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Acidic Oceans Prompt Evolution
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It's no secret that greenhouse gases warm the planet and that this has dire consequences for the environment whole islands swallowed up by rising seas, animal and plant species stressed by higher temperatures, and upsets in ecological interactions as populations move to cooler areas. However, carbon dioxide has another, less familiar environmental repercussion: making the Earth's oceans more acidic. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere mean that more carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean. This dissolved carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid the same substance that helps give carbonated beverages their acidic kick. While this process isn't going to make the ocean fizzy anytime soon, it is introducing its own set of challenges for marine organisms like plankton and coral.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
10/01/2012
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria At the Meat Counter
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The pork chops you buy in the supermarket neatly packaged in plastic and styrofoam may look completely sterile, but are, in fact, likely to be contaminated with disease-causing bacteria - and not with just any old bugs, but with hard-to-treat, antibiotic resistant strains. In a recently published study, researchers with the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System bought meat from a wide sampling of chain grocery stores across the country and analyzed the bacteria on the meat. Resistant microbes were found in 81% of ground turkey samples, 69% of pork chops, 55% of ground beef samples, and 39% of chicken parts.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
05/01/2013
Bad At Estimating? Blame Evolution
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The next time you are in the kitchen, try this experiment: pick up a box of butter (four sticks) in one hand and a box of saltines (four packets) in the other. Which is heavier? If you said the butter, you are not alone. Most people would identify the box of butter as the heavier object even though, if you look at the labels, you'll see that they both weigh exactly one pound! This is an example of the size-weight illusion, and it is incredibly common. Read more to see the evolution (and baseball) connection ...

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
02/01/2011
The Case of the Stolen Painting: A Forensic Mystery
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CC BY-NC-SA
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This video will help students, particularly those not in AP-level classes, have a practical application for knowing about the major divisions between plants, particularly about the details of plant anatomy and reproduction. Students will be able to :Identify the major evolutionary innovations that separate plant divisions, and classify plants as belonging to one of those divisions based on phenotypic differences in plants. Classify plants by their pollen dispersal methods using pollen dispersal mapping, and justify the location of a _„ƒcrime scene_„Ž using map analysis. Analyze and present their analysis of banding patterns from DNA fingerprinting done using plants in a forensic context.

Subject:
Botany
Life Science
Material Type:
Lecture
Provider:
MIT
Provider Set:
MIT Blossoms
Author:
MIT BLOSSOMS
Sydney Bergman
Date Added:
10/11/2012
Climate Change Causes Loss of Genetic Diversity
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If you'd visited Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park 100 years ago, you probably would have encountered the alpine chipmunk, Tamias alpinus. Today, however, park visitors will have to hike up a nearby mountain to see one of these critters. That's because this species is sensitive to temperature and over the last hundred years of global climate change, Yosemite has warmed by about 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit. As the temperature increased, the chipmunks retreated to higher and higher elevations where it was cooler. Today, they occupy a fraction of their original range. If climate change continues, they could be squeezed right off the tops of their mountains and out of existence.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
04/01/2012
Co-adaptation affects how predator and prey ride out environmental changes
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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Adaptability gives species an edge in surviving environmental changes both big and small But how different species adapt together isn’t always clear For instance, how do predator and prey adjust their interactive behavior in the face of climate change? A new predator-prey model provides some clues Researchers looked at how tweaks to offensive and defensive strategies affected predator-prey populations under two types of disturbances -- Short-term perturbations, such as extreme weather events And permanent perturbations, such as climate change They found that fast adaptation can hold population dynamics steady against these disturbances But in some cases, adaptation can worsen the effects of perturbations This finding suggests that understanding perturbation type, target, and strength matters -- Strengthening the need for tailored approaches to ecosystem management in changing environments Raatz et al..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider Set:
Video Bytes
Date Added:
09/20/2019
Computational Evolutionary Biology
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CC BY-NC-SA
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Why has it been easier to develop a vaccine to eliminate polio than to control influenza or AIDS? Has there been natural selection for a 'language gene'? Why are there no animals with wheels? When does 'maximizing fitness' lead to evolutionary extinction? How are sex and parasites related? Why don't snakes eat grass? Why don't we have eyes in the back of our heads? How does modern genomics illustrate and challenge the field?
This course analyzes evolution from a computational, modeling, and engineering perspective. The course has extensive hands-on laboratory exercises in model-building and analyzing evolutionary data.

