INTRODUCTION

Activity
How Can We Explain Evolutionary Student Handout
Relationships among Species?

In the 1800s, naturalist Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos, a group of

islands about 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. There, Darwin observed
many birds called finches. He noticed that some species of finches were more
similar to others in terms of their physical traits and behaviors. Scientists today have continued to study
these traits by collecting data on the finches over many generations.

You will use some of these traits to predict which finch species may be more closely related. Later, you’ll
learn more information that may help you revise your predictions. You will make observations, analyze
and interpret data, and support claims with evidence. These skills are essential in science and many
other fields.

MATERIALS

• one set of “Finch Species Cards” (13 cards)

• access to video clips used later in the activity

PART 1: Analyzing Data Based on Careful Observations

Your instructor will give you 13 cards with pictures of different finch species from the Galápagos Islands.
Work in a small team, or as directed by your instructor, to answer the questions below.

1. Go through the cards and list the different traits you observe from the finch pictures. You can
include both physical traits (how the finches appear in the pictures) and behavioral traits (what
the finches are doing in the pictures).

Peak shape, different colors, feather colors, claw size and shape, animal size, weight, environmental
reaction.

2. Once your team has agreed on a list of traits, list each trait in the leftmost column of the table
below. Add an “X” under each species that has that trait.
Species (numbered on the cards)

Trait 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Peak shape X X X X
(bigger)

Size (bigger) X X X X X X

Color degraded X X X X X X

Color variation X X X X X X
 Claws support X X X X X X X

Thin weight X X X X X X X

www.BioInteractive.org Published September 2022 Page 1 of 8

Activity
How Can We Explain Evolutionary Relationships among Species? Student Handout

3. Next, you will group the cards based on which species you think are more closely related. In
evolutionary terms, species being “closely related” means they share a recent common ancestor.
Before moving the cards:

a. In your own words, explain what it means for two species to share a recent common
ancestor.

According to the observation we can distinguish, they share specific genetic characteristics
from the common ancestor, and the morphology and color keeps the same feathers'
features.

b. Explain how you can use the table above to decide how closely related the finch
species are.

Comparing and contrasting in order to identify the differences and similarities between
common groups of species.

4. Now group the cards based on which species are more closely related. Explain how you
chose your groupings below, including the reasoning for your decisions.

- 1, 4, 7

- 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13

- 3, 6, 10, 11

They were classified by color and similar characteristics.

5. Predict which traits would be most important for increasing an individual finch’s chance of
survival (living longer) or reproduction (having more offspring). Categorize these traits in the
table below. Next to each trait, explain why you put it in that category.
Traits that increase chances of survival Traits that increase chances of reproduction

Trait Explanation Trait Explanation

Longer peak To catch the food easier and in a bigger Same species They have more chances to reproduce
amount. if they are part of the same species.

Claw´s size Bigger claws can help to get a better The season Warm weather = faster reproduction.
balance and support.

Body size Bigger = Predators can hunt them. Habitat A place provided to reproduce.
 Smaller = Easier to hide.

Color Night camuflage (darker). Maturity level Older and a big size = sexual activities

Wings size Larger = faster. Nest’s More nests = more % to reproduce.

quantity

Food A great amount of food can keep a Food A great amount of food can provide
recollection whole population alive. recollection more nutrients to be ready to
ability ability reproduce.

6. Discuss your ideas for the previous question with other teams in your class, or as directed by your
instructor. a. Based on your discussion, which trait seems most important to finch survival?
- Physical characteristics.
- The habitat.
b. Why would this trait be so important to finch survival?

- Physical characteristics are important because they help to get food, get a partner and avoid
predators, but the size can provide less agility.
- The habitat is important due to the fact that they can find resources, feasible conditions and
reproduce, but sometimes the habitat is dangerous because it is full of predators.

Revisit your card groupings and make any changes you’d like based on your discussion above.
7. How might traits that increase individual survival help reveal evolutionary relationships among
species?
Support your answer using evidence from what you have figured out so far.

Certain traits affect an individual’s ability to survive and/or reproduce in its environment.
• Versions of traits that help an individual survive/reproduce tend to become more common over
generations, leading to evolutionary change.
• When two groups in a population become reproductively isolated, the groups can diverge into
distinct populations with measurable differences, as their traits change in different ways. Over
many generations, a species can ultimately diverge into two distinct species.
• Multiple lines of evidence — including physical traits, behavioral traits, and genetic data — can be
used to study evolutionary relationships among species

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Activity
How Can We Explain Evolutionary Relationships among Species? Student Handout

PART 2: Making Sense of a Phenomenon Using what you figured out in Part 1, make some observations
of the images below.

Figure 1. Some of the seeds available to finches as food on the Galápagos Islands.
Figure 2. Three different finch species from the Galápagos Islands.

8. Record your observations of the seeds and finches below.

Finches. Seeds:
The peak 's shape. Seeds’ size
The claws. Seeds’ shape
Color Pigmentation

9. Watch a video clip (Clip 1) to learn how these finches have been studied for the past several
decades. Based on the clip and the images above:

a. Which of the traits you listed in Part 1 is most important to finch survival?

