Interactive Assessment for The Making of the Fittest: Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies: Interactive Video Builder: HHMI BioInteractive

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This film explores how mutations in gene regulatory regions have resulted in major changes in the anatomy of freshwater populations of stickleback fish.

Many freshwater populations of sticklebacks lack the long spines that project from the pelvis of their marine relatives. These spines are important in the ocean for fending off large predators, so why were they lost in freshwater populations? The film tells the story of how David Kingsley, Michael Bell, and other scientists have identified key genes and genetic switches responsible for the evolution of this remarkable body transformation. Scientists have even documented similar evolutionary changes that occurred in the past, by studying a remarkable fossil record from the site of what was an ancient lake ten million years ago.

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Topics:: Paleobiology

Natural Selection

Gene Expression & Regulation
Grade Levels:: College

High School — AP/IB

High School — General

A number of interactive questions are embedded within the short film The Making of the Fittest: Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies, which illustrates how mutations in gene regulatory regions can result in the evolution of major anatomical features.