affect the extinction of a species. If a species fails to adapt, then they can't pass on the necessary trait to their offspring. This will slowly cause their species to die out. One last question I had was, if a species fails to adapt, why is that so? What causes it? Is there a certain reason? I was thinking that they might not have the necessary parts to carry out the adaptation, but it's something I'd like to know more about.
When I read the whole thing on peppered moths I Got a basis for the information in the website, but when I played the game I truly understood the effect of evolution and the need for evolution. Evolution does not always happen by a species' DNA having to change to this or that, but it is forced upon a species, too. Ex:
In a forest there is a species of animal called sparks that are either brown or yellow. The ratio is rather even between the two types. However, these critters are rich in blubber and have a type of fine hide. Sadly, humans came to the forest and began poaching the animals for their hide. These animals are very intelligent, though. In the forest are many piles of dirt and dead leaves. This makes for a brown colored pile. The brown animals know that if they hide there, they have less of a chance of being taken by the humans. Over time, a majority of sparks become brown because Yellows are disappearing. Since there are not as many Yellows to mate, it is rare when a yellow finds another yellow, and then the yellows and browns mate. Also, the Browns never find a yellow, so they mate with other browns. Over time Yellows disappear from the forest and are only alive in captivity. Soon the trait may even disappear from Sparks' DNA.
Almost the same exact thing is happening with the Peppered moths but there are clean and dirty forests, so the peppered moths will be black or white depending on the forest. This really taught me about evolution in a way that I could not fully understand before.
The simulation was very cool. It was put together well, and I learned a lot from it. The best part was the game, I did good. In the light forrest, I caught a lot more black moths, but in the dark forrest, I caught both in a pretty much equal number, in fact I caught more darks and the game got mad at me. The history of the Pepperd Moth is cool. Before the guilded age, they were exclusivley light, but as there was more smog and pollution, they mutated in color to blend in with the enviroment. That is a great adaptation. What puzzles me is that all the scientist were stumpped. I know that they don't have the same technology as we do today, but it wasnt that hard to see that the pollution was changing the moths enviroment. I'm just confused about why it was so hard to understand. Otherwise, it was a great simulation.
I found this activity very enjoying. I liked that the vocabulary in the animation was simple and easy which is uncommon for a science presentation. I found that the pictures also helped clarify the whole project. I had never heard of pepermoths and was surprised that it changed its appearance to fit its environment and then switched back when we stopped polluting. The way that they explained natural selection was in a informative way but still kept it fun. I also have a question is a nuthatcher a real predator.
I thought the site was really easy to go through. I looked through all of the activities, and I had fun learning about the peppered moth. I learned how the moth evolved to adapt to the new settings, when there was smoke in the air, it turned dark so it would camouflage into the trees where it lays its larvae. It’s really interesting that a mutation in one moth could change the appearance of an entire species overtime. Its also really cool how no matter what cycle they are in, they camouflage, when they’re eggs, caterpillars, cocoons, and as moths. Another thing I learned from the site was that when the moths evolved, they started to mutate more where there was more smoke and coal dust, and where the forests were green and less polluted with the smog, the moths were still (mostly) white, because so were the trees, so they blended. Overall, i really liked the site, because it gave me information on this moth, which showed me more on evolution.
I thought this website was very well organized and set up in a creative way as a power point, which made it easy and fun to navigate. This blog assignment taught me a lot.
I’d never heard of peppered moths and have learned that they are very interesting creatures. The pepperd moth was a great example of how a better adapted animal lives longer and increases in population. It has a better chance of reproducing, making more and better adapted offspring, and thereby increasing in population. The history of the pepperd moth is also a perfect example of how mutations can have a very positive impact rather than only a bad one, because the black peppered moth (which is better adapted) was caused by a mutation.
Something I really think is cool, is that the larvae of the moth changes colors and camouflages into to whatever stick it is feeding on.
I really liked the way the slides were set up. What i mean by that was that it wasn't to hard to read the slides.
For example, there were not too many italisized words per page so there wasn't too much thrown at you at once. The activity
showed a good example of how a benefitial mutations can be and how they spread and even maybe becomes dominant. In these moths the mutation of color
from all white to some dark occured. Therefore that animal bred and its offspring may have had that trait. If it is more desirable than
more of those moths bread. etc. I then learned that the dark moths were well adapted to their environment and so were the white.
I then realized that the way these animals react is the way the earth is reacting and the things around them. This taught
me that animals and there environments are connected and always changing. This species change really gave me a good answering
of one of my questions. My question was "how much time does it really take for a species to change to better suit their
environment?" Over about 100 years the splitting of the two kinds really became promenant. This article was extremely
easy to learn from because something that can be confusing like evolution, could now be put in words to explain to a 3rd
grader. I feel like if we can right and present like this people younger than us can understand hard concepts through
examples that are easy to understand. This was also a cool example because there are the two different environments
so no one type went fully extinct. From a scientists point of view this Dr. was really good at connecting the dots and
seeing what went down.
