Introduction

People observing nature throughout history have noticed the remarkable characteristics of animals and plants that allow them to flourish in particular environments. For example, Aristotle recorded that birds, such as ducks, that spend most of their lives on lakes, have webbed feet, whereas perching birds spending more time in trees, have unwebbed feet. We call such characteristics adaptations. More formally, we can define adaptation as any genetically controlled change in structure or function that produces better adjustment of an organism to its environment and hence enhances its ability to survive and reproduce. We now understand that adaptations are the result of natural selection favoring those individuals with characteristics that best help them to survive and reproduce under the current environmental conditions. Environment here means anything organisms encounter in their life. These may be abiotic (nonliving) things like sunlight, water availability, soil nutrients, and temperature, or biotic (living) factors like predators (if the organism is a prey species), prey availability (if the organism is a predator), and availability of mates or, for flowering plants, pollinators. All of these things have an impact on the survival and reproduction potential of individuals.

Points for the lab will be earned from a pre-lab quiz, lab activity and a post-lab quiz.

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