Genes, Traits, and Variation Investigation
Why do you look like you do — and how much of that is written in DNA versus shaped by the world around you?
Evidence you will build
- Annotated DNA–chromosome diagram
- Variation dataset (class measurement)
- Continuous vs discontinuous variation graphs
- Trait explanation case study (NZ species)
Why this matters
Understanding variation helps communities protect biodiversity and make sense of health conditions shaped by genes and environment.
What you will investigate and collect
You will model how genes and environment shape traits, using class data and a local species case study. How variation appears in a population and what genes, proteins, and environment each contribute. Measurement data, diagrams, and graphs of continuous vs discontinuous variation.
- Individual or sample ID
- Trait measurement
- Trait category
What you might make or share
- Field markerLaser cut
Mark monitoring sites reliably across sessions
Consistency between visits makes population or count evidence comparable.
- Insect hotel segmentLaser cut
Prototype habitat inserts informed by trap data
Evidence about which guilds appeared suggests what materials matter first.