Five Evolution Site Projects For Any Budget

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led many people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.

This rich Web site, a companion to the PBS program that provides teachers with resources that promote evolution education while avoiding the types of misconceptions which undermine it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach effectively. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject and some scientists use a definition that confuses it. This is particularly true when discussing the definition of the words.

It is therefore crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. The website is a companion to the series that first aired in 2001, but it also functions as an independent resource. The content is presented in an organized way that makes it easy to navigate and understand.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor and gradual process. These terms help define the nature and significance of evolution to other concepts in science.  에볼루션 카지노  provides a summary of the way the concept of evolution has been examined. This information can help dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.

It is also possible to access a glossary of terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

Adaptation is the tendency of hereditary traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is a result of natural selection, which happens when organisms that have better-adapted characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.

Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of the species.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution: A relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Coevolution can be seen through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups which can interbreed) change by a series of natural variations in the traits of their offspring. The changes can be caused by a variety of factors that include natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, like climate changes or competition for food resources and habitat can impede or accelerate the process.

The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a variety of groups of animals and plants over time and focuses on the most significant shifts that occurred throughout the history of each group. It also examines the evolutionary history of humans, a topic that is especially important for students to comprehend.

Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. The most famous among them was the skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is highly unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, a year following the initial edition of The Origin.

The site is mostly an online biology resource however it also includes a lot of information on geology and paleontology. The Web site has numerous aspects that are quite impressive, including the timeline of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also has a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.

Although the site is a companion to the PBS television series, it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is extremely well organized and provides clear links between the introductory information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks make it easy to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. Particularly there are hyperlinks to John Endler's research with guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life on Earth has resulted in a variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures in their geological environment offers many advantages over modern observational or research methods of studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that take place regularly or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of various animal groups in space over the course of geological time.

The Web site is divided into a variety of pathways to understanding evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the nature of science and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution and the background of evolutionary thought.

Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of levels of curriculum and teaching methods. In addition to the general textual content, the site also has an array of interactive and multimedia resources, such as video clips, animations, and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the massive website.

For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and their interaction with other organisms, then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the website, provide an excellent introduction to a broad range of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an overview of the role of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis as a key tool to understand evolutionary changes.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that connects all branches of the field. A vast collection of resources supports teaching about evolution across the life sciences.

One resource, the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that offers both depth as well as broadness in terms of educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has a "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely connected to the worlds of research science. For example, an animation introducing the idea of genetic inheritance connects to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.

Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this web site, which has an extensive collection of multimedia resources that are related to evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning goals established in the standards for biology. It contains seven short videos specifically designed for classroom use. They can be viewed online or purchased as DVDs.

A number of important questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, including the factors that trigger evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly relevant in the case of human evolution where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a special place in the creation and a soul, with the idea that innate physical traits originated from Apes.

There are a myriad of other ways in which evolution can take place and natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study different types such as mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.

Although many scientific fields of study have a conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolution biology has been the subject of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolutionary biology, while others haven't.