What Is Evolution Site? How To Use It
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misinformation about evolution remain. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.
This rich Web site, a companion to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials which support evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that can make it difficult to understand. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to effectively teach evolution. It is often misunderstood even by non-scientists, and even some scientists have been guilty of using definitions that confuse the issue. This is particularly relevant when discussing the nature of the words themselves.
It is therefore crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in an easy and helpful manner. The site is a companion site to the show which first aired in 2001, but can also function as an independent resource. The material is organized in a manner that makes it easier to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor and gradual process. These terms help frame the nature and significance of evolution with other scientific concepts. click the next internet site provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel myths that have been engendered by creationists.
You can also access a glossary that includes terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
The process of adaptation is the tendency of hereditary traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is due to natural selection. It occurs when organisms that are better-adapted traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adapted traits.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) is the most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of these species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species in which the evolutionary changes of one species influence evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey or parasite and host.
Origins
Species (groups that can interbreed) develop through a series natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety, including natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food and habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site traces the emergence of a number of different species of plants and animals over time, focusing on the major shifts that occurred throughout the evolution of each group's history. It also explores the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is especially important for students to comprehend.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The most famous among them was the skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany, which is now known to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it's highly unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
The site is mostly a biology site, but it also contains lots of information about geology and paleontology. The Web site has numerous aspects that are quite impressive, such as the timeline of how climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of time. It also has maps that show the locations of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for the PBS television series, but it could also be used as an educational source for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers clear links to the introductory information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's assistance) and the more specialized features of the museum's website. These hyperlinks facilitate the move from the enthralling cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies. They 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 is the study of these creatures in their geographical context and offers many advantages over the modern observational and research methods in its exploration of evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not only processes and events that happen regularly or over time but also the relative abundance and distribution of different groups of animals across the geological time.
The site is divided up into several options to gain knowledge about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the nature and evidence of evolution. The course also focuses on misconceptions about evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. In addition to general textual content, the site offers an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive content including videos, animations and virtual labs. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the large Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides an overview of the coral's relationships and their interactions with other organisms and zooms in on a single clam, which is able communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, gives a good introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The content includes a discussion on the role of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial tool for understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that weaves together all branches of the field. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across the disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of a Web site that offers both the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features an embedded "bread crumb" structure that helps students transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are more closely linked to the world of research science. For instance an animation that explains the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial selection experiments using guppies in the ponds of his native country of Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of assets related with evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives set out in biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for classroom use. These can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology is still a field of study that has many important questions, such as what causes evolution and how fast it occurs. This is especially true for human evolution, which has made it difficult to reconcile the notion that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique in the universe and has an exclusive place in the creation, with soul.
In addition, there are a number of ways that evolution could be triggered and natural selection is the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution, such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among other things.
click the next internet site of inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the ideas of evolution, others have not.