Once milkweed bugs have grown into adults, they can mate and lay eggs. They tend to lay eggs on soft, protective material.

Why did sex evolve? The likely answers, in this essay for the Evolution Web site by science journalist Matt Ridley, may surprise you.

Recommended for: Grades 9-12

These images from the Smithsonian Institution depict Nancy Knowlton's work with snapping shrimp in Panama. Knowlton found that the closing of the isthmus -- dividing the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean -- resulted in new species of shrimp.

Most of the major categories of adaptive behavior can be seen in all animals. This course begins with the evolution of behavior, the driver of nervous system evolution, reviewed using concepts developed in ethology, sociobiology, other comparative studies, and in studies of brain evolution. The roles of various types of plasticity are considered, as well as foraging and feeding, defensive and aggressive behavior, courtship and reproduction, migration and navigation, social activities and communication, with contributions of inherited patterns and cognitive abilities. Both field and laboratory based studies are reviewed; and finally, human behavior is considered within the context of primate studies.

What animals abandon their offspring? Find out this and more as you explore reproduction in the animal world.

This class examines how anthropology and speculative fiction (SF) each explore ideas about culture and society, technology, morality, and life in "other" worlds. We investigate this convergence of interest through analysis of SF in print, film, and other media. Concepts include traditional and contemporary anthropological topics, including first contact; gift exchange; gender, marriage, and kinship; law, morality, and cultural relativism; religion; race and embodiment; politics, violence, and war; medicine, healing, and consciousness; technology and environment. Thematic questions addressed in the class include: what is an alien? What is "the human"? Could SF be possible without anthropology?

This video segment explores the benefits and pitfalls of cloning as a means of reproduction. From Evolution: "Why Sex?"

This laboratory exercise can be used to examine the anatomical, physiological, behavioral, and ecological components involved in reproduction in animals using a simple animal model.

Unlike animals, plants are unable to move and find other plants to mate with. Thus, plants rely on insects and other animals to transfer pollen (male sperm) from one flower to the female sex organ (carpels) on another flower. This is called pollination.

CK-12 Biology I - Honors is a high school FlexBook covering five units: Cell Biology, Genetics, Evolution, Ecology, and Physiology.

A work in progress, CK-12 Biology I Honors - Teacher's Edition complements CK-12''s Biology I Honors book covering: Introduction to Life Science; Cells; Genetics; Evolution; Ecology; and Human Biology.

A work in progress, CK-12 Biology I Honors Workbook complements its Biology I Honors FlexBook covering: Introduction to Life Science; Cells; Genetics; Evolution; Ecology; and Human Biology.

In this course, you will learn the basics of plant biology. The student will begin with plant anatomy, learning the names and functions of all of the parts of a plant, then move on to plant physiology, where you will learn about photosynthesis, growth, and reproduction. Next, the student will study plant evolution according to the fossil record and examine the diversity of plant life in existence today and how that diversity impacts global ecology. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: identify and describe the functions of the different cells, tissues, and organs that make up a plant; describe the major life processes in plants (photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, growth and development, and reproduction) at the tissue, organ, cellular, and molecular level; explain the history and evolution of plants on earth; discuss plant diversity and identify the major characteristics of plant phylogenetic divisions; explain how plants fit into the global ecological system and why they are essential for life on earth. (Biology 306)

Watch the dance of development as a zebrafish egg divides and differentiates on its way to becoming an embryo in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium.

In this series of guided inquiry activities, students explore how organisms adapt to their environments through changes in their genetic codes. The learner will: create make-believe creatures and environments that have specific characteristics; rate the success of each creature in a randomly assigned environment by examining which of the creature's characteristics help, hinder, or have no effect on the creature's success in each environment; write the genetic code for their creatures from a list of fictitious genetic codes; apply his/her knowledge of genetic codes and environments to engineer new creatures that could survive in various extreme environments within our solar system.

This essay from Wayne's Word explores seed dispersal by water and describes some of the physical adaptations that evolution has produced in the seeds and fruits that travel this way.

Discover and apply principles of genetic inheritance by studying the inheritance patterns of fruit flies in a virtual environment. You will work on a virtual lab bench from which you can order fruit fly mutants from a web merchant, mate the flies in an incubator, anesthetize flies for observation, examine flies under a microscope, and analyze the data from offspring to determine patterns of inheritance. Your task is to propose hypotheses, design experiments, and analyze and interpret the data from these experiments. Step by step instructions on each page walk you through the simulation activity. VCISE is a collection of interactive, online simulations designed to enhance traditional middle and high school science curricula by providing supplements to experimental laboratory or field work.

In this video from Curious George, join students as they investigate banana peels and fruit seeds to discover their different functions.

General Biology is intended to leave the student with an integrated view of the living world including the nature of sciences, evolution of biological organization, composition and organization of living substances, metabolism, control, reproduction, heredity and ecological relationships. This class meets the A.A. degree lab science requirement in the State of Washington.

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