This Is The History Of Evolution Site In 10 Milestones

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led many people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.

This rich Web site, which is a complement to the PBS program offers teachers resources which support evolution education while avoiding the types of misconceptions that undermine it. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach effectively. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject and some scientists employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially applicable to discussions on the definition of the word itself.

Therefore, 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 manner. The site serves as a companion for the 2001 series, and it is also a resource on its own. The content is presented in an organized manner that makes it simpler to navigate and comprehend.

The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and relationship of evolution to other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and verified. This information can help dispel the myths created by creationists.

You can also access a glossary that includes terms 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 the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less-adapted characteristics to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more distinct species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of these species.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains the information needed for cell replication. The information is contained in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution: A relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups which can interbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in their offspring's traits. The changes can be triggered by a variety, including natural selection, genetic drift, and gene pool mixing. The development of a new species can take thousands of years, and the process could be slowed down or accelerated by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site tracks the development of various groups of animals and plants over time and focuses on the most significant transitions that occurred in the history of each group. It also focuses on the human evolutionary roots which is particularly important for students to know.

When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The famous skullcap, with the bones associated with it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, which was one year after the first edition of the Origin appeared, it is extremely unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.

The site is primarily a biology site however it also includes lots of information about geology and paleontology. The Web site has several features that are especially impressive, such as the timeline of how geological and climate conditions have changed over time. It also has maps that show the locations of fossil groups.

Although the site is a companion piece to the PBS television show however, it can stand on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers clear links to the introduction content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specific features of the museum's website. These hyperlinks make it easy to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has resulted in many species of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological context and has a number of advantages over the current observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology focuses on not just the processes and events that occur regularly or over time but also the distribution and frequency of different groups of animals across geological time.

The site is divided up into several options to study the subject of evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also explores the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution of thought.

Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that support a variety educational levels and teaching styles. In addition to general textual content, the site also has an array of multimedia and interactive content like videos, animations and virtual labs. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation within the vast Web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it gives a brief overview of coral relationships and interactions with other organisms, and then zooms in to a single clam, which can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to the broad spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes an explanation of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetics analysis as a key method for understanding the evolution of change.

Evolutionary Theory

Evolution is an underlying thread that connects all branches of biology. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across all disciplines of life science.

One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that provides depth as well as breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon-like style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely connected to the fields of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics is linked to a page about John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.

The Evolution Library on this website has a huge multimedia library of resources that are associated to Evolution KR. The content is organized in the form of curriculum-based pathways that are in line with the learning goals set forth in the standards for biology. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in classrooms, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.

Evolutionary biology is a field of study with a lot of important questions, such as what triggers evolution and how fast it happens. This is especially true for human evolution, where it's been difficult to reconcile the idea that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes and religions that believe that humans are unique among living things and holds a an enviable place in creation. It is a soul.

In addition, there are a number of ways in which evolution could occur with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. However scientists also study other types of evolution such as genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among others.

While many scientific fields of inquiry are in conflict with the literal interpretations of the Bible evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution while others haven't.