I found the peppermoth activity to be interesting. The presentation was very well put together and the game/animation ant the end was fun. I found it interesting how one mutated black peppermoth started a whole population of black peppermoths. The game at the end was fun but on the dark environment it was still easy to see the black peppermoths and it ended up being 50 50 at the end. Playing the game I found that the white peppermoths were better suited to their environments then the black peppermoths.
I thought the peppermoth activity helped me understand the answers to any questions I still had on evolution. Throughout the study of evolution I've wanted to see real examples of natural selection and this was exactly what I was looking for. I thought it was cool looking at all the traits the peppermoths have that help them survive like how the larvae look like sticks and how they avoid winter by making cocoons.
I have heard about the peppered moths being changed by pollution when I was younger but didn't understand why it happened. Now I see how the pollution caused a change in the pepperedmoths.
I thought the activity at the end was very interesting because it showed how the white moths were easier to find but I had trouble finding the black ones. It helped show me how natural selection helps a species survive.
This was a very useful and educational activity. I have heard of the peppered moth before using this program and I always thought that the reason why peppered moths evolved was because of the pollution coloring the moths. Now I know that the moths were always the color that they are, before pollution. And the black moths were always dark before and the pollution was only used as a way to hide from predators. This reminds me of the study of corn that we are doing in class as well. Corn has helped humans evolve and humans helped corn evolve. The dark moths were, in a way, helped to evolve and survive better because of the pollution caused by humans. If we had not polluted the forests, the moths that were already a dark color wouldn’t have had a place to camouflage. Because of the pollution, the trees were darkened, and the dark moths now had a place to hide from predators. This may have been good for the dark moths, but the peppered moths can’t blend in anymore themselves. So, while humans were helping one species of moth, the other species-peppered- was more vulnerable for the birds.
i've learned about peppered moths and their life cycle.
Flycatchers, Nuthatches and the European Robin are all predators of the peppered moth.
Peppered moths are nocturnal they rest during the day and fly at night. Peppered moths have extra camouflage to hide them. they live in trees that are covered in small fungi. the pattern on the moth looks like this fungi.
The peppered moth's eggs are hatched during mid summer. they feed on the leaves of three different tree's. the larva can change their color to match the leaves they feed on.
In cold weather Peppered moths change in to a cocoon to avoid death. in april and may they become adult moths. the adults lay eggs and die by the end of the summer. Most Peppered moths are a light color but some are darker.
I also learned about natural selection and pollution with peppered moths.
I thought this activity was very nice. I could really see how this activity related to what we are learning about in class. It showed how one species changed (how the dark moths became more popular than light moths because since the industrial revolution made everything darker, it was easier for dark moths to hide in dark forests and be safe from predators by camouflaging and blending in with the tree than it was for lights moths who would stick out in dark forests and be easily seen by predators and eaten)to increase the chances of survival of their species. The information was easy to read and was very interesting, but I think the game at the end helped me understand what was going on a lot too. It helped me looked through the eye of their predator and helped me really see what was going on.
I this was a good tool to teach us natural selection's role in the concept of evolution. It helped me to really understand how these changes occurred in organisms making so many different species or bio-diverse traits among one species. I learned a little more in depth about how these things come to be and our impact on the environment. The peppered moth is just one example of how organisms adapt to the changes around them but it was specific and helped me to know exactly how these things work in simple words. I think the activity was fun and put that little bit of interaction in there giving it a little bit of a hands on sense. Overall I liked it and I learned a lot.
Peppermoth Interactive Activity
From doing this activity I learned that a change in the environment can have a large effect on a species. I was really shocked that the industrial revolution could have such a drastic effect on the peppermoth. During the industrial revolution in England, clean forests became polluted. The trees in the forests were usually covered with a fungus called lichen. The industrial revolution polluted the trees, and made them a darker color. RS Edelston noticed a black version of the Peppermoth. Natural Selection made the peppermoth evolve into darker moths. Lighter colored moths would have lighter colored larvae. The darker colored moths would have darker colored larvae; therefore the moths would be darker color. Some scientists thought that the moths were dark because of the chemicals in the pollution. Henry Bernard Davis Kettlewell proved that the trait was passed genetically. He noticed that in heavily polluted places there were more dark moths. In places (like the country side) it was very rare to have a dark colored peppermoth. Kettlewell did an experiment where he put light and dark moths on tree trunks. When light colored moths were on the dark trees, they were twice more likely to be eaten by birds than the dark colored moths. When the dark colored moths were on the light trees, they were also twice more likely to be eaten by birds than the lighter colored moths. Kettlewell proved the dark moths were better suited for polluted forests. He proved that the dark colored moths could not survive as well as the light colored moths in clean forests. Kettlewell collected dark and light moths, and released them. When he recaptured them two days later, he found that there were twice as many lighter colored moths than darker colored moths when they were in the clean forests. When the darker colored moths were in the polluted forests there were twice as many of them than of the lighter colored moths.
The peppermoths evolved when there was a change in their environment. If they couldn’t evolve than the species could have gone extinct. The lighter colored moths would have kept reproducing, but their offspring would not be able to survive in the polluted forests. Their offspring would not have the trait to live, and would not be able to survive.
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