Lesson Plan

Subject
Unit
Topic

Standards

Date:
DP Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Speciation
HS-LS4-1. Communicate scientific information
that common ancestry and biological
evolution are supported by multiple
lines of empirical evidence.
HS-LS4-5. Evaluate the evidence supporting claims
that changes in environmental
conditions may result in: (1) increases in
the number of individuals of some
species, (2) the emergence of new
species over time, and (3) the extinction
of other species.

Days Needed

Students Will Be Able To:

SWBAT
- Describe multiple processes by which speciation can occur.
- Evaluate whether evolution of a population of a species amounts to the divergence of
a new species.
Summary of Tasks
Introduction
Warm-up: Using information you already know about species (e.g. common definition,
how we describe species), describe how you think new species could arise from
existing ones.
Pass back 5.3 quiz; review questions concerning homology, group with most
characteristics, reptile trait, species naming.
Requirements for Speciation
- Reproductive isolation or limitation
o Geographic
o Behavioral (bird songs, timing of mating, etc.)
o Physiological
o Genetic
- Time; how long does speciation take?
- Reproduction
Geographic Distributions
- Some species can occupy a wide area and/or a wide range of types of habitats.
- How might different locations affect the characteristics of populations of the same
species?
- How could new species develop in populations of the same ancestral species that are
in different habitats?
o Will divergence in characters between these two populations necessarily result
in reproductive isolation if the populations reconnect? What is an example of
mixing characteristics of previously isolated populations? (Humans!)
o What could happen to these two populations to make them unable to
successfully blend if they overlap in range?

Example: Lizards of Pod Mrcaru (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBv6-XORcLg)

Why are island populations so prone to evolutionary change?
o Founder effect
o Genetic drift (random changes in frequencies of alleles in a population)
o Drift simulation (http://darwin.eeb.uconn.edu/simulations/drift.html)

Continuous Variation
o If a species occupies a wide, continuous range, it could be found in a variety of
habitats that have no clear delineation or separation of populations.
o Ring species: continuous(ish) species whose range is arranged in a circle. Gene
flow occurs all along this range, but populations are increasingly different the
further they are from each other. At one point in the ring, two populations are
so different that they do not interbreed.

Sympatric Speciation
- Speciation can occur in one location if variation of the population of a species allows
for two groups in the same habitat to diverge in behavior or mating
patterns/preferences.
- Polymorphism (many shapes) can result in multiple physical forms of a species due to
differences in alleles existing in the same population. Selection could act to favor one
over the other, or to separate the population into multiple groups.
- What could lead to a divergence of a polymorphic population into two separate
species?

Key Questions to Keep in Mind

- What is a species?
- How can new species develop from existing ones?
Materials and Equipment
Speciation PPT
References and Useful Links
Lizards of Pod Mrcaru (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBv6-XORcLg)
Drift simulation (http://darwin.eeb.uconn.edu/simulations/drift.html)

Take Home Tasks

- Artificial Selection of Silver Foxes Questions