PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE: PASSPORT TO THE RAINFOREST

Video 3: Niches and Species

Susan Laurance and ornithologist Mario Cohn-Haft take student viewers on two bird-watching expeditions in the Amazon, illustrating Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection.

"Different Niches, Different Species" examines three species of nunbirds and explains how these differ based on which section of the rainforest they live in.

"Physical and Behavioral Adaptations" shows Susan and her collaborators at work-carefully identifying and counting different species of birds as part of the Forest Fragments study, pointing out several physiological adaptations that fit particular birds to the different niches they inhabit.

Through the video and related activities your students will:

Recognize how natural selection results in different species living in different ecological niches shaped by the environment.

Explain why birds living in different niches display variations in beak and body size and shape, just as Darwin found in the Galapagos.

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