10/5 Adaptations Lab

I. Introduction.
A. The Squirrels. There are four varieties of squirrels that forage in Spring Woods:

· The Spoon-Snouted-Squirrel. The Spoon-Snouted-Squirrel forages using a modified snout shaped like a spoon. It is a generalist capable of eating all acorns found in Spring Woods.

· The Tweezer-Tipped-Squirrel. The Tweezer-Tipped-Squirrel forages only using a modified snout shaped like tweezers. It is a generalist capable of eating all acorns found in Spring Woods.

· The Five-Fingered-Squirrel. The Five-Fingered-Squirrel actually feeds and forages using its hands. It is a generalist capable of eating all acorns found in Spring Woods.

· The White-Acorn-Eatin-Tweezer-Tipped-Squirrel. Unlike the other squirrels that are generalists, capable of eating all acorns the White-Acorn-Eatin-Tweezer-Tipped-Squirrel only feeds on white beans. Like other tweezer tipped squirrels it feeds using a modified snout shaped like a tweezers.

B. The Oaks of Spring Woods. There are four rare oaks found in Spring Woods. The adult trees look similar and they can only be identified by their acorns, the seeds of these oaks.

· The Split- Pea-Oak. The acorns of this oak are light green and either shaped like a sphere, or a hemisphere. Some say they resemble Split Peas.  One adult tree produces 200 acorns each season.

· The Kidney-Bean-Oak. The acorns of this oak are shaped like a Kidney Bean. One adult tree produces 200 acorns each season.

· The White-Bean-Oak. The acorns of this oak resemble white beans. This is the only food source for the threatened White-Bean-Oak-Eatin-Tweezer-Tipped-Squirrel. One adult tree produces 200 acorns each season.

· The Lentil-Bean-Oak. This oak has light brown acorns that are shaped like small flying saucers. Some suggest they resemble uncooked lentils. This is a non-native invasive oak that recently appeared in the forests of Spring Woods. Naturalists are trying to determine how the Lentil-Bean-Oak outcompetes that native oaks of Spring Woods. One adult tree produces 500 acorns each season.

II. Safety
o Be kind to other squirrels, no rough housing.
o Do not stick acorns up your squirrel nostrils.

III. Procedure
1. In order to understand the ecology of these squirrels and the oaks Scientists from the Spring Woods Association of Masticated Acorns (also known as SWAMA) fenced off a small plot containing one of each oak. The oaks were allowed to produce and drop an entire season’s acorns without any foraging allowed of these acorns.

2. At the end of the season scientists released a few members of each squirrel species into the field for a five minute forage session.

3. Following the forage session they performed gut analysis to determine how many acorns, and of what variety, each squirrel consumed.

4. As squirrels you must forage the type of seeds you are allowed to eat, the specialist feeding White-Bean-Oak-Eatin-Tweezer-Tipped-Squirrel may only eat the White-Bean-Oak-Acorns.  You may only eat in the way allowed by your species.

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IV. DATA Following the five minute forage session meet with the other squirrels of your species, and determine the TOTAL number and AVERAGE number of all acorns consumed for the members of your population. As highly developed squirrels you have the ability to complete the data tables below.

A. Complete table 1, copy the data from other populations as well

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B. Complete table 2 determine the average number of acorns consumed by each squirrel within the species. Do this by dividing the total acorns consumed for each species by the population of that species. Enter that in the table below.

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Based on Table 1 which oak tree is MOST likely to reproduce?

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Explain why for #3?

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Based on Table 1 which oak tree is LEAST likely to reproduce?

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Explain why for #5?

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Based on Table 2 which squirrel is MOST likely to survive?

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Explain why for #7?

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Based on Table 2 which squirrel is LEAST likely to survive?

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Explain why for #9?

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Describe how organisms adapt to their environment.

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Describe how environmental changes (sudden or gradual) could threaten a species' survival.

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B. Complete table 2 determine the average number of acorns consumed by each squirrel within the species. Do this by dividing the total acorns consumed for each species by the population of that species. Enter that in the table below.

Based on Table 1 which oak tree is MOST likely to reproduce?

Explain why for #3?

Based on Table 1 which oak tree is LEAST likely to reproduce?

Explain why for #5?

Based on Table 2 which squirrel is MOST likely to survive?

Explain why for #7?

Based on Table 2 which squirrel is LEAST likely to survive?

Explain why for #9?

Describe how organisms adapt to their environment.

Describe how environmental changes (sudden or gradual) could threaten a species' survival.

What happens to a species that cannot adapt to changes?