Summary:

It’s time for my OTHER favorite unit – evolution!

Like ecology, we’re talking about a field this week that is influenced by a variety of different fields and can be studied at different scales, from molecular evolution to the evolution of new species. We’re going to be looking at the ends of the timeline of the study of evolutionary biology. We’ll start by reading some original Darwin from On the Origin of Species to looking at rapid, human-influenced evolution in the present day. Along the way, we’ll be exploring hypotheses and data visualization.

Learning Objectives:

  • understand the requirements for evolution to occur via natural selection
  • explore Darwin’s original hypothesis and why it is now established theory
  • create data visualizations that illustrate natural selection

Unit 6 Class 10 [day/date] Required Readings/Videos:

  • SF video: Evolution
  • Reading: Darwin, C. 1859. On the Origin of Species. Selections from the first four chapters. See reading list.

Unit 6 Class 10 [day/date] OPTIONAL Readings/Videos

If you need a refresher about different types of graphs, watch this YouTube video. NOTE: When creating slideshows for talks, figures can have titles, but for this course, we’re going to follow how a figure would appear in a scientific journal (with a descriptive caption and NO TITLE).

If you want to get some perspective on evolutionary thinking before Darwin, definitely check out the paper below. Darwin was not the first to figure out a mechanism for evolution.

OPTIONAL Reading: Malik AH, JM Ziermann, and R Diogo. An untold story in biology: the historical continuity of evolutionary ideas of Muslim scholars from the 8th century to Darwin’s time. Journal of Biological Education. 52(1):3-17. Link.

Unit 6 Class 10 [day/date] Self-Assessment

[insert form]

Unit 6 Class 11 [day/date] Required Readings/Videos:

  • Reading: Palumbi-2001. Humans as the world’s greatest evolutionary force. Science. 293(5536):1786-1790
  • Reading: Harris, Taylor, Taylor. CatchUp Math and Statistics for the Life Sciences. New York: WH Freeman and Company. Ch. 28 and 29. See reading list.

Unit 6, Class 11 [day/date]Self-Assessment

[insert form]

Unit 6 Major Assignment Parts

ESSAY REVISION – due [time/date]

POSTER PROPOSAL WORKSHEET – due [time/date]