UP:SC15.BIO.15

Students know:

As species grow in number, competition for limited resources can arise.
Individuals in a species have genetic variation (through mutations and sexual reproduction) that is passed on to their offspring.
Genetic variation can lead to variation of expressed traits in individuals in a population.
Individuals can have specific traits that give them a competitive advantage relative to other individuals in the species.
Individuals that survive and reproduce at a higher rate will provide their specific genetic variations to a greater proportion of individuals in the next generation.
Over many generations, groups of individuals with particular traits that enable them to survive and reproduce in distinct environments using distinct resources can evolve into a different species.
Natural selection is a process while biological evolution can result from that process.

Students are able to:

Identify examples of adaptations among various organisms that increase fitness—camouflage, mimicry, drought tolerance, defensive coloration, beak adaptations.
Use reasoning to connect the evidence to construct an argument.
Interpret data.
Defend a position.
Use evidence to correlate claims about cause and effect.

Students understand that:

Natural selection occurs only if there is both variation in the genetic information between organisms in a population and variation in the expression of that genetic information (trait variation) that leads to differences in performance among individuals.
Evolution is the consequence of the interaction of four factors:
1. The potential for a species to increase in number.
2. The genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction.
3. Competition for an environment's limited supply of the resources that individuals need in order to survive and reproduce.
4. The ensuing proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.

Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Cause and Effect