Subject:
Applied Science
Biology
Engineering
Life Science
Physical Science
Material Type:
Full Course
Provider:
MIT
Provider Set:
MIT OpenCourseWare
Author:
Berwick, Robert
Date Added:
09/01/2005
Dynamics of Complex Systems: Biological and Environmental Coevolution Preceding the Cambrian Explosion
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This seminar will focus on dynamical change in biogeochemical cycles accompanying early animal evolution -- beginning with the time of the earliest known microscopic animal fossils (~600 million years ago) and culminating (~100 million years later) with the rapid diversification of marine animals known as the "Cambrian explosion." Recent work indicates that this period of intense biological evolution was both a cause and an effect of changes in global biogeochemical cycles. We will seek to identify and quantify such coevolutionary changes. Lectures and discussions will attempt to unite the perspectives of quantitative theory, organic geochemistry, and evolutionary biology.

Subject:
Atmospheric Science
Biology
Ecology
Life Science
Physical Science
Material Type:
Full Course
Provider:
MIT
Provider Set:
MIT OpenCourseWare
Author:
Rothman, Daniel
Date Added:
02/01/2005
Ecology and Evolution
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CC BY-NC-SA
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Introduction to the basic principles of ecology and evolutionary biology emphasizing quantitative approaches and hypothesis testing. Scientific reasoning, computer literacy, and writing skills are developed in the laboratory.

Subject:
Biology
Ecology
Life Science
Material Type:
Syllabus
Provider:
CUNY Academic Works
Provider Set:
City College
Author:
Lohman, David J
Date Added:
06/16/2022
Error. Greed Does Not Compute
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Swarms of tiny robots have given up their selfish ways and started sharing resources for the greater good. Though this might sound like the plot of a bad summer blockbuster, it is real news. This month, a team of Swiss researchers announced that they've used robots to simulate biological evolution. The simple, mobile robots - each a little larger than a sugar cube - began their lives directionless, meandering aimlessly into walls. But after a few generations of natural selection, their computer programs evolved so that they became efficient foragers, purposefully collecting disks that represent food. None of that is particularly surprising. Scientists have long been able to simulate evolution through computer programs that mimic the processes of genetic inheritance, mutation, recombination, and reproduction. What is noteworthy is that many of these robots eventually evolved to help one another, sacrificing personal success to aid other robots in their group.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
05/01/2011
The Evidence Lines Up in Early Mammal Evolution
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Back in the Jurassic, dinosaurs may have dominated terrestrial ecosystems, but they were not alone. Scurrying around their feet and clinging to the trees above them were the fuzzy ancestors of their successors. When most of the dinosaurs perished, the surviving mammals diversified into the dinosaurs' niches, where they remain today. Last month, scientists reported on the discovery of a fossil mammal from China that would have lived alongside the dinosaurs and that, at 160 million years old, represents one of the earliest mammals known.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
09/01/2011
Evolutionary History in A Tiny Package
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Scientists discover new species all the time, but usually these new species are microbes, plants, insects, and other forms of non-vertebrate life. Few vertebrate species have thus far evaded the curious gaze of biologists intent on understanding the diversity of life on Earth - that is, unless the vertebrate in question happens to be very, very tiny. Last month, scientists announced the discovery of not one, but four miniscule lizard species. The smallest of these new chameleons, which live in the far north of the African island of Madagascar and inhabit leaf litter, reaches an adult body size of just two centimeters.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
03/01/2012
A Fisheye View of the Tree of Life
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The evolutionary tree presented focuses on relationships among the ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii). You can click on the colored logos to read about evolutionary innovations and see lists of characteristics that evolved in different lineages. Note that this tree has been pruned to focus on certain groups of interest.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
05/16/2013
Gender-Biased Bacteria Throw off an Evolutionary Balance
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This month, biologists reported that a bacterial infection has run rampant in populations of a major crop pest in the Southwest. The bacterium (called Rickettsia) is a close relative of the species that causes typhus in humans. Its host is the sweet potato whitefly, a tiny bug that can occur in large enough numbers to form visible clouds. Whiteflies suck the sap from plants and spread crop diseases, causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage in a single season. In just a few years, the percentage of southwestern whiteflies infected with Rickettsia has skyrocketed from 1% to more than 90%. Unfortunately, this is not the boon for local farmers that it might seem.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
04/01/2011
Grasshoppers Change their Tune. Is It Evolution in Action?
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Whizzing down the interstate, the sounds that concern most of us include the radio's tuning, conversation with our fellow passengers, and, of course, the ominous howl of a siren approaching from behind. But just outside the car door, the soundscape is quite different. On busy thoroughfares, traffic noise approximates a non-stop, low-pitched roar that necessitates shouting to communicate if one is unlucky enough to need to change a tire at the side of the road. Now, new research shows that it is not just humans who strain to be heard over the din of a highway ...

