Male northern elephant seals grow to be 13 feet in length and can weigh up to 4,500 pounds. In the video, scholars explore genetic drift in a population through a simulation. The instructor shows allele frequencies changing over time, demonstrating how they drift apart. In the end, pupils see how the bottleneck effect drastically changed the northern elephant seal population. 

Concepts

genetic drift, evolution, alleles, frequency

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Further research the bottleneck effect on northern elephant seals and share findings with the class

Classroom Considerations

• Video assumes students understand alleles, dominant/recessive genes, and allele frequency (Hardy-Weinberg)
• Resource is the eighth in a collection of 18 videos

Pros

• Video provides links to a concept map, slideshow and two review worksheets
• Utilizes high-quality diagrams and photographs to help teach the information

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.9-10.3