Student Worksheet HONOLULU Zoo SOCIETY

Did you know that all dog breeds originated from the same ancestor? The ancestor of modern
dogs was probably a wolf-like type of dog.

Wolf-like ancestor Yorkshire Golden retriever Cocker Poodle terrier spaniel

Most modern dog breeds, like the four shown above, have been created by humans. But how
were the breeds created? Consider this scenario:

The first primitive dogs were probably wolf-like animals that hung around human settlements
to find food scraps. But where there are human settlements, there are often also rats. At some
point, humans in these settlements probably noticed that some dogs were very skilled at
catching rats.

1. Which characteristics might these rat-catching dogs have had, in your opinion?

[3 Quick or O Slow
Aggressive or [3 Docile
Large small

The humans in the settlements might have taken special care of

these rat-catchers. They might even have bred ravcatching
female dogs with rat-catching male dogs.

2. If the rat-catching dogs had the characteristics (speed, size, and temper) that you checked
off above, what would the consequences for their offspring be? Check off the correct
statement(s)

The offspring would probably inherit those same characteristics

[3 The offspring would probably be good rat-catchers

[3 Humans might have taken extra care of the offspring because of their usefulness

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Evidence for evoluüon
Student Worksheet HONOLULU Zoo SOCIETY
Imagine what would happen if humans kept breeding rat-catchers with rat-catchers,
generation after generation. The end result would be a small, quick, aggressive type of dog,
not because humans wanted a small, quick, aggressive dog, but because they wanted a good
rat-catcher, and those are the characteristics of a good rat-catcher.
There are several examples of such rat-catchers today! Most terriers were
actually originally bred as rat-catchers, and if you've ever known a terrier,
you'll know that they are indeed small, quick, and aggressive.

The process of crossing animals with certain characteristics with other

animals with those same characteristics is called selection. When humans
control the process, it is called artificial selection.
The process of selection happens in nature, too. In this case, it is called natural selection.
3. What's the difference between artificial selection and natural selection? Below, you'll
find two scenarios. Indicate which one is natural selection, and which one describes
artificial selection.
The individuals that The individuals that are
allowed to breed are best suited for sur e are
chosen by hu- Vival are the ones that mans These
individu- most likely will live als have the
charac- long enough to reach teristics that
humans reproductive age. This
are interested ine This means that they are

Artificial selection process produces the ones that get to [3 Artificial selection
animals that express breed, and their charw
some characteristics, acteristics (being good

Natural selection such as a stubby survivors) are inher- C] Natural

selection
snout, very strongly. ited by their offspring.
4. Natural selection is a process that creates animals that are increasingly well adapted to
their environment and thus are good survivors. On the other hand, artificial selection
produces animals that... Check off the correct statement(s)

[3 Express a certain characteristic that humans prefer.

[3 Are not necessarily better survivors in the wild than their ancestors.
Would probably not exist without human intervention.

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Evidence for evoluüon
Student Worksheet HONOLULU Zoo SOCIETY
Now, let's look at some animals that have evolved through natural selection! Go to the next
page... The Canada Goose

5.
Natural selection

Ancestor of näné Néné

The ancestor of the néné was originally from North America. It arrived at the Hawaiian
Islands about 500,000 years ago. Since arriving here, the goose changed its appearance from
the ancestral form to the present form: the nänä. Let's look closer at some of these changes!
6. The table lists some of the characteristics that differ between the ancestral goose and the
näné. Your job is to complete the table.

Characteristics Ancestral goose Néné

Body posture Horizontal Upright
(upright or horizontal)

Length of legs Longer Shorter

Webbing of feet Webbed Webbing reduced , long toes

Length of neck Long Short

Wing size Long and strong Shorter and not as strong

Now, let's think of how these changes came about. What caused this selection to happen?
Think about the different habitats the ancestor and the néné occupy, and the different
behaviors they have as a result of this.

