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.

An overview of the different types of evidence that support evolution, including homologous and analogous features and vestigial structures.

In this out of class tutorial, students explore several examples of natural selection and speciation.

In this unit, we describe the theory of evolution by natural selection as proposed by Charles Darwin in his book, first published in 1859, On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. We will look at natural selection as Darwin did, taking inheritance for granted, but ignoring the mechanisms underlying it.

Charles Darwin, Evolution and Tropical Australia

Word Count: 3050

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This course provides a broad conceptual and historical introduction to scientific theories of evolution and their place in the wider culture. It embraces historical, scientific and anthropological/cultural perspectives grounded in relevant developments in the biological sciences since 1800 that are largely responsible for the development of the modern theory of evolution by natural selection. Students read key texts, analyze key debates (e.g. Darwinian debates in the 19th century, and the creation controversies in the 20th century) and give class presentations.

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.

Current research on the evolution and development of cognition and affect, including intuitive physics, biology, and psychology, language, emotions, sexuality, and social relations.

In this online activity, learners discover how random variation influences biological evolution. Biological evolution is often thought of as a process by which adaptation is generated through selection.Œć While it is recognized that random variation underlies the process, emphasis is usually placed on selection and resulting adaptation, leaving a sense that it is selection that drives evolution.Œć This simulation highlights the creative role of random variation, offering a somewhat different perspective: that of evolution as open-ended exploration driven by randomness and constrained by selection, with adaptation as a dynamic, transient consequence rather than an objective.

In the first week of the course, students are introduced to the major groups of animals and single-celled eukaryotes that comprise most of the fossil record. At that time, each student selects one group (kingdom, phylum or class) of organism to be their special "pet" group for the rest of the semester. Several assignments are then tied to these groups, including this activity, which is a writing assignment directly following the class lectures on evolution and natural selection. Students are asked to use the scholarly article database GeoRef to locate a peer-reviewed journal article that describes research on the evolution of their "pet" group (or some specific member of it). After reading the article, students must write a 2-3 page summary and critique of it, applying concepts they have learned in the course to evaluate the scientific merits of the paper. If time permits, students are also invited to spend a few minutes presenting their summary and critique during class so that the students can learn about each other's "pets".

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This video segment from Evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" illustrates the remarkable camouflage of a praying mantis against its leafy backdrop.

Students are introduced to the concepts of digital organisms and digital evolution. They learn about the research that digital evolution software makes possible, and compare and contrast it with biological evolution.

The exploitation of African elephants in the form of ivory poaching is exacerbated by warfare. The affects of this anthropogenic evolutionary force on the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) in the Gorongoas National Park in Mozambique was investigated (Campbell-Staton, et. al. 2021) after the Mozambican civil war (1997-1992).  This multipart lesson is based on this research.  Here, we explore allele frequencies, phenotypic data, and the use of a chi-squared test to determine if the population is in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium.  Because one gene influencing tusklessness is X-linked, we also explore inheritance of the trait, using hemophilia as an example.  The data used in this part of the lesson are simulated data based on reports from Zambia.

For this written assignment, the students outline the evolution of
whales from land dwelling animals to aquatic beasts. Rather than an
essay, they produce a detailed outline of the major modifications that
occurred during this transition, such as hearing, propulsion, shape,
limbs, and several others. They start with Start with Pakicetidae and
end with Mysticeti and Odontoceti lines. For each fossil species, they
describe the fossil, discuss the anatomic modification for living in an
aquatic environment, indicate the environment where the animal lived,
and the give the time range.

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Most students are familiar with the use of antibiotics and antibacterial products; most have heard in various contexts about the problem of bacterial populations becoming resistant to antibiotics over time.
We used this example, relevant to everyday life, to guide students to uncover the complexity of the underlying biological mechanism, and to "see" how the evolution principles they have learned are interconnected and apply to a specific case.

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Tools that became weapon, now what about the weapons that massacre the humanity? This is a information and opiniated write up that looks at incorporating discussion in the usual lesson plan. 

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:

"Genetic and molecular differences in individual bacterial strains of the gut microbiome may affect health outcomes, including aging, in humans. However, the details and effects of host-microbe co-evolution remain unclear. To obtain insights, a recent study investigated Bifidobacterium longum, a key long-term member of the human gut microbiome that has also been linked to aging. Population genomics analyses of 418 human gut strains revealed three geographic populations of B. longum, with differences in cell wall synthesis genes and carbohydrate metabolism genes. B. longum was actively transmitted between individuals, families, and regions, but a single clone tended to colonize each host. B. longum relative abundance declined with host age, while certain genotype features, such as a sequence variant in the B. longum arginine biosynthesis pathway, were positively related to age. In mice, B..."

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

In this video from Evolution, an exploration of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the Russian prison system highlights one reason it is important to understand evolution.

A hypothetical scenario is introduced in which the class is asked to apply their understanding of the forces that drive natural selection to prepare a proposal along with an environmental consulting company to help clean up an area near their school that is contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE). Students use the Avida-ED software application to test hypotheses for evolving (engineering) a strain of bacteria that can biodegrade TCE, resulting in a non-hazardous clean-up solution. Conduct this design challenge activity after completion of the introduction to digital evolution activity, Studying Evolution with Digital Organisms.

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:

"Exotic species are a big problem worldwide. While the mechanisms of invasion vary from one exotic species to the next, researchers can tease out patterns that are useful for understanding and ultimately managing invasion. A new study published in the Journal of Biogeography reveals how one team has applied an emerging method known as the phylogenetic field approach to do just that for exotic plants in Japan. The results offer critical insight into how ecology and evolution influence the dynamics of invasion. Darwin’s On the Origin of Species marked the first time biological invasion had been addressed using the principles of evolutionary ecology. But followed to their logical end, these principles yielded two contradictory hypotheses. The pre-adaptation hypothesis states that exotic species successfully colonize assemblages with native species that are ecologically similar because both require the same set of environmental conditions to thrive..."

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