BIO112 Arizona State Kettlewell Experiment & Candy Coated Predation Lab 1

GRAPH MUST BE CREATED ON EXCEL. This Lab is fairly easy and not time consuming at all. If you’re good at making up data, in reality as long as it makes sense you tottally can! If you’re willing to work on it please do not request more days than the time stated on the assignment. ALSO MAKE SURE TO REVIEW ASSIGNMENT AND BUDGET BEFORE BIDDING. Thanks!

Candy-coated Predation

  • You will need:
    • Candy Corn *Note: if Candy corn is out of season you can use any reasonably priced and colorful alternative that is readily available.
    • Skittles (or other reasonably priced and multi-colored candy of a similar shape)
    • A shallow container that will hold candy corn and skittles
    • A willing friend, family member, or good-natured stranger
  • You will pour all the candy corn into a container – the candy corn is acting as the ‘background’ against which predation for skittles happens. You could think of the candy corn as the forest in which the skittles live.
  • You should pour approximately 50 skittles of various colors into the bowl with the candy corn. Count how many of each color are present and the total number of skittles. Each round you will keep track of the number and proportion of ‘survivors’ of each color. Each surviving skittle will have one ‘baby’ of the same color. For this activity we will assume that there is no natural carrying capacity in the population (only limited by the amount of candy you have).
  • While you are gently shaking the container with all of the candy in it, the ‘predator’ (your friend or family member) should pick out candy for 15 seconds as quickly as they can. After this 15 second round is over, each survivor skittle gets to reproduce asexually (ie have a baby of the same color). The ‘mama’ skittle gets to stay in the candy forest as well as her ‘baby’ for the next round. In this world of candy – the only way to die is to be snatched by a predator. Count the number of each color, the total number of skittles, and calculate the proportion of each color (out of the total).
  • Repeat this procedure for four rounds. Make sure to thoroughly mix the candy after counting but before you begin predation. You should have 5 generations of data in the end (the first generation plus four generations of candy after predation).
  • You should write a lab report for this activity submitting a word doc and an excel file. In your word doc, you should write a one page report (300 words minimum) to describe how the activity went. What did you expect to happen prior to doing the activity? What actually did happen? How did this activity relate to some of the topics we learned about in this module (such as the experiences of Darwin, Wallace, or the famous Kettlewell experiment)? Include a data table and graphical analysis of the data in your excel doc. Feel free to experiment to find the best way to represent the data. I have provided an example of how the data might be arranged and analyzed, but feel free to try different things.
  • Once you finish with the formal experiment, you should partake of the candy… : )