Ancestor Néné

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Evidence for evoluüon
Student Worksheet HONOLULU Zoo SOCIETY
• Lives in marshes,Lives on land
near waterFeeds on terrestrial
• Feeds on aquaticplants plantsHad
no terrestrial
• Has many terrestrialpredators for
thoupredatorssands of years e Migrates over
longMigrates only over distances every
year very short distances

7. Write in your own words how you think the nänä characteristics were created by natural
selection:
Nénä body The ñeñe lives on land. The upright position is better for them
posture because they do not swim much so it helps them with walking.

The ñeñe does not need as long of legs because they do not
Length of néné
swim, their short legs helps them on the land more.
legs

Ñeñe has never had a strong threat of predators so they did not
swim as much which is why they do not have very webbed
Webbing of néné
feet which helps them walk on the land.
feet

The ñeñe eats plants and since they are more a land animal
they do not need a long neck to reach plants while in the
Length of néné
water.
neck

The ñeñe only flies short distances. Throughout the years their
wings have become shorter and shorter and less powerful.
Nöné wing size

When natural selection causes one animal species to split into two (or more) species in this
manner, it can be illustrated in the following way:

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Evidence for evoluüon
Student Worksheet HONOLULU Zoo SOCIETY

Ancestral
species
(Canada
goose)

This process is called divergent evolution. To diverge means to become dissimilar or

different, so when natural selection causes two species to become more and more dissimilar
(as with the Canada goose and the nänä), we call it divergent evolution.
Another process is called convergent evolution. When two species develop the same
adaptation, even though they are not related to each other, they converge (become more
similar).
8. Find the gharial exhibit Gharials and dolphins give an interesting example of convergent
evolution. Which feature do gharials have in common with dolphins? (Hint: think about
what they eat!)
Both a gharial and a dolphin have a long snout and cone shaped teeth.

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 Evidence for evoluüon
Student Worksheet HONOLULU Zoo SOCIETY

9. Are the following pairs of animals examples of convergent or divergent evolution?

Convergent Divergent

The Nene (pronounced "nay-nay") is a land bird and a variety of Hawaiian Goose. It has
adapted itself to life in the harsh lava country by transforming its webbed feet into a
clawlike shape and modifying its wing structure for shorter flights. Hunting and wild
animals all but destroyed the species until they were protected by law and a restoration
project was established in 1949.
The Hawaiian state bird, the Nene, was a bird not known to Audubon in his time, and
was therefore not included in the 1840 edition of Birds of America.
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis
Classification
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Branta
Characteristics
The Canada goose has a long black neck
and head with a white band on its cheeks
that runs under its chin like a strap. It has
black feet and a light tan body with lighter
brown or white under its tail. Its black bill
has lamellae, or teeth, around the outside
edges that are used as a cutting tool. Males
and females look alike, although females
are usually a little smaller than the males.
Range
The Canada goose breeds and winters in
most of Canada and the United States.
Habitat
The Canada goose can be found in a
wide variety of habitats including lakes,
bays, rivers and marshes. It often feeds
in open
Life Cycle
The female Canada
goose lays her eggs
yank the grass out of the ground. It also eats corn, rice and wheat. In the water, the Canada
goose sticks its head and upper body under the water, stretches its neck out and uses its
bill to scoop up food from the mud and silt.
between March and June.
She will lay between four
to ten whitish eggs in a
nest made of grass, reeds
and moss and lined with
down. The nests are
usually on the ground
near water. The female
hatches the eggs and
turns them over often to
evenly heat them.
The male will guard the female and the
nest and will call out a warning if danger
approaches. It takes about a month for the
eggs to hatch. The chicks break out of the
shell with an egg tooth on the top of their
bills. It may take them one to two days to
completely break out of the shell. The
chicks will fly when they are between 40
and 70 days old. Most Canada geese will
mate for life.
fields and grasslands.
Diet
On land, the Canada goose eats a
wide variety of grasses, including
salt grass and Bermuda grass.
It uses its bill to
Behavior
Canada geese migrate in large V-shaped
formations. They honk loudly while they
are flying. They migrate at a slow pace.
Male Canada geese can be very aggressive
they will often attack predators with their
wings and bill.