bird beak lab

I did an experiment called the "bird beak" experiment. The purpose of this experiment was to see how different species of animals with different alleles will prosper under different conditions. In our experiment,  we found that the birds with the biggest beaks survived the longest, and the ones that were able to adapt. The graphs show that the spoonbills and the scissors shaped beak birds got the most food, and made more babies. Darwins idea of natural selection is taking place. The animals that are best adapted to survive in the given environment will thrive and their population will grow, while the ones who aren't adapted as well will fie out. Although the experiment went very well, and our results were appropriate, we didnt do everything perfectly. An error that we made was not stopping right when the alarm went off. I noticed some teammates sneaking a few pieces of food into their cup (bird stomach) after the alarm went off. These mistakes could have affected the total number of our baby chicks per year. We can fix thee problems for next time, by having someone monitor us and make sure we all end right when the alarm sounds and don't sneak extra food into our cups. Another possible thing we could have done to monitor our food intake, and to make sure we don't cheat is make a vow that we won't, and if one of us does cheat then we will be punished. Once again the main purpose of this lab was to show how natural selection controls a population, and how well they survive. For instance in the experiment the birds with a spoonbill beak will survive better because do to the size and shape of their beak, they were able to pick up the most food. In class, the main topic we learned about was natural selection and adaption. The lab helped me better understand adaption, and the idea of natural selection. I learned that animal species change gradually over time in order to better survive the environment they live in. I can apply this idea in the future when I am working with animals and studying mammalogy or herpetology in college.