Science Project Idea- Domestication of plants and animals.
Improvement of Plants and Animals- Science Project Idea {msloadposition advert1} Of course we mean by improvement, making these plants and animals better fitted to meet our needs.The history of some of our domesticated animals and plants runs back to the point where our knowledge of the history of man begins, so that it is impossible to trace them directly from their wild ancestors.They may, however, be compared in some cases with wild plants and animals which apparently are similar to these unknown ancestors.Wheat, oats, rye, barley, etc., have evidently been derived from wild grasses, from which they now differ chiefly in the amount of food material stored in the grain or seed.
Chickens have changed much from the Asiatic bird which is thought to be most nearly like the one from which they have descended.Dogs have become quite unlike their wild ancestors, apparently wolves and coyotes or the close relatives of these.Turkeys, which have become domesticated in relatively recent times, have already begun to be changed in some respects from the wild turkeys which were found in the American woods by the early settlers.
The most striking effect of the influence of domestication in causing improvement in plants is shown by those plants which are native to America and whose whole histories are known.The Indian corn, which explorers found the American Indians cultivating in a very crude way, would hardly be recognized as being related to the large-grained, fulleared corn whose crop in 1920 was worth over $4,000,000,000.
The potatoes found by these early explorers were about the size of marbles.During the few hundreds of years since they have been cultivated by civilized man, both quality and size have been greatly improved.In 1920 the average yield per acre was over 100 bushels; some areas yielding 300 to 400 bushels per acre.
Not only has there been an improvement under domestication of the plants and animals mentioned above, but the same is true to a greater or less extent of all plants and animals for which we have use.The question that arises in our minds is, how has this improvement been brought about, and how may we continue the process?. Science Fair Project Idea Pick an animal or plant species and show its time line before and after its domestication.Afterwards pick a animal or plant that has not been domesticated yet and theorize on how it would be, act and its improvements for human kind will its domestication have.Don't forget to put diagrams of before and after of your domesticated animal and plant!! Also don't forget to name it!!! {msloadposition advert2} {msloadposition advert3}
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