STICKLEBACKS: Connecting Genetics to Evolution

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Background: We know that natural selection is the driving force behind evolution and that
natural selection is only possible if there is variety in a population. We learned that individuals
are unique because of mutations, sexual reproduction and the process of meiosis. Now we are
going to make a very direct connection between genetics and evolution. Let’s dive in!

VIRTUAL EVOLUTION STICKLEBACK LAB

Directions:
● Go to the Stickleback Evolution Virtual Lab.
● Click on “Launch Interactive” on the upper left.
● As you go through the virtual lab - be sure to read all of the information and directions given.
Answer the questions below as you complete each section.

Introduction
Read the introduction and answer the questions below.

1. Define “model organism.” (This is a great time to use the “Reference” tab. It is there for any
vocabulary words you may not be familiar with.)

Model organisms definition is an organism suitable for studying a specific trait, disease,
or phenomenon.

2. How do spines protect ocean stickleback fish?

Spines protect ocean stickleback fish by protecting them from predatory attacks.

3. How did ancestral populations of ocean-dwelling fish come to live in freshwater lakes?

Ancestral populations of ocean dwelling fish came to live in freshwater lakes when the lakes
were cut off from the ocean after retreating ice fields.

4. Watch the video about pelvic reduction in freshwater stickleback. The loss of stickleback pelvic
spines is similar to the loss of which body parts in some other four-legged vertebrates?
 The body parts in some other four-legged vertebrates are the hind legs.

5. From a researcher’s perspective, what is the benefit of having access to hundreds of postglacial
lakes?

From a researcher's perspective, the benefit to having access to hundreds of postglacial lakes
is that it allows researchers to compare traits and make predictions about the fishes'
environments before conditions.

6. Watch the video with evolutionary biologist Dr. Michael Bell. Why is the threespine stickleback a
model organism for studies in evolution? (List at least two reasons.)

The two reasons are, the short generation time and the rapid growth.

7. Watch the video with Dr. David Kingsley explaining hind-limb reduction. Name two other
vertebrate animals whose evolutionary histories included the loss of hind limbs.

The other two vertebrate animals to lose their hind limbs were the snake and the whale.

Overview
Scroll to the top of the introduction window and click on “Overview.”

1. Click on the interactive stickleback fish. Describe where its spines are located.

The spines are located on the dorsal side in a row (3), and (2) spines located on the ventral side
of the fish.

2. What is the difference between marine, sea-run, and freshwater stickleback fish populations? Be
specific.

The difference is the row of plates that replace the typical scales of other fish.

3. Watch the video about the stickleback fish armor.

a. In addition to the spines, what is another component of the ”armor“ of a stickleback fish?

A row of plates that replace the typical scales of other fish.

b. Explain how the stickleback armor protects the fish from some predators.

The stickleback armor protects the fish from predators because as they are easy to
catch the armor of the spines makes it hard for the predator to swallow them. They
don't have squishy scales.

Tutorial 1
In the window on the left, click “Click to enter the lab.”
Start Tutorial 1.

1. Describe the following structures:

Structure Description

Complete Pelvis A pelvic with a full girdle and two pelvic spines.

Reduced Pelvis A range of structures from a simplified girdle with no pelvic spines to an
oval nub for a girdle.

Absent Pelvis No pelvic girdle and no spines.

2. Start Tutorial 1. Continue to practice scoring fish until you have mastered the technique; then
proceed to Experiment 1. (I found it easiest to score by using the “Ventral View.”)

Experiment 1
1. Explain in your own words the overall objective of Experiment 1.

The overall objective of this experiment was to examine the pelvic area of the stickleback fish
from different populations and see if there is a big difference between them.

2. Click on the link to the map of Alaska, then click on the blue pin “A” on the larger map. What
lake is located between Bear Paw Lake and Frog Lake just to the north? (hint: you will need to
zoom).

The lake that is located between bear paw lake and frog lake is Prator lake.

3. In a population, what happens to organisms that are better adapted to the environment in which
they live? What is this process called?

What happens to the organisms that are better adapted is that they will produce more and
they would be more successful in living longer in the population.

4. Watch the video of the scenery around Cook Inlet. What features in those environments might
be selecting for the following:

Complete pelvis To make it hard for predators to eat them.

Reduced pelvis To make it hard for predators to catch them.

5. In the virtual lab window, complete Part 1: Staining the Fish.

a. Why do you think it is important to empty the used stain, destaining solution, and water
under a fume hood?
 I think it is important to empty the liquid underneath a fume hood because it might be
flammable and more than likely not good to inhale.

b. How were the fish you will be using in this virtual lab caught?

They were caught from the lake using a net or little cage, so that once the fish swam in
it, they could not swim back out.

6. In the virtual lab window, proceed to Part 2: Scoring the Fish.

7. Before scoring the fish, read the information and watch the short video on Bear Paw and Frog
Lakes. According to Dr. Bell, what is an important difference between Bear Paw Lake and Frog
Lake?

According to doctor bell Bear paw lake does not have any predatory fish but frog lake does.

