10 Best Books On Evolution Site

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution persist. People who have taken in popular science myths often assume that biologists claim they don't believe in evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS series - provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of misconceptions that make it difficult to understand. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.

Definitions

It is difficult to properly teach evolution. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept and some scientists use a definition that confuses it. This is especially true when it comes to debates about the nature of the word.

It is therefore crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a straightforward and useful manner. The site serves as a companion for the 2001 series, and also a resource of its own. The material is presented in a way that aids navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature of evolution as well as its relation to other scientific concepts. The website provides a summary of the ways in which evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been created by the creationists.

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

Adaptation: The tendency for heritable characteristics to become more suitable to a particular setting. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adapted characteristics to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor (also called common ancestor): The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. By analyzing DNA from these species, it is possible to determine the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A large biological molecule that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution is evident through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can crossbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in their offspring's traits. Changes can be caused by many factors, such as natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of a new species may take thousands of years and the process can be slowed down or accelerated by environmental conditions such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a number of different animal and plant groups through time with a focus on the key shifts that occurred throughout the history of each group. It also explores human evolution as a subject that is particularly important to students.

Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The famous skullcap, along 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. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, which was one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it's extremely unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.

While the site is focused on biology, it contains a wealth of information on geology and paleontology. One of the most appealing features of the website are a series of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time and a map of the geographical distribution of some of the fossil groups featured on the site.

While the site is a companion to a PBS television show however, it can stand on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is very well organized and provides clear links between the introduction content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks make it easier to move from the cartoon-style 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 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 geological environment, has many advantages over the current observational or experimental methods for studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not only processes and events that take place regularly or over time but also the relative abundance and distribution of different species of animals in space over the course of the geological time.

The site is divided up into various 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 reveals common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.

Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. In addition to the general textual content, the site also has an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive resources including videos, animations, and virtual labs. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content helps with navigation and orientation on the massive Web site.

For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms. It then concentrates on a specific clam that can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions that occur at the level of the reef. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, offers a great introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an overview of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics which is a crucial tool to understand evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

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

One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of a Web site that offers both depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has an "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely connected to the realms of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics is linked to a page about John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.

Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this web site, which contains an extensive collection of multimedia items related to evolution. The content is organized in curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning goals set forth in the biology standards. It contains seven short videos specifically designed for classroom use. They are available to stream or purchase as DVDs.

A variety of crucial questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, such as what triggers evolution and how fast it occurs. This is particularly true for humans' evolution which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humans have a distinct place in the creation and a soul with the notion that human beings have innate physical traits evolved from the apes.

There are also a number of other ways in which evolution could occur, with natural selection as the most widely accepted theory. However scientists also study other kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among other things.

Although  에볼루션  of study are in conflict with literal interpretations found in religious texts, evolution biology has been a subject of intense debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolutionary biology, while others haven't.