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.

Anthropology is the study of humanity, in all its biological and cultural aspects, past and present. It is a four-field discipline comprised of biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology. The focus of this book is biological anthropology, which explores who we are from biological, evolutionary, and adaptive perspectives.

This video segment from NatureScene features the area of the Congaree Swamp where the high ground and the flood plain meet. Learn how a few feet of difference in elevation on a floodplain can yield drastic changes in what youŰ__Ű__ŒŒÇll find living there.

This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW shows how the common wood frog freezes solid every winter, an adaptation that allows the organism to survive the cold winter.

This is a teacher guide for operating a GenWe classroom. From the very beginning to the launch of the program, these resources will help teachers and students build the ideal learning environment to improve social competence. What is the GenWe Classroom? It is an elective course for middle and high school students designed to help them learn how to interact and cooperate and use technology responsibly. The class is managed by the students and teachers collaboratively. The structure of the class allows the students to make decisions based on evaluating the input from peers, near-peers, and adults. In order for normal social situations to occur, the students need to be allowed to manage themselves, including their learning. Ideally the GenWe Classroom will include a budget. Students will be responsible for planning the learning materials they will need for the semester.

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:

"The microbial compositions of hot springs are strongly influenced by temperature and pH. _Acidithiobacillus_ bacteria are found in diverse hot springs, but the genomic features that enable their adaptability are unclear. A recent DNA sequencing study analyzed the genomes of _Acidithiobacillus_ from hot springs in New Zealand and compared them to published non-hot-spring _Acidithiobacillus_ sequences. _Acidithiobacillus_ typically accounted for over 10% of the prokaryote abundance in the springs. Three species, including two novel species (TVZ\\_G2 and TVZ\\_G3), accounted for over 90% of _Acidithiobacillus _and were found in springs with wide-ranging characteristics. A fourth related novel species was also found, although in low abundance. All four species were found at temperatures and pHs above the known limits for _Acidithiobacillus, _likely because they had more GC bases and proline codons in their DNA than other species, increasing their thermostability..."

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

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada looks at the Gila monster's behavior, habitat, and unique adaptive characteristics.

This lesson is about the various types of shelter animals live in and how they adapt to their environment.

In this video from Outdoor Nevada, learn about the habitat, diet, and defense mechanisms of horned lizards.

This inquiry lab activity involves students working to observe and describe to how worms will interact/adapt with their environment.

In this lesson, students explore how human activities will continue to impact Antarctic ice, discuss human contributions to climate change, and investigate what we can do to stop/reverse these negative effects.

In this video segment adapted from the National Film Board of Canada, learn how the Inuit people have used their traditional knowledge to understand and adapt to changes in their Arctic environment, particularly when hunting and navigating the landscape.

Adapted from the OpenStax Textbook for the College of Lake County's Introductory Statistics course (Susan Dean and Barbara Illowsky (Published 2013 by OpenStax College)).

Students use an inquiry approach to describe the major biomes of Minnesota before taking a look at adaptations that make organisms successful in their environments.

This article highlights lessons that help K-grade 5 students understand that animals and plants can only survive in certain environments.The lessons support the theme of an issue of the free online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle. The theme is "We Depend on Earth's Climate."

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:

"Microorganisms are critical drivers of biogeochemical cycles and are the most abundant organisms in frigid regions. Identifying the genomic traits of cold-loving microbes may help explain their physiology and adaptation, but recognizing which genomic traits are important for environmental adaptation is challenging. A new study compared the genomes of Arthrobacter bacteria isolated from the Tibetan Plateau with published genomes of related bacteria and defined a new group of Arthrobacter that live in polar and alpine environments. In the laboratory, the bacteria in this group grew comparatively rapidly at 0 °C. Compared to bacteria from warmer environments, the polar/alpine bacteria had different genomic and amino acid compositions, and their predicted proteins had different stability levels and functions..."

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

This Nature video shows the migratory patterns and habits of the Rufous hummingbird.

The Mangrove Mapping Curricula strives to provide opportunities for students to learn about and explore mangroves and their ecosystems. Through this process it is hoped that students develop and understanding and appreciation for mangroves and the role they play in a healthy environment. Mangroves are group of tropical/subtropical trees that live in salt or sweet (salt/fresh water combination) water coastal environments. They are considered a cornerstone species and play important roles in habitat formation and stabilization of coastal environments.

Lessons teach core knowledge about the science of climate change, explore conflicting views, and integrate critical thinking skills. Students will apply knowledge of climate change to a rigorous analysis of media messages through asking and answering questions about accuracy, currency, credibility, sourcing, and bias. Lessons address basic climate science, the causes of climate change, scientific debate and disinformation, the consequences of global warming, the precautionary principle, carbon footprints, moral choices, and the history of global warming in media, science, and politics.

This course explores the international trade in television text, considering the ways in which ‘foreign’ programs find places within ‘domestic’ schedules. Looking at the life television texts maintain outside of their home market, this course examines questions of globalization and national cultures of production and reception. Students will be introduced to a range of positions about the nature of international textual trade, including economic arguments about the structuring of international markets and ethnographic studies about the role imported content plays in the formation of hybrid national identities. Students will be encouraged to consider the role American content is made to play in non-American markets.