8. In the window on the right, click on the link to read more about random sampling. Why are
random samples, rather than entire populations, used in most research studies?

Random samples are used instead of entire populations because it would be too difficult to
count.

9. What is one advantage of studying larger-sized samples?

The advantage of studying larger sized samples is that they have a better chance of capturing
a representative sample.

10. Give an example of sampling bias.

An example of sampling bias is - capturing fish from one small part of the lake, this will not
allow the studier to figure out different types of their fishes.

11. Complete Part 2 of the lab in the window on the left. Why is it important that the labels included
in specimen jars be made of special paper that does not disintegrate in alcohol over time?

It is important because your specimens would remain correctly and clearly labeled.

12. Score all of the fish. (Hint: at any time you can “Review the scoring system” by clicking on that
option in the right window) Examine the pelvic score data you just collected. Does the pelvic
phenotype differ between Bear Paw Lake and Frog Lake fish? Explain.

All of the fish from frog lake had a complete pelvis. But at bear paw lake most of the fish had a
reduced pelvis or a n absent pelvis.
 13. Submit your Totals. Read the information and select option #2 - to have the graph automatically
generated for you.
14. After graphing, verify your data. How do your data compare to those obtained by Dr. Bell and
colleagues?

It compares to doctor bell because it shows that more than 75% of the fish is dominant with
spines.

15. Complete the Experiment 1 Quiz. Take time to read the explanation for each correct choice
provided after each question.
16. Explain why the stickleback fish in Frog Lake are more similar to ocean and sea-run stickleback
than they are to the stickleback fish in Bear Paw Lake.

In Frog lake they have predators so not losing their spine was an advantageous trait and they
were not going to evolve that trait because it was helpful.

17. In addition to predators, what other environmental factors might be responsible for the
differences between Bear Paw Lake and Frog Lake stickleback populations?

For living in fresh water it was harder for the stickleback fishes to form their pelvic spine
because they need calcium and salt and minerals to help form it and fresh water does not
provide those things. So not living in the salt water was advantageous for the fish living in
bear paw lake because they did not need to worry about forming a pelvic spine.

18. How would you test your prediction?

I would test my prediction by finding environments that do not have predators and differ in
temperature. And see the water that has minerals, and I would see if the fish evolve differently
in these different areas.

19. You do NOT need to complete the Experiment 1 Analysis.

Tutorial 2
Click on “Tutorial 2.”
Read the information on how to score the fossil specimens.

1. What score would you assign to a fossil specimen that has only one pelvic spine visible?

The score that I would assign that only has one pelvic spine visible would be a complete pelvis.

2. A stickleback fossil may show no signs of pelvic structures. What are possible sources of error
associated with scoring the pelvis of such a fossil as “absent”?
 It could be possible that that part of the lake was not preserved.

3. Start Tutorial 2. Continue scoring the fossil specimens until you are confident in your scoring
abilities; then proceed to Experiment 2. (Most people find that it is more difficult to accurately
score fossils than the preserved fish specimens. You may have to practice on 20 specimens or
more before you feel you have mastered the technique.)

Experiment 2
Read the information in the window on the right.

1. In your own words describe the overall objective of Experiment 2 and explain what the data you
collect will allow you to estimate.

We would examine fossils from a lake that is all dried up and see the pelvic rate and
structures in this population.

2. Watch the short video on the Truckee Formation in Nevada.

3. What does each sedimentary rock layer of the Truckee Formation represent?

The rock represents approximately 3000 years.

4. What is one type of information that researchers can gain from studying fossils that they cannot
obtain from living populations?

Researchers can not obtain rates and patterns form the other evolutions from living
populations.

5. Click on “Skip Part1: Fossil Prep.”

6. Proceed to Part 2: Scoring Fossils. In this virtual lab, you will graph fossil data from six rock
layers. Approximately how many years apart are any two adjacent samples?

They are approximately 3,000 years apart.

7. You will collect data on pelvic structures using fossils from rock layers 2 and 5. Approximately
how many years of deposition separate these two layers?

They are approximately 12,000 years apart.

8. Which layer is older, 2 or 5? Explain your answer.

2 is older, this is the first layer of rock that was laid meaning it is at the bottom, they count
from bottom to top.
 9. Complete Part 2 of the lab in the window on the left. Based on the pelvic phenotypes you
measured, do the fossils in layer 2 differ from those in layer 5? Explain how.

In fossil 2 - all the stickleback fish had complete pelvises and in fossil 5 they started to reduce
and they had no pelvises and they were reduced or they were absent.

10. Submit your Totals. Read the information and select option #2 - to have the graph automatically
generated for you.
11. After graphing, verify your data. How do your data compare to those collected by Dr. Bell and
colleagues?

Mine compares to the data of Dr bells because we both agree that the traits are formed due to
the environment if they are needed.

12. Complete the Experiment 2 Quiz. Take time to read the explanations for each correct choice
provided after each question.
13. What can be inferred about the presence or absence of predatory fish when the Truckee
Formation was a lake? Describe the evidence.

