the Ecological Niche of the australian stock horse (analyze & interpret #1 & 4)
The Australian Stock Horse currently lives in Australia, isolated from the rest of the world by the oceans and seas. It resides in Eastern Australia where there are large grass lands and lots of cattle and sheep ranches. Some areas of the terrain are rocky, mostly dirt roads exist, and some nearby rivers. As a result of the cattle and sheep, the Australian Stock Horse competes with the cattle and sheep for food such as grass and grains and water since water is scarce. The Australian stock horse eats grass and some grains found on the terrain and drinks water from nearby rivers. To reproduce, the male and female Australian stock horse mate, passing on their traits and genes to their offspring. Its predators include: mountain lions, wolves, dingoes, and coyotes. The Australian Stock Horse has several characteristics that increase its success in its niche. One of those characteristics is the location of its eyes. The Australian Stock Horse has eyes located on the side of its head that allow it to see nearly 360 degrees around its environment. This characteristic will allow the Australian Stock Horse to be able to see predators and evade them in response. Another characteristic that allows the Australian Stock Horse to have great success in its niche is its hard, dense feet and strong legs. The legs and feet of the Australian Stock Horse will allow it to walk or run on the rocky terrain with ease. Other characteristics that will allow it to be successful in its niche include: its well-muscled body, its tough and intelligent temperament, good sense of smell, its ability to sleep while standing up, and strong back and ribs - - adds to the endurance, speed, and strength, which would help it protect itself against predators, or travel long distances to find water, for example. Developing these adaptations would allow the Australian Stock Horse to survive the environmental conditions.
Genetic drift, mutation, natural selection (analyze & interpret #2 & 3)
Since the population of the Australian stock horse is small, genetic drift may occur. If genetic drift does occur, the gene pool of the population of the Australian Stock Horse may be reduced, meaning the parent population is less likely to be reflected in the next generation of Australian Stock Horses. As a result of the gene pool being reduced, the genetic diversity in the population of Australian Stock Horse will also decrease. Other mechanisms of evolutionary change that might affect the evolution of the Australian Stock Horse breed is a mutation and natural selection. A mutation can occur in an individual of the Australian Stock Horse which would mean new alleles or genes are introduced into the population. As a result of a mutation occuring in the population, the horses can mate and reproduce, passing on that mutation to their offspring in the next generation of Australian Stock Horses. This would increase genetic variation and genetic diversity in the breed. Natural Selection is a key evolutionary mechanism that can occur in the Australian Stock Horse breed. Those individuals who have desirable traits that allow them to survive in their environment will survive and reproduce, passing on their traits to their offspring. For example, those individuals of the Australian Stock Horse breed that have hard, steady feet will survive if the terrain was to get rougher and water was found on the rocky terrain. These individuals will reproduce and pass on their hard, steady feet trait to their offspring, resulting in significant changes in the population in the next generations.
the effects of other organisms on the australian stock horse (analyze & interpret #5 & 6)
Other organisms living in Eastern Australia like: the cattle, sheep, dingoes, coyotes, and mountain lions exerted selective pressures on the Australian Stock Horse. The cattle and sheep eat the same grass or drinking the same water that the Australian Stock Horse breed eats. This competition of food and water favoured the certain individuals of the Australian Stock Horse that were a little bit aggressive. The little bit more aggressive Australian Stock Horses ate the grass and found water more often and prevented the cattle and sheep from eating the grass or drinking the water since resources are scarce. The predators also exerted selective pressure on the Australian Stock Horse. The individuals that had good and calm temperament were more susceptible to predatory attacks since it was not in their nature to be aggressive. In addition, individuals of the Australian Stock Horse that were aggressive were able to fight against predators. Unfortunately, these predictions made cannot be tested because it is not plausible; there is a very small chance that these environmental conditions and the possibility of predicting the actual appearance of a modern horse's descendant based on the appearance and research of the Australian Stock Horse is small.