Selection Pressures worksheet

Activity 1: Fill in the blanks:

competition - corals - decrease - fur - living - pressures - reproducing - source - termites - variation

Selection pressures are factors that influence which individuals in a population will survive and reproduce.
Positive selection _______________ is the process by which favorable traits become more common in a
population because they increase an organism’s chance of surviving and reproducing.

For example, an increased number of ants and _________________ in an area is a positive selection
pressure for echidnas that use these as a food _________________.

Negative selection pressures _____________ an organism’s chance of surviving and _____________

because they have unfavorable alleles. For example, an increase in average water temperatures decreases
the likelihood of ____________ surviving. An increase in average land temperatures selects variations of
possums that can tolerate higher heats, perhaps by having less dense ________, possums that cannot
withstand these high temperatures are more likely to die.

Selection pressures can be categorized as abiotic (non-living) or biotic (living). Examples of abiotic
selection pressures include changes in gas availability, pH and access to sunlight. Examples of biotic
selection pressures include presence of predators, diseases and _______________________ within a
species.

Activity 2: Mix and match each word to its definition:

Positive selection A factor that decreases the likelihood of a particular species

pressure or variations within a species surviving to reproduce

Negative selection A selection pressure that involves non-living factors, such

pressure as the availability of water and climate

Communities of organisms living in a given area that

Biotic selection interact with each other and with their physical
pressure environment.

A selection pressure that involves living factors, such as the

Ecosystem ability to find a mate and predation

A factor that increases the likelihood of a species or

Abiotic selection variation within a species surviving to reproduce
pressure
Activity 3: Consider the following examples of selection pressures.

Classify each selection pressure as being primarily abiotic or biotic.

Abiotic Biotic Abioti Biotic

c
a. Availability of food j. Soil pH

b. Competition for territory k. Parasites

c. Air temperature l. Minerals in the soil

d. Salinity (salt levels) m. Availability of water

e. Altitude n. Water depth

f. Number of predators o. Infectious diseases

g. Ability to find a mate p. Tidal flow

h. Carbon dioxide levels q. Oxygen levels

i. Environmental toxins r. Natural disasters

Activity 4: Multiple choice questions

1. Increasing the abundance of predators for a given species is most likely to:
a. Act as a negative selection pressure
b. Act as a positive selection pressure
c. Increase the abundance of the given species
d. Act as a abiotic selection pressure

2. A cold climate area is observed to have had the average temperature steadily increase for several
years. How will this affect the local area?
a. It will promote the survival of organisms with poor heat tolerance
b. It will reduce the number of plant species found in the region
c. It will act as a biotic selection pressure
d. It will select variations in organisms that make them better adapted to tolerate heat

3. Volcanic eruptions can emit toxic gases and high heat lava flows. However, in the long term,
volcanic eruptions create very fertile soils
Which of the following statements accurately describes the effects of a volcanic eruption on the
surrounding ecosystem?
a. Long term effects of volcanic eruptions are a negative selection pressure for all species
b. A volcanic eruption promotes biodiversity in the short term for the ecosystem
c. In the long term, volcanic eruptions provide an abiotic positive selection pressure for plants
d. Volcanic eruptions are an abiotic, positive selection pressure in the short term

Answer sheet
Activity 1: Fill in the blanks:

competition - corals - decrease - fur - living - pressures - reproduce - source

- termites - variation

Selection pressures are factors that influence which individuals in a population will survive and reproduce.
Positive selection pressure is the process by which favourable traits become more common in a
population because they increase an organisms chance of surviving and reproducing.

For example, an increased number of ants and termites in an area is a positive selection pressure for
echidnas that use these as a food source.

Negative selection pressures increases an organism’s chance of surviving and reproducing because they
have unfavorable alleles. For example, an increase in average water temperatures decreases the likelihood
of corals surviving. An increase in average land temperatures selects variations of possums that can
tolerate higher heats, perhaps by having less dense fur possums that cannot withstand these high
temperatures are more likely to die.

Selection pressures can be categorized as abiotic (non-living) or biotic (living). Examples of abiotic
selection pressures include changes in gas availability, pH and access to sunlight. Examples of biotic
selection pressures include presence of predators, diseases and competition within a species.

Activity 2: Mix and match each word to its definition:

Positive selection A factor that decreases the likelihood of a particular species

pressure or variations within a species surviving to reproduce

Negative selection A selection pressure that involves non-living factors, such

pressure as the availability of water and climate

Communities of organisms living in a given area that

Biotic selection interact with each other and with their physical
pressure environment.

A selection pressure that involves living factors, such as the

Ecosystem ability to find a mate and predation

A factor that increases the likelihood of a species or

Abiotic selection variation within a species surviving to reproduce
pressure

Activity 3: Consider the following examples of selection pressures.

Classify each selection pressure as being primarily abiotic or biotic.

Abiotic Biotic Abioti Biotic

c
a. Availability of food j. Soil pH

b. Competition for territory k. Parasites

c. Air temperature l. Minerals in the soil

d. Salinity (salt levels) m. Availability of water

e. Altitude n. Water depth

f. Number of predators o. Infectious diseases

g. Ability to find a mate p. Tidal flow

h. Carbon dioxide levels q. Oxygen levels

i. Environmental toxins r. Natural disasters

Activity 4: Multiple choice questions

1. Increasing the abundance of predators for a given species is most likely to:
a. Act as a negative selection pressure
b. Act as a positive selection pressure
c. Increase the abundance of the given species
d. Act as a abiotic selection pressure

2. A cold climate area is observed to have had the average temperature steadily increase for several
years. How will this affect the local area?
a. It will promote the survival of organisms with poor heat tolerance
b. It will reduce the number of plant species found in the region
c. It will act as a biotic selection pressure
d. It will select variations in organisms that make them better adapted to tolerate heat

3. Volcanic eruptions can emit toxic gases and high heat lava flows. However, in the long term,
volcanic eruptions create very fertile soils
Which of the following statements accurately describes the effects of a volcanic eruption on the
surrounding area?
a. Long term effects of volcanic eruptions are a negative selection pressure for all species
b. A volcanic eruption promotes biodiversity in the short term for the ecosystem
c. In the long term, volcanic eruptions provide an abiotic positive selection pressure for plants
d. Volcanic eruptions are an abiotic, positive selection pressure in the short term