rock pocket mice
introduction: read the introduction below and answer the questions after.
rock pocket mice
a typical rock pocket mouse is about 170 millimeters long from its nose to the end of its tail, shorter than an average pencil. and at just 15 grams, this tiny mouse weighs about as much as a handful of paper clips. rock pocket mice, however, have had an enormous impact on science. whats so special about them? you can find populations of rock pocket mice all over the sonoran desert in the southwestern united states. there are two common varieties of these mice — a light - colored variety and a dark - colored variety. there are also two major colors of substrate, or surface materials, that make up the desert floor. most of the desert is covered in light - colored sand and rock. however, there are also patches of dark volcanic rocks that formed from cooling lava flows. these patches of dark - colored substrate are often separated by several kilometers of light - colored substrate.
1. what animals are we studying? ____________ where do they live? ____________
2. what genetic variation (differences) is present in the mice?
3. what environmental variation (differences) is there in the desert?
4. what color fur do you think is adaptive for living on the sand? ______ the lava? ______
procedure
1. the four illustrations provided by your teacher represent snapshots of rock pocket mouse populations. each illustration shows the color variation at two different locations, a and b, at a particular moment in time. the illustrations may be out of order. place the illustrations in what you think is the correct order from oldest to most recent.
oldest: #____ second oldest: #____ third oldest: #____ most recent: #____
1. explain how you decided which illustration represents the most recent rock pocket mouse population and why you positioned the others in the order that you did.
1. watch the biointeractive short film the making of the fittest: natural selection and adaptation. as you watch, take notes on the following:
- what role does the rock pocket mouse play in the desert food web?
- what caused some mice to be light colored and some mice dark colored?
- does fur color provide any selective advantage/disadvantage?

Question

Accepted Answer

### Question 1
# Brief Explanations:
To answer "What animals are we studying?" and "Where do they live?", we refer to the introduction. The text says we study rock pocket mice, and they live in the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States.
# Answer:
What animals are we studying? Rock pocket mice. Where do they live? Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States.

### Question 2
# Brief Explanations:
From the introduction, the genetic variation in the mice is their fur color: there are light - colored and dark - colored varieties.
# Answer:
The genetic variation present in the mice is fur color; there are light - colored and dark - colored varieties.

### Question 3
# Brief Explanations:
The introduction tells us about the environmental variation in the desert. Most of the desert floor is light - colored sand and rock, but there are also patches of dark - colored volcanic rocks from cooling lava flows, with these dark patches separated by light - colored substrate.
# Answer:
The environmental variation in the desert is that most of the desert floor is light - colored sand and rock, but there are patches of dark - colored volcanic rock (from cooling lava flows) separated by light - colored substrate.

### Question 4
# Brief Explanations:
For living on the sand (light - colored substrate), a light - colored fur would be adaptive as it would provide camouflage. For living on the lava (dark - colored substrate), a dark - colored fur would be adaptive for the same reason of camouflage.
# Answer:
For living on the sand: light - colored fur. For living on the lava: dark - colored fur.

### Procedure Question 1 (Ordering Illustrations)
# Brief Explanations:
Since the illustrations are not provided, we can't give a specific order. But in general, the oldest illustration would show a population where the fur color of the mice is not well - adapted to the environment (more mixed or non - adapted), and as time progresses (more recent illustrations), the mice's fur color would be more adapted to their environment (more light - colored mice on light substrate and dark - colored mice on dark substrate) due to natural selection. So we would order them based on the degree of adaptation of the mice's fur color to their environment, with the least adapted being oldest and the most adapted being most recent.
# Answer:
(No specific answer as illustrations are not provided. But the general approach is to order based on the degree of fur color adaptation to the environment, with less adapted being oldest and more adapted being most recent.)

### Procedure Question 2 (Explaining Illustration Order)
# Brief Explanations:
Without the illustrations, we can't give a specific explanation. But in general, we would decide the most recent illustration by looking for the one where the mice's fur color is most adapted to their environment (e.g., most light - colored mice on light substrate and dark - colored mice on dark substrate) because natural selection would have had more time to act. We position the others by the degree of adaptation, with older illustrations having less adaptation (more mismatched fur colors to the environment) and more recent having more adaptation.
# Answer:
(No specific answer as illustrations are not provided. But the general explanation is based on the degree of fur color adaptation to the environment, with more adapted populations being more recent due to natural selection.)

### Film - Related Questions (General Answers)
#### What role does the rock pocket mouse play in the desert food web?
# Brief Explanations:
Rock pocket mice are likely to be consumers. They probably eat seeds, plants, or insects (depending on their diet), and they are also prey for other animals in the desert food web, like snakes, owls, etc.
# Answer:
The rock pocket mouse is a consumer (eats seeds/plants/insects) and is prey for other desert animals (e.g., snakes, owls).

#### What caused some mice to be light colored and some mice dark colored?
# Brief Explanations:
Genetic mutations are the ultimate cause. A mutation in the gene related to fur color led to the different fur color phenotypes (light and dark). Then natural selection acts on these phenotypes; in different environments (light or dark substrate), the different fur colors have different survival and reproductive rates.
# Answer:
Genetic mutations led to different fur color phenotypes (light and dark). Then natural selection acts on these phenotypes in different environments.

#### Does fur color provide any selective advantage/disadvantage?
# Brief Explanations:
Fur color provides a selective advantage or disadvantage depending on the environment. On a light - colored substrate, light - colored fur provides a camouflage advantage (less likely to be preyed upon), while dark - colored fur is a disadvantage (more likely to be preyed upon). On a dark - colored substrate, dark - colored fur is an advantage and light - colored fur is a disadvantage.
# Answer:
Yes, fur color provides a selective advantage or disadvantage. On light - colored substrate, light - colored fur is an advantage (camouflage) and dark - colored fur is a disadvantage. On dark - colored substrate, dark - colored fur is an advantage and light - colored fur is a disadvantage.

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