The Benefits of Biodiversity
Coins are used to simulate the probably of genetic traits.
Students toss coins to determine what traits a set of mouse parents possess, such as fur color, body size, heat tolerance, and running speed. Then they use coin tossing to determine the traits a mouse pup born to these parents possesses. Then they compare these physical features to features that would be most adaptive in several different environmental conditions. Finally, students consider what would happen to the mouse offspring if those environmental conditions were to change: which mice would be most likely to survive and produce the next generation?
Probability and statistics are just a few of the tools used in engineering. This activity explores concepts studied by genetic scientists as well as biomedical and environmental engineers.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Using mice as an example, explain why not all of the offspring born to a population survive into adulthood.
- Explain why a diversity of characteristics within a population is beneficial to the population, even though not all of the individuals are well adapted to the environment at any given time.