Devils in Danger
Devil Evolution
In this activity students will learn how to calculate allele frequencies in populations and explore the effect of selection pressures. They will also investigate genetic drift and the extreme examples of it. Finally they will apply this knowledge to the evolution of Tasmanian Devils.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module students will be able to:
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Calculate allele frequencies.
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Understand the effect of selection pressures on allele frequencies.
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Understand genetic drift including the founder effect and population bottlenecks.
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Understand the importance of genetic diversity in the evolutionary process.
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Use these understandings and apply these to Tasmanian Devils.
Victorian Curriculum Links
Level 9 &10 Victorian Curriculum Links:
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Science as a Human Endeavour:
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Scientific understanding, including models and theories, are contestable and are refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community (VCSSU114).
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Biological Sciences:
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The theory of evolution by natural selection explains the diversity of living things and is supported by a range of scientific evidence (VCSSU120). Specifically:
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describing biodiversity as a function of evolution.
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outlining processes involved in natural selection including variation, isolation and selection.
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investigating changes caused by natural selection in a particular population as a result of a specified selection.
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Science Inquiry Skills:
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Construct and use a range of representations, including graphs, keys, models and formulas, to record and summarise data from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, to represent qualitative and quantitative patterns or relationships, and distinguish between discrete and continuous data (VCSIS137).
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