The peak shape, Size (bigger) and claws support.

b. How would this trait help a finch survive?

This helps the animals to eat food according to the habitat, that means that the habitat has different
types of food and the beak helps the finch to feed itself, the fruit that they consume will require
different strength to be useful, so this evolution is given to survive.

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Activity

How Can We Explain Evolutionary Relationships among Species? Student Handout

10. Based on your observations of the trait you picked in Question 9 only, re-sort your finch species
cards. Explain the criteria you used to determine your new groupings below. (If you did not change
your groupings, explain why your original groupings were appropriate.)

The distribution seems to me correct because it makes sense that the beak is essential to differentiate
the birds from each other and is effective to realize the type of environment for the development of
the species, you can also see the size that can reach the animal according to the function performed in
the ecosystem and this also determines the claws according to the size of the body, in addition to this
something characteristic is that there is a gradient of colors.

11. Selective pressures are factors that affect an individual’s chance of survival or reproduction in its
environment. How might selective pressures drive certain versions of the trait you picked in
Question 9 to become more common over generations?

12. Do you think selective pressures on the trait you picked in Question 9 could lead to a population of
one species becoming so different that they diverge into a new species? Provide reasoning that
supports your answer.

PART 3: Using Additional Data to Determine Evolutionary Relationships

13. What do you think makes an individual reproduce only with others of its own species?

14. Watch another video clip (Clip 2) of scientists playing finch songs. Predict what happened in the
 experiment described at the end of the clip.

15. Without changing your card groupings, flip your finch species cards over. The back of each card will
have a graph like the ones shown in the video clip. This graph, called a spectrogram, represents a
finch’s song as a pattern of sound frequencies.

a. Do the new data from the spectrograms support your current card groupings? Provide
reasoning for your answer.

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Activity

How Can We Explain Evolutionary Relationships among Species? Student Handout

b. Would you change any of your groupings with the new data in mind? Why or why not?

16. Using what you figured out in Parts 1 and 2:

a. Describe any patterns you observe in both the songs (behavior) and the physical traits of these
finch species.
 b. Do these patterns help explain why finches of different species may not reproduce with one
another? Provide evidence to support your answer.

17. Which of the traits you observed may keep different species of finches that live in the same
place from mating with each other?

18. Do finch songs aid more in the survival of the individual finches or more in their chances of
reproduction? Provide reasoning for your answer.

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Activity
How Can We Explain Evolutionary Relationships among Species? Student Handout

PART 4: Using Genetic Data to Determine Evolutionary Relationships Similarities in the physical and
behavioral traits of the Galápagos finches suggested that these species are more closely related to each
other than to other types of birds. This led scientists to ask how exactly different finch species are related.

Watch a new film clip (Clip 3), which explains how genetic evidence (DNA) helped determine the
evolutionary relationships among the different finch species.

19. Each line below is a DNA sequence from a different finch species.
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTCGCCTTCTCCTCTGTAGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA
CATACACTACACAGCAGACACCAACCTAGCCTTCTCCTCCGTCGCCCACATATGCCGAGA

By making careful observations of the DNA sequences, explain how they could be used to better
understand the evolutionary relationships among the different finch species.

By analyzing DNA sequences like the ones shown above, we can create an evolutionary tree diagram
that shows the most likely evolutionary relationships among the species. Below is a tree diagram for the
finch species you’ve observed throughout this activity.
Figure 3. An evolutionary tree diagram based on DNA sequences. The diagram shows the
most likely evolutionary relationships among the 13 finch species on the cards.

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 Activity
How Can We Explain Evolutionary Relationships among Species? Student Handout

20. Based on the new data shown by Figure 3, would you change your finch species groupings?
Explain how the new data may allow you to revise your model.

21. How do you think DNA sequencing changed how we view the many different species on Earth?

22. Over the course of this activity, you observed different types of data, including images,
spectrograms, and evolutionary trees based on DNA sequences. Why are multiple lines of
evidence important when studying evolutionary relationships among different species?
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Activity
How Can We Explain Evolutionary Relationships among Species? Student Handout

EXTENSION: Transfer Task with Anole Lizards You’ll now apply what you’ve figured out about evolution in
the Galápagos finches to another type of animal: lizards called anoles.
1. Watch the first video clip (Extension Clip 1), which describes different anole species found on the
islands of the Caribbean.
a. Which traits that aid in the survival of anoles are under high selective pressure in their

environments? b. How are these traits similar to the finches’ beaks?

2. Watch the second video clip (Extension Clip 2).

a. Which trait in the anoles is similar to the finches’ songs?

b. How is this trait similar to the finches’ songs?

3. Watch the third and final video clip (Extension Clip 3).
a. How do traits you mentioned in the previous questions allow for anoles on each island to
become different species?

b. Why is genetic data so important for determining evolutionary relationships among species?

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