Chapter 15.1, Problem 8MI

Summarize three observations that Darwin made in his research with pigeons.

1. __________________________________________
2. __________________________________________
3. __________________________________________

Summary Introduction

To summarize:

Three observations that Darwin made in his research with pigeons.

Introduction: Darwin hypothesized that new species could appear gradually through changes in ancestral species but he could not understand how such a process could work. He consulted animal breeders- pigeon breeders in particular and found that a breeder can promote certain traits by selecting and breeding pigeons that have most prominent expression of traits.

Answer to Problem 8MI

1. Darwin found that there are small variations in traits of individual pigeons.
2. The offspring inherited the traits.
3. Artificial selection and breeding promoted the favorable traits.

Explanation of Solution

Different breeds of pigeonshad some distinctive traits that were also present in that breed’s offspring. A pigeon breeder promoted these traits by selecting and breeding pigeons that had most prominent expression of these traits.

Example- In order to produce pigeons with fan shaped tails; the breeder will breed pigeons that have fan shaped tails. The offspring will inherit the fantail of their parents. By selective breeding the breeder promoted the distinctive trait.

Breeding organisms with specific traits in order to produce offspring with identical traits is called artificial selection.