A Million Years Questions

Questions

1. How many generations did it take for you to finally win a game? Why do you think it took this long? What do you think this means/suggests for most real species on Earth in terms of their species's chances of long-term survival?
1. The first time I played I actually won.
2. It didn’t take me long at all.
3. Even though I won the first time I think that it’s really hard for species to survive for a long time.
2. Which initial phenotypes/phenotype combinations did you select and why?Which starting/initial combinations seemed to allow you to continue/survive the longest (win the most games)? Why do you think this was so?
1. I originally chose the long neck, long legs, and one with short legs and neck.
2. The long neck and long leg one, I think because the long neck allowed them to reach food that was up high, and the long legs let them run away much faster from a predator.
3. Do you think this population of theoretical creatures would be greatly affected by genetic drift? What evidence of drift did you see as you played the game (simulation)?
1. Yes, I think it they would be greatly affected because some of the traits help them survive and if the traits disappeared the animals could die faster and in an easier way.
2. The animals combined the genes I chose and sometimes it was the wrong combination so they all died.
4. Which alleles/phenotypes seemed to be dominant and which seemed to be recessive? How could you tell?
1. The long neck seemed to be more dominant and the short legs seemed to be more recessive.
2. I could tell because a lot of the animals had long necks and not many of the animals had long legs.
5. Match the environments/situations/conditions below with their corresponding adaptations:

(a) cold conditions- For cold conditions my animals would have thicker fur and be fatter.; (b) hot conditions- For hot conditions my animals would have shorter fur and be skinnier.; (c) new large predator on the scene- For a predator situation my animals would have longer legs.; (d) new tall food source- For a tall food source my animals would have longer necks.

6. How would you improve this simulation to more realistically represent natural selection and biological evolution? Discuss at least three improvements.
1. I would improve it by having people not change the environment so the animals wouldn’t have a hard time adapting.
2. Also maybe bring the animals into a better habitat.
3. Also not have people go into an environment and kill animals.