Case 5: Common Case Study

Posing a question where students can answer openly, it is observed that these reflect deductively to reason why species evolve:

 

For a long time it was the custom to cut off the ears of dogs, do you think that if this practice was repeated for generations, finally get their offspring born with short ears?

 

 

Some responses elementary students:

- No, because although her parents are the been cropped, this does not inherit his son because he is not in their genes.

- Yes, that would evolve and dog-eared.

 

In this case we selected a common breed of urban dog which he intervenes when is small to clip the ears. There are many theories explaining why they performed this act with some breeds of dogs, but focusing on the question posed above, one might say that the theory that such is not a genetic trait of these dog breeds arises for much that he cut off the ears of these animals and many years go, continue to have the ears of the same size.   

Case 4: Adaptation Physiological

In this case we start from a question sent in a classroom of first grade (6 years old), where to ask Where live mice? Why ?, the class responded that in cities because they needed shade in summer and winter buildings get into the holes to keep warm.

Rattus Common Country.

 Rattus Town Common.

This idea often endure since they are small because only know or have heard of this animal within the urban area. It is in higher grades when working with this idea, knowing that an animal can live in various environments according to their characteristics, having different races as happens to people.

In the case of mice, students associates to the city because seeing they are so small animals think they need to be sheltered from extreme temperatures (both cold and heat), but this concept disappears when they are faced that although are small mammals, have a physiological adaptation to their environment, ie your body has the ability to regulate their own body temperature, and are able to live in environments beach, mountain, country, urban, etc.

Case 3: Adaptation ethological

There is the idea that all animals mating dances performed between the male and the female, but this idea may not be entirely correct. So we asked ourselves, what purpose birds perform rituals chants and dance really?

Well, the birds not only use this method as a mating dance between the female and the male, it also states that is performed to identify between the same species as male and female. Keep in mind that sometimes also performed by the environment where they are damage to understand that they are within its territory (only some territorial birds).

For Bee-eater, is a bird found in the fields of around Cullera, characterized by its vivid color tones. Place in their mating dance to attract the female and reproduce, but also related to the same sex the same way. This is called ethological adaptation, ie adaptation behavior.

 

 

Merops apiaster.

 

Case 2: Morphological Adaptation

- FAUNA:

Posing a question where students can answer openly, it is observed that these reflect deductively to reason why species change and adapt to the environment:

Some butterflies like the image presented in his wings certain drawings that resemble the eyes of an owl. This allows them to scare the birds and avoid being eaten. But why do you think they have come to look like this?

Butterfly Owl.

Some responses elementary students:

- Because they needed to have a defense.

- Because the need to survive and not to eat them were evolved to be totally camouflaged mind. 

- Because maybe their parents were born that way and left them on their genes to them.

In this case we observe a kind of Butterfly Owl, which are in the wooded setting or small plantations of Cullera. This species comes from North America and South America, and the theory that has adapted to the environment where it coexists with predators such as birds arises, and if threatened open their wings teaching ocelli (recall the eyes of raptors) as a defense, since most animals flee. This does not mean that the same species is exactly the same in all environments, since the same animal species may experience variations, because this species is characterized by a morphological adaptation, ie, which is an adaptation of structural used especially for defense.

 
 'Survival of the fittest means better adaptation to the particular environment in which the organism taking more chances to survive lives'. 

Francisco Fernández

- FLORA:

In this case, ask the following questions so that students answer:

Some plants react occasionally and produce movements where low branches or fold their small leaves, such as the Mimosa Púdica, relating these movements with changes of light (day and night), do you think what ever it occurs this reason? What other reason could there be?

Mimosa Púdica.

Some responses elementary students:

- Yes, because light attracts them and move toward her like sunflowers.

- No, because some animals defend themselves or even moving spikes.

In this case we must explain that the idea that all plants move because of the light, and not all meet this rule arises. In the case of sensitive plant is a plant that is in the diet of many insects, and thus, has developed a method of adapting to the environment defense in which it is located. We can say that is because this species is characterized by a morphological adaptation, especially used for defense (as explained in the previous case).

Case 1: Adaptation and Evolution

The vast majority of students (and adults) are willing to accept the concept of evolution as a phenomenon, namely that species evolved because of their effort and need for progress, and the inheritance of acquired characteristics as a cause of changes on species (theory proposed by Lamarck).

They do not consider that there is a relationship that connects living beings of the past with the present. As Darwin proposed in his theory of evolution, 'genetic variations involved in evolution are essentially minimal and inheritable' takes years and years to observe one species to appreciate the evolutionary changes affecting these.

Hence the simple example of the neck of the giraffe:

 

 1. A herd of giraffes shows a variation in the length of his neck (some longer than others).

2. Natural selection does survive only those individuals with long necks that can feed.

3. Natural selection has led to survive giraffes with longer necks.