How To Identify The Evolution Site To Be Right For You

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts by biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions regarding evolution. People who have absorbed the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists claim they do not believe in evolution.

This rich website - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of misconceptions that undermine it. It's organized in the "bread crumb" format to aid in navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and challenging subject to teach well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists and even some scientists are guilty of using a definition that confuses the issue. This is particularly relevant when it comes to the meaning of the words themselves.

It is important to define terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. It is an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but also a resource of its own. The information is presented in an organized manner that makes it simpler to navigate and comprehend.

The site defines terms like common ancestor and gradual process. These terms help frame the nature and relationship of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site provides an overview of the way that evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been engendered by the creationists.

You can also access a glossary that includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adaptable characteristics to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor): The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. By analyzing DNA from these species it is possible to identify the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular that contains the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) evolve through natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. The changes can be caused by a variety of factors that include natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of genes. The development of a new species could take thousands of years and the process may be slowed or increased by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site traces through time the evolution of various groups of animals and plants, focusing on major transitions in each group's history. It also explores human evolution as a subject of particular importance for students.

When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. One of them was the infamous 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. It is unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, a year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin.

While the site is focused on biology, it contains a wealth of information about geology as well as paleontology. Among the best features on the site are a series of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, and a map of the distribution of a few of the fossil groups featured on the site.

While the site is a companion piece to a PBS television show however, it can stand on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized elements of the museum Web site. These links make it easier to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. There are links to John Endler’s experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance 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 within their geographical context and offers numerous advantages over the current observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary processes. In addition to examining the processes and events that happen frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology allows to examine the diversity of groups of organisms and their distribution across the course of geological time.

The site is divided up into several paths that can be chosen to study the subject of evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also explores common misconceptions about evolution as well as the evolution of thought.

Each of the other sections of the Evolution site is equally well created, with resources that can support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. In addition to general textual content, the site offers a wide range of multimedia and interactive content, such as videos, animations and virtual labs. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the large Web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of coral relationships, their interaction with other organisms, and then zooms in to one clam that can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to a wide variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an explanation of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial tool for understanding evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students the concept of evolution is a major thread that binds all the branches of the field. A rich collection of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.

One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that offers both the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also has an "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 linked to the realms of research science. For example an animation that introduces the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments in artificial selection with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.

The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of materials that deal to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives set out in biology standards. It contains seven videos that are designed for use in classrooms. These can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.

A number of important questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, including what causes evolution to occur and how fast it happens. This is especially applicable to human evolution where it has been difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique among living things and has an exclusive place in the creation with soul.

There are 에볼루션 바카라 Evolution KR of other ways in which evolution can occur and natural selection being the most popular theory. Scientists also study different types such as genetic drift and sexual selection.

Although many scientific fields of study are in conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, the concept of evolution biology has been a subject of intense debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, others aren't.

Edit
Pub: 22 Dec 2024 21:44 UTC
Views: 11