Preview - From Ecosystems To Speciation

Looking at Flowering Time

Set the initial values to:

Setting

Value 

CHANCE-FLOWER-TIME-MUTATION 

10%

CHANCE-TOLERANCE-MUTATION

0%

INITIAL-TOLERANCE 

all no tolerance

VISUALIZE-TIME-STEPS

“days” or “years” 

(you may switch back and forth as the model is running)

​

  • Press SETUP. and Press GO/STOP to run the model. 

  • You can switch the VISUALIZE-TIME-STEPS to “years” or “days”. Years runs faster, but days lets you see the actual difference (if any) in flowering times between plants. 

  • Run, the model for at least a hundred years.

  • Analyze the FLOWER-TIMES graph.

  • Record your data in your Observation section.

Referenced Questions

These questions were answered in the previous steps. They are provided here for your reference.

The video discussed a scenario where neither flowering time or metal tolerance are allowed to change.  What do you think would happen if flowering time was allowed to change, but metal tolerance was not?  Briefly explain your prediction.

Questions

Please answer the questions below.

Observations

Were your predictions correct? Explain.

What is the range of flower times?

Let's look at why the flowering times show this pattern.  Which type of individual would have the best chances of being pollinated by other flowers?

A plant with a flowering time much earlier than most of the population
A plant with a flowering time much later than most of the population
A plant with a flowering time similar to most of the population

How does the shape of the FLOWER-TIME graph from this model run support this claim: "Any individual that flowers earlier than the average flower time or later than the average flower time, will have a lower chance of having offspring?"

Do you think flowering time is under stabilizing selection or directional selection?  Explain your choice.

All of the plants are flowering in a very narrow range of flowering times, opening during a similar time of year.  Do you think all of the plants are still part of the same species?  Why or why not?

Notes

These notes will appear on every page in this lesson so feel free to put anything here you'd like to keep track of.