Is Natural Selection Random?

Students will use the real-world example of Hurricane Opal wiping out the beach mouse population from Shell Island in 1995. Students will identify the environmental pressures that led to the differentiation of the Choctawhatchee beach mouse from the mainland population (St. Andrew beach mouse) as natural selection. They will examine the beach mouse population on this island immediately following the hurricane as an example of genetic drift, and the re-population of the island as gene flow. Students will then track changes in the population from the initial re-population following the hurricane to the current population and relate this to natural selection.
Resource ID#: 127775 Type: Lesson Plan
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General Information

Subject(s): Science
Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Intended Audience: Educators educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, Interactive Whiteboard
Instructional Time: 1 Hour(s) 30 Minute(s)
Keywords: beach mouse, shell island, beach mice, natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift
Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan,  Worksheet,  Assessment,  Presentation/Slideshow,  Formative Assessment
Resource Collection: FCR-STEMLearn Diversity and Ecology

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