In this short film for primary schools, Michaela Strachan looks at fish and mammals and explains how they have evolved to become better camouflaged to suit their environment.
Animals that are not well camouflaged are more likely to be eaten as prey.
Mutations are changes in genes that produce a beneficial or harmful trait.
After many generations the better camouflaged offspring will thrive and reproduce more.
Michaela models selection pressure by predators with a game involving sweets and salad.
This short film is from the BBC series, Evolutionwatch.
Teacher Notes
This short film could be shown before a school visit to an aquarium.
You could replicate the game with your class using sweets and salad, or with pieces of coloured wool on grass.
You could challenge your pupils to make camouflaged masks or camouflage themselves against different backgrounds.
Pupils could also design an animal that is camouflaged against a given habitat.
Curriculum Notes
This short film will be relevant for teaching primary science, particularly on the topics of animals and evolution.
More from Evolutionwatch:
How have animal skeletons adapted? video
How have animal skeletons adapted over thousands of years of evolution? In this short film for primary schools Martin Hughes-Games looks at the skeletons of animals and humans and explains how and why they have changed.
What is selective breeding? video
In this short film for primary schools Michaela Strachen introduces the concept of inherited characteristics in animals and vegetables, and we see how dog breeders and vegetable growers make use of artificial selection.
Different types of leaves. video
In this short film for primary schools Martin Hughes-Games investigates variation in leaf material from a pine and broad leaf forest and discusses why some leaves drop and some leaves stay all year round.
How animals have adapted to become successful predators. video
In this short film for primary schools Michaela Strachan visits an owl sanctuary with some primary school pupils to find out how a barn owl is adapted to be a successful predator.
Timeline of life on Earth video
In this short film for primary schools Martin Hughes-Games describes the role of a palaeontologist; someone who studies ancient living things and how planet Earth has evolved over millions of years.
