Masters of Disguise Objective To demonstrate how camouflage

Masters of Disguise Objective: To demonstrate how camouflage can help an organism to survive in its environment. Bell work: 1. What is camouflage? A method used by organisms to conceal by altering or obscuring their appearance 2. How does an animal use camouflage to survive in its environment? - Blend in with its environment to hide from or confuse predators - Blend in to catch prey off guard © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Now you don’t! Now you see me! Traits are inherited and some traits make it easier for living things to survive and reproduce. Camouflage is a trait that makes it very hard to see an animal in its natural habitat. Camouflage is an important part of their survival. It hides the animal from its predators while, at the same time, making the animal a sneaky predator itself. An animal that is best camouflaged in its environment has the best chance to survive, reproduce, and pass its color pattern on. © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Before the Industrial Revolution, the white Natural Selection In Action: “peppered moth” had the largest population The Peppered Moth because they matched the light colored bark on There are two phenotypes for a type of moth found in England: the trees. This thatspeckled birds couldn’t spot blackmeant and white them and eat them, so they lived longer. © Getting Nerdy, LLC

When the Industrial Revolution happened, the factories poured out black smoke, covering the white trees with black soot. This caused the white moths to stand out, and the birds ate them sooner than the black ones. The black moth population then grew rapidly because the birds were not naturally selecting them. If this progression were to continue for generations and generations, the gene for the white moths may be completely eliminated from the species. In other words, the birds would cause all of the white moths to go extinct because of evolution. © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Concealing Coloration: when an animal blends in with its background © Getting Nerdy, LLC

The light underside of many predatory animals like this ray allow them to blend in with the sun filled waters as they hunt for food below © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Disruptive coloration: when an organism’s color is broken up with a pattern like stripes or spots so it confuses or conceals when alone or in a group © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Stripes and spots give the illusion of light and shadow and often confuse prey and predator’s eyes alike © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Mimicry: when an animal copies or mimics the form of something else © Getting Nerdy, LLC

OWL BUTTERFLY MIMICRY: Eye spots on wings resemble owl eyes. When the butterfly spreads its wings, the eye spots may scare predators. © Getting Nerdy, LLC

CATERPILLAR-SNAKE MIMICRY: These caterpillars have special adaptations that create the illusion of snake eyes or markings so that when predators see them, they are often deterred from eating them because they think they are snakes. © Getting Nerdy, LLC

VICEROY-MONARCH MIMICRY: The Viceroy butterfly has a secret defense. It resembles the distasteful Monarch butterfly which deters animals from eating it, resulting in their survival… © Getting Nerdy, LLC

LEAF MIMICRY: Many insects mimic leaves and other components of nature in order to camouflage themselves from predators and prey… © Getting Nerdy, LLC

FLY-HORNET MIMICRY: We all know that hornets can leave a nasty sting. This fly (pictured upper left) is a mimic of the common yellow jacket hornet (pictured below). Because of this coincidental resemblance, most predators will leave the fly alone, mistaking it for the stinging kind… © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Now you don’t! Now you see me! So, you think you can make it in the wild? Try your hand at creating Camouflage that will help you survive in various environments with this interactive game … © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Camouflaged Chameleons Objective: To explore and simulate camouflage in animals Here’s what you’ll need to conduct this experiment: Chameleon pattern, colored pencils, markers or crayons What You Do: Day 1 1. Think about the three types of camouflage we discussed and design a chameleon so that it can be camouflaged somewhere in the classroom. 2. Make the chameleon as invisible as possible. 3. Cut out the chameleon. Tape the chameleon to it’s hiding spot. 4. Return to your seat. © Getting Nerdy, LLC

Camouflaged Chameleons um… you see that tasty chameleon over there or is it just me? Objective: To explore and simulate camouflage in animals Here’s what you’ll need to conduct this experiment: …what chameleon? I don’t see anything but a white slide… Your EYES, a pencil and a piece of paper to tally your kill! What You Do: Day 2 You’re a predatory bird! You will have 10 minutes to quietly stalk your chameleon prey! Afterward, answer the following conclusion questions from your sheet. © Getting Nerdy, LLC …la…la…la… hope nobody sees me…

…nobody’s home… What Happened? The Results and Conclusions: 1. How many chameleons did you see? 2. Which type of camouflage do you think was the best at hiding the chameleon? Why do you think this type of camouflage made it difficult to see the chameleons? 3. Which type of camouflage do you think was least successful at hiding the chameleon? Why? © Getting Nerdy, LLC

So what does this all mean? . . . Those chameleons that blended in have the traits that help them to survive. Those that didn’t blend in do not have those traits. Organisms that do not have the necessary traits to survive in the environment will not live as long as those that do have the traits. Therefore, they will not be able to reproduce as much as the organisms that live a long time. More organisms with the desired traits will live from generation to generation. This process is known as natural selection. Remember that natural selection is what drives EVOLUTION! Let’s test it out in this fun Natural Selection Game! © Getting Nerdy, LLC

FACTORS AFFECTING NATURAL SELECTION: Overproduction: the more offspring born, the more mouths to feed which equals fewer resources available to all Variation: if there is no variation within species, all individuals will have the same traits and an equal chance of surviving and reproducing Competition: different species compete or fight over resources which can affect the number of organisms that survive from generation to generation Environmental change: changes in the environment may favor certain characteristics over others – ex. Having thick fur during a particularly cold winter may favor an organism’s survival © Getting Nerdy, LLC This is the perfect tool for the job! Remember that natural selection does not grant organisms what they “need, ” it only works with what they are “born” with…

Remember that Natural Selection is what DRIVES EVOLUTION! Let’s see natural selection and evolution in action as we play “Who wants to live a million years? ” Complete the activity on your worksheet as we go through this interactive evolution website.