How To Tell The Right Evolution Site For You

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts by biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions about evolution. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.

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

Definitions

It's difficult to teach evolution well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists and even scientists have been guilty of using a definition that confuses the issue. This is especially relevant when discussing the nature of the words themselves.

It is therefore essential to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in a simple and efficient way. The site is a companion site to the show which first aired in 2001, but it can also function as an independent resource. The content is presented in a nested fashion that assists in navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms like common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help to define the nature of evolution and its relationship to other concepts in science. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been propagated by creationists.

It is also possible to get a glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable characteristics are more likely than those with less adaptable characteristics to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of those species.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains the information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information inside cells.

Coevolution is the relationship between two species where evolutionary changes of one species influence evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can crossbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in the traits of their offspring. These changes can be caused by numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species may take thousands of years, and 에볼루션 룰렛카지노사이트 (his explanation) the process may be slowed down or speeded up due to environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site tracks the evolution of various species of plants and animals over time, 에볼루션 사이트 focusing on the major shifts that occurred throughout each group's history. It also focuses on human evolution, which is a topic that is of particular interest to students.

Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. Among them was the famous skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, one year following the initial edition of The Origin. Origin.

The site is mostly one of biology however, it also has a lot of information on geology and paleontology. The website has numerous features that are especially impressive, such as an overview of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also features a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.

Although the site is a companion piece to the PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as an excellent source for teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum Web site. These links facilitate the transition from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. Particularly there are links to John Endler's experiments with Guppies, which demonstrate 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 for analyzing evolutionary processes. In addition to studying the processes and events that happen frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology allows to analyze the relative abundance of various groups of organisms and their distribution in space over geological time.

The site is divided into various paths to learning evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the scientific process and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also examines myths about evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.

Each of the other major sections of the Evolution site is equally well created, with resources that can support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. In addition to general textual content, the site offers an array of multimedia and interactive content, such as video clips, animations, and virtual laboratories. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the large Web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections", 에볼루션 코리아 for example, gives a brief overview of coral relationships and interactions with other organisms and then zooms in on one clam, which can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, provides an excellent introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes an explanation of the importance of natural selection and the concept phylogenetics analysis as a key method for understanding the evolution of changes.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that weaves together all branches of the field. A vast collection of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across all life sciences.

One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of a Web site that provides depth and a variety of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features 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 fields of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page about John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.

Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this web site, which contains an extensive multimedia library of items connected to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically intended for use in the classroom. They are available to stream or purchase as DVDs.

Many important questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, such as the factors that trigger evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly true in the case of human evolution, where it was difficult to reconcile religious beliefs that humanity has a unique place in creation and a soul, with the notion that our physical traits originated from the apes.

Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution can occur and natural selection is the most popular theory. However scientists also study other types of evolution such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.

While many scientific fields of study conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, evolution biology has been a subject of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolutionary biology, but others haven't.