Natural Selection and Adaption Example of Snowshoe Hare

• Play the video, 'Will Snowshoe Hares Win the Race between Evolution and Climate Change', by National Geographic to understand how reduced snowfall due to a warming climate, behaves as a selective pressure on the seasonal coat colour polymorphism of the Snowshoe hares in North America. Snowshoe hares change coat colour in different seasons- white when the ground is snow covered and brown when it is not-to protect themselves from predators.
• Use the resource to confirm that that snowshoe hares from areas where the ground is snow-covered or from areas where the ground is rarely covered with snow through the year, show no seasonal change in coat colour.
• The areas in between these regions are where most hares that seasonally change their coat colour can be found.
• Use the associated reading, 'Mills Lab publishes new article in Science: Research identifies areas where evolution could rescue animals threatened by climate change' by the Mills Lab, University of Montana, to show that research on the Snowshoe hares has established that these intermediary zones are evolutionary hotspots that show a higher percentage of non- colour changing brown snowshoe hares due to the ground remaining snow free for longer as a result of a warming climate.
• Explain how this is an example of 'Evolutionary Rescue' of a species by selection for a character that affords better protection from predators in a changing environment, in this case, due to climate change.

This video series present the scientific evidences that the Climate Change is taking place.