Video: Natural Selection and Climate Change

A video that shows that climate change can be a selective pressure in natural selection that can lead to the ‘evolutionary rescue’ of a species.

Students will learn about the Snowshoe hares in North America. They will understand how reduced snowfall due to a warming climate can behave as a selective pressure on the seasonal coat colour polymorphism of the species.

Use this tool to help students find answers to:

1. What is genetic polymorphism?
2. What is selective pressure? How could climate change act as a selective pressure in the evolution of a species of organisms?

About the Tool

Tool Name	Will Snowshoe Hares Win a Race Between Evolution and Climate Change
Discipline	Biological Sciences
Topic(s) in Discipline	Natural Selection, Selective Pressure, Evolution, Speciation, Evolutionary Hotspots, Genetic Polymorphism, Genetic Variants, Adaptive Advantage, Snowshoe hares, Coat Colour Polymorphism
Climate Topic	Climate and the Biosphere
Type of Tool	Video
Grade Level	High school, Undergraduate
Location	North America, USA, Washington State
Language	English
Translation
Developed by	National Geographic
Hosted at	National Geographic YouTube Channel
Link	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwZzmTuhs3M
Access	Online
Computer Skills	Basic