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
12/01/2012
Hybrid Sharks Aren't "trying" to Adapt
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Last month, biologists announced the discovery of hybrid sharks in Australian waters. The new sharks may not warrant a marine park attraction they look much like their closely-related parent species but do represent an unexpected twist of biology and evolution. This is the first time that scientists have found evidence of shark hybridization an event that was thought to be rare because, unlike the many fish that simply release eggs and sperm into the water, sharks mate. Clearly, though, the widely-distributed common blacktip shark and the Australian blacktip shark (which is restricted to northern and eastern Australia) have few qualms about each other: 57 apparently healthy hybrid individuals were discovered in the first investigation of these animals. What does this mean for the future evolution of blacktip sharks?

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
02/01/2012
Influenza, an Ever-Evolving Target for Vaccine Development
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It's that time of year again. Coughing coworkers, student absences, and reminders to get your shot are sure signs that flu season is upon us. This year's epidemic seems to have struck earlier and harder than usual all amid concerns over shortages of the flu vaccine. While some vaccines provide lifelong protection with one or a few doses (e.g., measles, mumps, and polio), the flu requires a new shot every year. And in some years, the flu shot is hardly effective at all. Why is the flu vaccine different from so many other vaccines? A look at the evolution of the flu virus can explain the weaknesses of current vaccines and points the way towards a vaccine that could provide long-lasting, universal protection.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
02/01/2013
Investigating a Deep Sea Mystery
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Investigating a Deep Sea Mystery is based on Deep-sea mystery solved: astonishing larval transformation and extreme sexual dimorphism unite three fish families by Johnson, et al. (2009)* published in Biology Letters, Royal Society. The deep sea fishes at the heart of the investigation and this activity were historically classified into three families or clades based on the obvious morphological differences between the members of each group. Over time, as new data was accumulated, a new hypothesis was generated; the three fish clades were really one. Johnson, et al. found patterns in collection data that supported an alternative relationship; that they are the males, females, and larvae of a single family or clade, and that the morphological differences are the result of extreme ontogenetic (developmental) metamorphosis and sexual dimorphism. In this activity students follow the steps of the science team to unravel the mystery of the fishes' classification by analyzing some of the same morphological and phylogenetic data as the science team.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson Plan
Unit of Study
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Author:
Jennifer Collins
Date Added:
05/16/2013
Lasting effects of Neandertal DNA on gene expression in modern humans
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CC BY
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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Neandertals may be long gone, but their genetic legacy lives on in modern humans. If you are of non-African descent, approximately 2% of your genome is composed of Neandertal DNA – a consequence of interbreeding between these hominids and early humans more than 50,000 years ago. Despite the extensive amount of time passed, this event appears to have a lasting effect. Recent work has revealed that Neandertal DNA influences modern human traits such as skin pigmentation and strengthened immunity, but the precise consequences of this interbreeding are still being worked out. Now, scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany have found evidence that Neandertal DNA modifies the expression of certain genes and may even be associated with some genetic diseases. Scanning the genomes of hundreds of people living today, the researchers were able to precisely identify and locate Neandertal DNA fragments in modern humans..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Research Square
Provider Set:
Video Bytes
Date Added:
02/25/2021
Lessons for today in ancient Mass Extinctions
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If you follow environmental news at all, you'll be familiar with the most common cause of extinction in the world today: habitat loss. Habitat destruction threatens the survival of some the world's most charismatic organisms animals like the giant panda, the Sumatran tiger, and the Asian elephant. Humans have encroached on the wilderness in order to farm, mine, log, and build, and in the process, we've pushed the natural inhabitants of those areas into smaller and smaller refuges. Making matters worse, global climate change caused by our production of greenhouse gases is altering the environments within those refuges, forcing species to contend with new challenges. While these might seem like entirely modern problems, recent research indicates that's not the case and that current levels of habitat loss and climate change could have devastating consequences.

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Provider Set:
Understanding Evolution
Date Added:
05/01/2012