Bird Adaptations-Does beak size matter in Survival?

Sarah Wagner, a PhD. candidate at the University of Colorado, visited our classroom and talked about her interest in foraging behavior of Australian birds to determine their flexibility in responding to different land use regimes and the relationship between foraging niche and range size. She introduced the concepts of natural selection and adaptation in a hands-on activity related to Darwin's study of finches in the Galapagos. Students used a variety of paper clip sizes as beaks and attempted to pick up different size seeds. The number you could pick up on your given island determined whether you were able to live and/or reproduce. At times it was frantic...just like in real life when there there is not enough of a resources.