15 Evolution Site Benefits You Should All Be Able To
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology educators, misconceptions persist about the evolution. People who have absorbed the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists are saying they do not believe in evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education and avoids the kinds of misconceptions that undermine it. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to aid in navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and challenging subject to teach effectively. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject, and some scientists even use a definition that confuses it. This is especially true when it comes to discussions on the nature of the word.
Therefore, it is essential to define terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a straightforward and useful way. The site is a companion site to the show that premiered in 2001, but also functions as an independent resource. The material is presented in an organized manner that makes it simpler to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution as well as its relationship to other concepts in science. The website provides a summary of the ways the concept of evolution has been tested. This information will help to dispel the myths that are 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 traits to become better suited to a particular environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable traits are more likely than those with less-adapted traits 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 the species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes of the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and prey or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed) change through a series of natural changes 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 evolution of a new species could take thousands of years, and the process can be slowed down or accelerated by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of different species of plants and animals and focuses on major changes in each group's history. It also examines the human evolutionary roots, a topic that is particularly important for students to understand.
When Darwin wrote the Origin of Species, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is highly unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap when it was published in 1858, which was a year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin.
The site is primarily a biology site however it also includes a lot of information on geology and paleontology. The site offers a number of features that are especially impressive, including an overview of how climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also includes an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.
Although the site is a companion to a PBS television series but it also stands on its own as a valuable source for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides easy links to the introductory content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's support) and the more specialized features of the museum's website. These hyperlinks make it easy to move from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. Particularly there are hyperlinks to John Endler's experiments using guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures within their natural environment, has many advantages over modern observational or research methods for studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not only the process and events that take place regularly or over time but also the distribution and frequency of different groups of animals across geological time.
The site is divided into several optional pathways to understanding evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the scientific process and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on misconceptions regarding evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that are suited to a variety of levels of curriculum and teaching methods. In addition to general textual content, the site features an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive content, such as videos, animations and virtual laboratories. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation within the vast Web site.
For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms, then concentrates on a specific clam that is able to communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, gives a good introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The information also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is a key tool for understanding the evolution of changes.
에볼루션 바카라사이트 is a common thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A vast collection of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web site that provides the depth and the breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon-like style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements of this vast website that are closely connected to the worlds of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics is linked to a page about John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this web website, which includes an extensive multimedia library of items related to evolution. The content is organized in the form of curriculum-based pathways that are in line with the learning goals set forth in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos that are designed for classroom use. They can be viewed online or purchased as DVDs.
A variety of crucial questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, such as what causes evolution to occur and how fast it happens. This is especially true for the evolution of humans, where it was difficult to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a special position in the universe and a soul with the notion that human beings have innate physical traits originated from the apes.
Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution could occur, with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. However scientists also study different kinds of evolution, such as genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among others.
Although many scientific fields of study are in conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, the concept of evolution biology has been the subject of intense debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, other religions haven't.