Emily Hoch

Anthropology 1020
2/5/2015
Darwins Finches Lab Report

Introduction
In September of 1835 Charles Darwin revolutionized the world of science. During the time
he spent on the Galapagos Islands Darwin he observed and collected a variety of birds that
populated the islands. As he continued to study the finches he came to realize that they were
all different, but they were also similarprobably closely related. This recognition prompted
Darwin to formulate the principle of natural selection.
Robin Lloyd said, People refer to Darwin's Finches from time to time as a symbol of
evolution Charles Darwin's observations, notes and collected organisms from the
Galapagos Islands during his 5-year voyage on the Beagle resulted in his theory of evolution
by natural selection, one of the best substantiated theories in the history of science (Lloyd).
For many years since Darwins groundbreaking observations, scientists continue to test and
retest the various theories presented in Darwins Finches. As a class we created a similar
study using different utensils to represent different beak types of the finches. The different
utensils we used to represent the beaks were tongs, chopsticks, clothespins, large hair clips,
tweezers, binder clips and small hair clips and eventually a chip clip.

My initial hypothesis was that the tweezers and the large hair clips would have the greatest
rate of success and reproduction. I thought the tweezers and large hair clips would do
better because 1) the tweezers are fine tipped and are made to grasp small objects 2) the large
hair clips wide mouth would be able to capture and hold the seeds.
Materials and Methods
As stated before the materials used were tongs, chopsticks, clothespins, large hair clips,
binder clips, tweezers, small hair clips and chip clips. Seeds were also a critical part of the
experiment because they were the component used to test how well certain utensils were able
to grasp them.
In order to effectively replicate this process a participant will need to repeat the process
several times. In our case we repeated the activity six times. Each round, every participant
used their assigned utensil to see how many seeds they could pick up and place in a cup for
the duration of 1 minute, but we they only able to pick up one seed at a time. As the activity
repeated, participants recorded the number of seeds and whoever had the most seeds was
able to reproduce and whoever gathered the least amount of seeds died out, and could
essentially become extinct.
Results
The results were that the tweezers had a high success rate, the small hair clips and chopsticks
fluctuated but their numbers didnt decrease, and the binder clips and clothespins had the
least amount of success.
Below is the chart that shows all the important data collected throughout the experiment:

Conclusion
Throughout the duration of the experiment I learned that my hypothesis was partially correct.
I initially thought the tweezers would have a high success rate and I was correct. But the
large hair clips did not do as well as I thought they would. Because participants could only
pick up one seed, the large hair clips had trouble grasping the small seed and often the seed
would slip through the cracks. I also hypothesized that the binder clips and clothespins

would have the least amount of success when the clothespins actually increased in number.
But I was right about the binder clips, whose numbers decreased with each round.
I think you could replicate this process and if there were some differences made, there would
be different results. For example rather than only being able to pick up one seed, if a
participants could pick up more than one seed at a time, I think tweezers and chopsticks
would decrease in numbers and the large hair clips, tongs and even the small hair clips would
have greater success because they have a design that permits them to hold more.
Discussion
The scientific method is defined as a method of procedure that has characterized natural
science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and
experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses. Throughout this
entire process we used all the elements of the scientific method. We formed a hypothesis or
educated guess about which beaks would do the best. We tested, measured and observed
how all the different beak types functioned through several rounds, and then we were able
to form a conclusion and modify our initial hypotheses.
Throughout this experiment it was easy to see that Darwins study of finches has an
incredibly huge impact on science and the theory of evolution and natural selection. He
completely revolutionized this aspect of science and his impact continues to be felt today.
Darwin once said A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value
of life. Its clear that Darwin was a man of his word because he dedicated his life to
studying and trying to understand a world full of wonderful creatures.

References
Lloyd, R. (2013, January 13). What's So Special About Darwin's Finches? Retrieved
February 5, 2015, from http://www.livescience.com/32409-whats-so-special-aboutdarwins-finches.html
Darwin's Finches. (2005, January 1). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from
http://www.truthinscience.org.uk/tis2/index.php/evidence-for-evolution-mainmenu65/53-darwins-finches.html
DARWINS FINCHES AND NATURAL SELECTION IN THE GALAPAGOS. (n.d.).
Retrieved February 1, 2015, from http://earthwatch.org/expeditions/darwins-finchesand-natural-selection-in-the-galapagos