

Predators eat light-colored rock pocket mice.Ĥ.They have a genetic mutation that affects their fur color.There is dark lava rock in the area where they live.Individuals change color to blend in with the environment.Why did dark-colored rock pocket mice first appear in a population of light-colored rock pocket mice? Predators of the pocket mice hunt using what sense?ģ. How caused the unusual landscape at the Valley of Fire?Ģ. Watch the video at /rockpock and answer the questions.ġ. What are the two types of substrate that these mice live on? _.Arrange the cards in what you think is the correct order from the oldest to the most recent.Location B: Number of mice with light-colored fur _ Dark-colored fur _

Location A: Number of mice with light-colored fur _ Dark-colored fur _ View the images of the rock pocket mouse populations in each location and record the numbers for each color.The survival and reproductive success of an individual is directly related to how their traits help them to function and survive in their environment.\) Mutations are random, but natural selection is not random. Is evolution a random process? Evolution is not a random process.Evolution repeats itself in different environments. Different mutations can cause the same phenotype (trait). Did the mice on each of the dark lava flows have the same mutation? No.Mutations that increase the chance of survival of an organism can become much more common in a population. A small advantage can lead to big changes in the population very quickly. How do you get a population of dark colored mice? In dark environments, the dark colored mice have an advantage they survive better and have more offspring.(Darker fur is favorable in the dark environment and harmful in the light.) Mutations are favored, rejected, or neutral depending upon an organism’s environment. How does a dark mouse appear in a population of light mice? Gene mutations cause the darker mice.

The environment “selects” those individuals with the most favorable traits to survive and reproduce. What causes the overall differences in mouse fur color (big picture)? The differences in mouse fur color are caused by natural selection.The mice’s underbellies are white because there’s no selective pressure for it to be dark the predators come from above so it doesn’t matter what color the bellies are.

#Rocket pocket mouse answer key skin
