changes+over+time


 * Image Source - Haeckel's drawings **

 What evidence supports the theory of evolution? – some good questions here! This interactive animation, “Evolution in Action” outlines the evidence for evolution and gives an opportunity for students to particpate in a simulated natural selection experiment. **Fossils** **Radiometric Dating**
 * Evidence for Evolution **
 *  Embryology - Haeckel’s drawings (above) have been shown to greatly exaggerate the similarities between different vertebrates.
 * Homologies
 * Fossils
 *  Biogeography and Wallace and Wagner
 *  DNA analysis and DNA in Evolution
 * Genetic experiments (eg. Mendel’s peas, fruit flies, antibiotic resistance)
 * Geological Time Periods **
 *  History of the Universe in 10 minutes (YouTube)
 *  Interactive Journey through Time (swf – not for iPads)
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;"> Interactive Geological Time Scale from the University of California Museum of Paleontology
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px; line-height: 1.5;">Interactive Geologic Time <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px; line-height: 1.5;"> from the Smithsonian Institute

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">Download the student worksheet from Ages 16-19: Highlighting Important Stages in Evolution <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">2. Watch the “ Tree of Life” video, narrated by David Attenborough <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">3. Click on “Interactive” to view the “Tree of Life” Interactive timeline <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">4. Answer the questions on the student worksheet.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">**Other Resources:**
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">Exploring Life’s Origins - A timeline of life’s evolution
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;"> “Origins of Life” from the Smithsonian Institute
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;"> Human Evolution interactive timeline from the Smithsonian Institute

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">** Speciation: **Due to natural variation between individuals, selection pressure, “survival of the fittest” and favourable traits being passed on to offspring over many generations, new species are formed. Biologists refer to allopatric (geographical), sympatric (same location and habitat), and parapatric (habitat differences) speciation. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">** Divergent Evolution: **Over time, due to selection pressures, sub-species or species become less and less alike, as they become better adapted to their niche. Adaptive radiation (below) is a specific type of divergent evolution. The human foot and the foot of a chimpanzee is an example – they are quite different (divergent), although they evolved from a common ancestor, due to the differing habitats of the upright walking man, compared to the knuckle-walking chimpanzee. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">** Adaptive Radiation: ** The process by which organisms change over generations to fill different niches, especially when changes in the environment make new resources available. Charles Darwin famously documented the different beak shapes of finches on the Galapagos Islands, which he postulated had arisen form a common ancestor. Above, you can see the variations of honeycreepers from the Hawaiian islands. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">** Convergent Evolution :** In this form of change over time, different species begin to look more alike, despite having no recent common ancestor. Analogous structures develop, that have the same form and function, but were not present in the most recent common ancestor. Examples include flying insects, birds and bats, who have all developed wings as a solution to escaping from predators or finding more food and mates. Hedgehogs and echidnas are a good example of convergent evolution. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">** Parallel Evolution: **Parallel evolution is similar to convergent evolution, in that different organisms display similar characterisitics, but tend to be more closely related. So, gliding frogs for example, evolved in parallel from multiple types of tree frog. Some examples that are closer to home include the Tasmanian tiger and the European wolf; the flying squirrel and gliding possums and marsupial and placental moles/mice. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">More about patterns of evolution:
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.6000003814697px;">Patterns of Evolution **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">Patterns of evolution from Bioweb
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">SparkNotes – Patterns of Evolution
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;">Different patterns of evolution – for Dummies
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;"> Evolution – What Darwin Never Knew – YouTube video
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px;"> Evolution of Humans – YouTube video