Predicting the Future: Evolutionary Adaptation

School of Science

About this example

In this group task, students will explore evolutionary principles by predicting how an existing animal might adapt to a dramatically changed extreme environment. Each group will complete two parts:

Part I: Research

1. Select and describe a future extreme environment, including the selective pressures it introduces
2. Choose an existing animal as the baseline species
3. Predict plausible evolutionary adaptations (e.g., physiological, morphological, behavioural, reproductive and life strategy changes) that would enhance fitness in the new environment
4. Use an AI image generator (e.g., MidJourney, Bing Creator, DALL.E) to create two images:
   • The animal in its current form
   • The predicted future adapted form

Part II: Presentation and critique

1. Explain the chosen environment and its selective pressure
2. Showcase AI-generated images to illustrate the adaptation
3. Describe and justify the predicted adaptations using evolutionary principles
4. Critically evaluate the limitations of the AI-generated image and explain how scientific reasoning informed design choices

Learning outcome:

1. Describe and justify the role of animal physiology, reproduction and life strategies in evolution

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