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Evolution

  • Bird in flight. Flight is a mode of locomotion that has co-evolved in several lineages in the animal kingdom. Here, we see a roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) in flight over Everglades National Park in Florida. Photo credit: Brian K. Mealey.

    It's a bird! It's a plane! It's biomechanics!

    Learning Objectives
    Students will be able to:
    • identify and define forces that act on an object in flight.
    • understand the definition of Newton’s third law of motion, which states that with every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and apply this principle to explain pressure differences and lift generation.
    • generate hypotheses about animal flight efficiency based on examining morphology (anatomy).
    • generate hypotheses correlating wing size and performance during flight.
    • apply their understanding of wing designs and wing relationships to total mass.
    • compare flight principles among animals to understand the co-evolution in several animal groups.
  • Using phylogenetics to make inferences about historical biogeographic patterns of evolution.

    Building Trees: Introducing evolutionary concepts by exploring Crassulaceae phylogeny and biogeography

    Learning Objectives
    Students will be able to:
    • Estimate phylogenetic trees using diverse data types and phylogenetic models.
    • Correctly make inferences about evolutionary history and relatedness from the tree diagrams obtained.
    • Use selected computer programs for phylogenetic analysis.
    • Use bootstrapping to assess the statistical support for a phylogeny.
    • Use phylogenetic data to construct, compare, and evaluate the role of geologic processes in shaping the historical and current geographic distributions of a group of organisms.
  • American coot (Fulica Americana) family at the Cloisters City Park pond in Morrow Bay, CA. "Mike" Michael L. Baird [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Fulica_americana3.jpg

    Knowing your own: A classroom case study using the scientific method to investigate how birds learn to recognize their...

    Learning Objectives
    • Students will be able to identify and describe the steps of the scientific method.
    • Students will be able to develop hypotheses and predictions.
    • Students will be able to construct and interpret bar graphs based on data and predictions.
    • Students will be able to draw conclusions from data presented in graphical form.
  • DNA barcoding research in first-year biology curriculum

    CURE-all: Large Scale Implementation of Authentic DNA Barcoding Research into First-Year Biology Curriculum

    Learning Objectives
    Students will be able to: Week 1-4: Fundamentals of Science and Biology
    • List the major processes involved in scientific discovery
    • List the different types of scientific studies and which types can establish causation
    • Design experiments with appropriate controls
    • Create and evaluate phylogenetic trees
    • Define taxonomy and phylogeny and explain their relationship to each other
    • Explain DNA sequence divergence and how it applies to evolutionary relationships and DNA barcoding
    Week 5-6: Ecology
    • Define and measure biodiversity and explain its importance
    • Catalog organisms using the morphospecies concept
    • Geographically map organisms using smartphones and an online mapping program
    • Calculate metrics of species diversity using spreadsheet software
    • Use spreadsheet software to quantify and graph biodiversity at forest edges vs. interiors
    • Write a formal lab report
    Week 7-11: Cellular and Molecular Biology
    • Extract, amplify, visualize and sequence DNA using standard molecular techniques (PCR, gel electrophoresis, Sanger sequencing)
    • Explain how DNA extraction, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and Sanger sequencing work at the molecular level
    Week 12-13: Bioinformatics
    • Trim and assemble raw DNA sequence data
    • Taxonomically identify DNA sequences isolated from unknown organisms using BLAST
    • Visualize sequence data relationships using sequence alignments and gene-based phylogenetic trees
    • Map and report data in a publicly available online database
    • Share data in a formal scientific poster