A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST REGISTERED CHARITY NO 1043470 GALAPAGOSCONSERVATIONORGUK A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST REGISTERED CHARITY NO 1043470 ID: 533434
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "The evolution of flightless birds" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1Slide2
The evolution of flightless birds
A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1043470)
GALAPAGOSCONSERVATION.ORG.UKSlide3
A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1043470)
GALAPAGOSCONSERVATION.ORG.UK
A few facts about flightless birds
There are over 60 species of flightless birds in the world, including birds from many different groups such as –
The ‘ratites’ including the ostrich, emu, cassowary and kiwi
Penguins
Pelicans and Cormorants
Kingfishers and Hornbills
Herons and Ibis
Birds of prey
Parrots
Pigeons and Doves
Owls
Gulls and Terns…… and many more
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid
=1059922
Many species are now extinct, including the famous Dodo and the large waterfowl bird, moa-nalos of Hawaii.Slide4
A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1043470)
GALAPAGOSCONSERVATION.ORG.UK
Where can flightless birds be found?
Cassowaries and Emus in Australia
Ostriches in Africa
Rheas in South America
Kiwis and Kakapos in New Zealand
Penguin species in Antarctica, South America and Australasia
Cormorants in
GalapagosSlide5
A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1043470)
GALAPAGOSCONSERVATION.ORG.UK
Challenge task!
With a learning partner look at the map and distribution of some of the worlds flightless birds.
Can you see a pattern in their distribution?
If there is a pattern, can you explain why this may be?Slide6
A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1043470)
GALAPAGOSCONSERVATION.ORG.UK
Let us look at 2 places where flightless birds live today.
http://kakaporecovery.org.nz/
The Kakapo is the world’s rarest and heaviest parrot. Once common on the main islands, it now only survives on remote islands off the coast of New Zealand.
The Flightless Cormorant is the only species of cormorant that has lost the ability to fly. It lives on the rocky shores of the islands of Fernandina and Isabela in the Galapagos.
https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/ks3/gsl/education/resources/rockcycle/page3534.htmlSlide7
A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1043470)
GALAPAGOSCONSERVATION.ORG.UK
Challenge task!
Develop a theory about why birds such as the Cormorant and Kakapo became flightless.
You may want to consider the following in developing your hypothesis –
The location/geography of where they live
What type of habitat do they live in?
What resources are available for them that provide the basic essentials for life? You may want to think about the availability of food.
What other species share their habitat?
Do they have any natural predators?
What is the most important thing for them to expend their energy on?
Share your theory with the rest of the class. You will need to explain your ideas clearly and justify your ideas. You may not agree with some hypotheses – question and reason as to why you disagree and suggest why your theory is correct.Slide8
A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1043470)
GALAPAGOSCONSERVATION.ORG.UK
On the next slide watch the two video clips that explain why some species of birds became flightless.
Were your ideas and theories right?
Make notes on any points that you need to as you will need them for later.Slide9
Click to watch
Click to watchSlide10
A RESOURCE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1043470)
GALAPAGOSCONSERVATION.ORG.UK
Key points for why some birds have lost the ability to fly.
Do they match yours?
Environmental pressures can lead to changes in traits and evolution of species
If there are no natural land predators, which is more often the case on smaller islands, the need to fly away from danger is removed
If the environment provides plentiful food and fairly stable weather conditions birds don’t need to travel or migrate in search of food or to find suitable breeding and nesting sites. Why waste energy flying when they don’t need to?
In the case of land birds such as the ostrich and emu, losing the ability to fly meant that they increased in size and became better suited for running
For birds that rely on the ocean for their food, such as penguins and the flightless cormorant, being able to swim, dive and manoeuvre more easily in the water was more important than the ability to fly
As their ability to dive and swim increased, the ability to fly decreased
Wings cannot work as efficiently both in the air and in water, so over time evolution favoured the ability to swim
Convergent evolution is when species independently evolve the same traits, such as having or losing the ability to fly, and human and koala fingerprints!