The fish living in that lake / population lost their spines and they were now better off ,living
there meaning that this was probably an advantageous trait for the fishes.

Experiment 2 Analysis
Read the information.
1. Complete the tables below as you perform the rate calculations (hint: the link to the instructions
is very helpful)

Sample Layer Number of Fish with Total Number of Fish Relative Frequency
a Complete Pelvis Sampled of Complete Pelvis
Trait in Population
Sampled

1 20 20 1

2 18 20 .9

3 3 20 .15

4 1 20 .05

5 0 20 0

6 0 20 0
 Time Decrease in Percentage of
Complete Pelvis Trait per
Thousand Years
(Rate of Change)

First 3,000 years -3%

(Layer 1 to Layer 2)

Next 3,000 years -25%

(Layer 2 to Layer 3)

Next 3,000 years -3%

(Layer 3 to Layer 4)

Next 3,000 years -1.7%

(Layer 4 to Layer 5)

Next 3,000 years 0%

(Layer 5 to Layer 6)

Total 15,000 years -32.7%

(Layer 1 to Layer 6)

2. What does it mean when the rate of change is a negative number?

It means the relative frequency of the traits is decreasing.

3. Complete the Analysis Quiz. Take time to read the explanation for each correct choice provided
after each question.
4. Describe the trend in data over time.

In the trait there was always decreasing however in section B there was a huge decrease. And then it
stopped changing in decline over the next 9.000 years until it was 0% change.

5. Why is it important to calculate the rate of change over time?

It can be inferred that some aspects of the evolution of traits in the living organisms are not
accessible for study because of the long process of the long time scales in the evolutionary process.

6. In what way is the change in the complete pelvis phenotype in the fossils from the Nevada
lakebed similar to what might have occurred in Bear Paw Lake from Experiment 1?

In Bear paw lake the stickleback fish lost the complete pelvis phenotype.
Experiment 3
Click on “Experiment 3.”
Read the information in the window on the right.

1. In your own words describe the overall objective of Experiment 3.

The overall objective of experiment 3 was to score sticklebacks pelvises from two different
populations and see if there differences from left to right.

2. What is one function of the Pitx1 gene?

It is involved in the development of the pelvic girdle and spies of the stickleback fish and the
hind limbs of the invertebrate.

3. Watch the video segment from the HHMI short film, “Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies.”
a. What is the relationship between changes in body form, the process of development, and
genes?

The relationship between changes in the body form arises from changes in the
development that comes from the changes in the genes, So the changes in the form
comes from the changes in the genes.

b. Why did Dr. Kingsley do genetic crosses with stickleback fish?

Dr. Kingsley did genetic crosses with stickleback fish because he wanted to map the
genetic genes in stickleback fish.

4. In the virtual lab window, skip the staining procedure.

5. Proceed to Part 2: Scoring Pelvic Asymmetry. Which one of the three pelvic girdle phenotypes is
analyzed in more detail in this experiment?

The reduced pelvis phenotype.

6. What is the difference between left-biased and right-biased pelvic asymmetry?

The pelvis vestiges is larger on the left then it right when it is left biased, but when it is right-
biased it is vice versa.

7. In the virtual lab window, complete Part 2: Scoring Pelvic Asymmetry.

8. Submit your Totals. Read the information and select option #2 - to have the graph automatically
generated for you.
9. After graphing, verify your data. How do your data compare to those collected by Dr. Bell and
colleagues?
 My data Compares to DR. Bells and his colleagues because it shows the most dominant of the
traits for the sticklebacks.

10. Complete the Experiment 3 Quiz. Take time to read the explanation for each correct choice
provided after each question.
11. The pelvic asymmetry observed in stickleback fish from Bear Paw Lake and Coyote Lake is
biased toward which side?

In bear paw lake and coyote lake, it was biased more toward the left side for the stickleback
fishes.

12. Based on previous research conducted in mice, what does this observed bias among Bear Paw
Lake and Coyote Lake stickleback suggest about the genetic mechanisms of pelvic reduction in
these two populations?

The pelvic reduction in these two populations was said to be a loss function in the Pitx1 gene.

13. You do NOT need to complete the Experiment 3 Analysis.

14. Complete the Final Quiz. Once completed, take a screenshot of your final Progress Report and
include below.

15. How are genetics connected to evolution.Explain using evidence from this lab. Use the following
terms in your explanation: phenotype, advantageous, genes, evolution, frequency, reproduction.
Your answer should be at least 2 paragraphs.

Our genes that we have as humans are used to help us grow and to fully develop this will lead
to our phenotype. Our genes also become helpful, and are used when we are reproducing.
Let’s say there is a population that has something and someone has a gene that is
advantageous to that something in the city. It would be helpful to the person because they
would be able to live longer in that area and be able to reproduce in that area. This is kinda
like with the fish they all use their genes to reproduce and in each population they have an
advantageous gene to whatever they might need to avoid. In the Bear lake their ( Pitx1) gene
stops producing its spine, this was an advantage to the fish because the predator would catch
them by their spine so losing it made it really hard for them to be caught and overall they
were able to live longer in that specific area.