Introduction:
When it comes to evolution, natural selection plays a significant role. Natural selection is the
process by which organisms that are better suited to their environment have a higher chance of
surviving, so therefore can produce more offspring. In 1836, Charles Darwin went to the
galapagos and discovered that the finches he was observing “although nearly identical in all other
ways to mainland finches, had different beaks. Their beaks had adapted to the type of food they ate
in order to fill different niches on the Galapagos Islands’ ‘ (Scoville, 2019) Charles Darwin came to
the conclusion that advantageous variations/genes were most likely passed down to later
generations, while the less dominant genes eventually disappeared. Mutations in animals can be
either harmful or beneficial which is why it’s important to remember that natural selection does not
necessarily only create the perfect organism. Natural selection is “limited by a population’s
existing genetic variance and whatever new alleles arise through mutation and gene flow.” (Lumen
Learning), meaning it cannot create anything from scratch. In this experiment, we examined how
animals with different mutations survive in specific environmental conditions. The environmental
conditions choices included a snowy day, sunny day, wolves, tough food, and limited food. As a
group we had to try all the conditions to see how the survival rate of the bunnies varied since new
traits and adaptations are always occurring. Overall, we hypothesized that if the bunnies were
placed in conditions where there were wolves, limited food and snow then they would have a
lower chance of survival within the population.
Methods & Materials:
You will be given a platform to virtually experiment with the factors that allow a population of
bunnies to survive. You are responsible for when the prey hunts the bunnies, the type of mutations
that affect the population ( fur, ears, teeth), the amount and quality of the food, as well as the
climate the bunnies live in. While experimenting you will be able to see the population’s growth
via a chart, the proportions of the bunnies, as well as any selected bunnies pedigree.
Start the lab experiment and add mates for the bunnies population to grow. As the population
increases, change factors that will either increase or decrease the amount of bunnies that survive.
Attempt to find in what combination do the factors negatively impact the survival rate the most.
Results/Figures:
By examining how animals with different mutations survive in specific environmental conditions,
it was possible to gain a better understanding of how natural selection affects populations. In this
experiment a total of four trials were run in order to observe the effects of genetic and
environmental variations. Throughout the experiment, the recessive genes of the bunnies which
included fur, ears, and teeth were observed in all four trials.
Trial 1:
Factors: Snowy environment and limited food
In the first trial, there was a greater population of white-haired bunnies, reaching approximately
seventy around the fourth generation. Although there was a limited food supply, the bunny
generations were still able to maintain a balanced rate of survival.
Trial 2:
Factors: Snowy environment and wolves
In the second trial, once again the white-haired bunnies had a greater survival rate than the brownhaired population. The white-haired population increased significantly between the third to fifth
generation, while the brown-haired population had very minimal changes.
Trial 3:
Factors: Snowy environment, wolves and limited food
In the third trial, it was observed that the brown-haired population did not increase at all over the
different generations. The white-haired population had a greater survival rate, however due to the
two environmental factors, the population growth was lower when compared to other trials.
Trial 4:
Factors: Sunny environment, wolves and limited food
In the last trial, the environment was changed to a sunny/desert type of weather. While the whitehaired population was greater in the first two generations, eventually the brown-haired population
increased and dominated the area. Similarly to the previous trial, due to a greater amount of
environmental changes, the total population remained lower when compared to the other trials.
Discussion:
Based on the results of our experiments, we see that the bunnie’s survival rate depended on the
weather in their environment. Bunnies had an overall lower rate of survival in the sunny
environment with the population’s peak being around 59 bunnies compared to a peak of over 70 in
the snowy environment. This goes against our hypothesis as we believed that the bunnies will have
an overall lower chance of survival in the sunny weather. A possible explanation for these results is
the fact that our generation 0 bunnies are both white. We see in our data that in the snowy
environment, the white bunnies have a higher survival rate than those with brown fur. This is due
to the addition of wolves in the environment. Wolves select pray that seem most vulnerable or
weak through visual cues and smell (“How Wolves Hunt”, 2019). In the winter weather, the parent
bunnies’ white fur provides an advantage as they are able to hide from predators, allowing them to
reproduce more. However, in the sunny weather, their white fur makes them easily spotted by
predators, reducing the amount of bunnies produced. The effects of the wolves hunting style is
seen further when looking at the survival rate of each fur color. In the winter weather we see that
the white bunnies have a much greater population than those with brown fur. In fact, the brown
bunny population dies off when looking at later generations. However, using the same conditions
and mutations in the sunny environment, we see that the brown bunnies have a much greater
chance of survival, with the white bunnies eventually dying out.
Conclusion:
The purpose of this lab was to analyze how bunnies with different mutations survive in specific
environmental conditions. We found that natural selection played a big role, with certain mutations
dying out as they are not well suited for the environment the bunnies are presented with. In the
snowy environment, the survival rate amongst bunnies with brown fur was low as they were easily
spotted by their predators, the wolves, who hunt using sight. In the sunny environment however,
the bunnies with brown fur had a much higher survival rate as they were able to blend in with their
environment better. We also found that overall survival rate was highest in the snowy weather,
however this could be explained as the parent bunnies both had white fur, allowing them to better
hide from the wolves and reproduce more.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Xh6wwa1-pUnpAewfPfuqbAQAidnPkHSAdE1LIVULkTg/edit#slide=id.p