Hunger Games Lab

1. In the Hunger Games lab, we portrayed a population trying to survive, and we stimulated competition and natural selection. There were 3 genotypes with its corresponding phenotype that were shown in this lab: “AA” for Stumpys where they could only pick up food with their wrists, “Aa” for Knucklers where they could only pick up food between the second knuckles of their index and middle fingers, and “aa” for Pinchers where they could only pick up food between their thumb and fingers. Each of the individuals in the populations was either a Stumpy or a Knuckler or a Pincher, and their goal was to survive and reproduce, stimulating a real world population.
2. The Pinchers were the best at capturing food because of luck and because they had the most favorable phenotype as they were able to carry more food between their thumb and fingers compared to Stumpys who could only pick up food with their wrists and the Knucklers who could only pick up food between their index and middle fingers.
3. The population evolved as evidenced by the change in allele frequency in favor of the “a” allele. The population started off at an allele frequency of 0.5 for both the “A” allele and the “a” allele. However as shown by the data, for every generation that followed, the allele frequency for the “A” allele started decreasing and the frequency for the “a” allele was increasing to the point where the population started looking more like winners, or the “a” allele.
4. Similar to a real environment, there was an element of randomness. The food placement was random. It was either scattered or clumped up in a corner and the individuals that were closest ended up getting more food, showing a genetic drift. However, the non-random element was the distribution of phenotypes throughout the population and making a 0.5 to 0.5 allele frequency at the beginning of the lab. Starting at that even ratio just made it easier to observe the evolution that occurred. In addition, the mating process wasn’t random as most people mated with people they thought would give them the best results, leaving fewer people to mate with the Stumpys and ultimately reducing its population size by a great deal.
5. If the food had been smaller, the Knucklers and the Pinchers would have thrived because they would have been able to pick up more pieces of food, but the Stumpys would have struggled even more because the smaller the food gets, the harder it is for the Stumpys to even pick up the food. However if the food was bigger, both the Knucklers and Pinchers would have struggled because the bigger the food is, the harder it is for it to fit between the knuckles or the thumb and index finger. But, the Stumpys would have thrived if the food was bigger because it makes it easier for them to pick up.
6. If there wasn’t any incomplete dominance, there wouldn’t have been any Knucklers at all. There would be 2 extremes that would battle for survival, and since only the fittest survive, the other phenotype would completely die off, leaving the best one to dominate over everything.
7. Natural selection causes evolution. Natural selection is when nature chooses which traits or phenotypes the individual will keep and which ones will die off, based on whichever ones helps them survive and reproduce the best. Evolution is the change in allele frequency, and since natural selection chooses the phenotypes the individual will keep, natural selection causes evolution.
8. The Pinchers, Knucklers, and Stumpys all started to figure out what helped them get the most food. They all, except for Stumpys, started to pick up multiple pieces of food at a time instead of one at a time, increasing their allele frequency. This increased the gap between the Stumpys and the rest of the phenotypes.
9. In evolution, the population evolves. The less desirable traits are taken out and the winner traits or the desirable traits dominate the population. Natural selection acts on both the phenotypes and genotypes. Natural selection causes the change in allele frequency, which in turn affects the phenotype.
10. This lab truly explained to me what evolution is and how it is applied in a realistic setting, which is why I don't have any questions.

Unit 7 Reflection

In this unit, we learned all about ecology and the main ideas of homeostasis and interdependence but also learned about the key levels of organization, ranging from the mere organism to its population, to its community, to its ecosystem, to its biome, and finally to its biosphere. Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment. Biodiversity plays a major role in the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem, as more species with high genetic diversity are more resistant to change. In addition, large populations of tertiary and quaternary consumers are key because that allows for the energy to continue flowing through the food web. Also, large populations and diverse communities of producers and decomposers allow for a lot of energy to be produced, and for the extra energy to be recycled.

However although there are only really 3 main features of a healthy ecosystem, it is still very difficult to maintain as a result of the growing human population. What I learned this unit was that most of the problems in an ecosystem stem from human interference.

During this unit, we did a project where we researched a biodiversity hotspot, specifically the Indo-Burma rainforest. While doing this project, I was truly introduced to a ruined ecosystem. The Indo-Burma rainforest is in ruins and it has to do with mainly the habitat destruction as a result of their economic crisis. This project helped me apply the concepts and main themes I learned in this unit as well as practice being able to work together, which entailed meshing many different personality types, to create a successful final project.

In addition, we watched videos such as “Story of Stuff” and the movie Bag it!

I used to not be as environmentally friendly as I would frequently use plastic in almost all aspects of my life and I would dispose of it quite frequently. However through this unit and after watching these videos, I became very aware of the current state of this environment and how I could do my part in conserving the environment through the many videos and projects that we watched.

These videos shed light on the fact that we are killing the environment, which in turn will hurt us. We are consuming way more than what we need to consume. We are consuming everything and anything like the universe has unlimited resources, however it will soon reach their limits.

We have a choice. We are the reason the environment is the way it is. We are the reason as to why the environment is the way it is. However, collectively we are the solution. We can choose to use more reusable products. We can choose to only buy the stuff we will truly use. We can choose to spread awareness throughout our community and to the communities near us about conserving the environment. In order for the generations that come after us to be able to live in a livable Earth, major changes needs to be made.