Who Wants to Live A Million Years Questions

Questions

1. How many generations did it take for you to finally win a game? Why do you think it took this long? What do you think this means/suggests for most real species on Earth in terms of their species's chances of long-term survival?

1. It took me about 4 generations to actual survive a million years.
2. I think it took me this long because I wasn’t using a variety of different traits to be able to survive.
3. I think this means that all their survival depends on their adaption abilities and traits.

2. Which initial phenotypes/phenotype combinations did you select and why?Which starting/initial combinations seemed to allow you to continue/survive the longest (win the most games)? Why do you think this was so?

1. I initially chose the long neck, long legs, short hair, and small body.
2. The combinations that allowed me to win was the long legs, long neck, and fluffy hair.
3. I think it helped me because they were able to run faster, survive the cold weather, and get food easier.

3. Do you think this population of theoretical creatures would be greatly affected by genetic drift? What evidence of drift did you see as you played the game (simulation)?

1. Yes, because if their good traits were taken away, they could easily die.
2. I saw the drift of colors and upper body change a lot.

4. Which alleles/phenotypes seemed to be dominant and which seemed to be recessive? How could you tell?

1. In my opinion, the long legs seemed more dominant than the fur.
2. I could tell because throughout the game, the legs were always consistent while the fur changed from long to short.

5. Match the environments/situations/conditions below with their corresponding adaptations:

(a) cold conditions - longer and thicker fur; (b) hot conditions - short and thin fur; (c) new large predator on the scene - longer legs; (d) new tall food source - long necks

6. How would you improve this simulation to more realistically represent natural selection and biological evolution? Discuss at least three improvements.

1. One improvement could be that hunters are there, because in reality a lot of poachers/hunters are killing animals.
2. Another improvement could be that different natural disasters happen rather than just one because all disasters have different things you should do.
3. Lastly, another improvement could be deforestation. When people cut down the trees of a forest, some animals don’t survive.