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Marooned in the Galapagos

Scenario: Seeing evolution in action is often difficult, but one way to monitor evolutionary change over a short period of time is to watch what happens to species/populations in a difficult or stressful environment. The Galapagos Islands, one of the most famous laboratories of evolution and adaptation, will be explored through this scenario. Despite the islands' bleak appearance, the unusual fauna and flora of the Galapagos Islands have captivated generations of biologists since Darwin. As we tour the Galapagos Islands and their species, we will touch upon different aspects of adaptation.

Concepts Taught:

Icon Key:
activity
animation
diagram
quiz
text explanation

Concept Map:

1. Entire scenario

Concepts Reviewed:

In-Class Discussion and Thought Questions (also possible homework questions):

Major Terms Introduced:

Adaptive Radiation
Competition
Heritability
Mortality
Mutation

Niche
Plate Tectonics
Population
Species
Speciation


Related Laboratory Experiments :


Lab 6: How does nut diversity and abundance influence survival of birds with
             different beak types?


Text Readings:

Click here for Textbook Readings!

 

Corresponding Essential Study Partner Segments:

The Essential Study Partner is part of the McGraw-Hill Web Site.
To access it go here
. Then follow these relevant paths below:
  • Evolution > Processes > Natural Selection
  • Evolution > Processes > Variation
  • Evolution > Processes > Adaptation
  • Evolution > Speciation > Introduction
  • Ecology > Populations >
  • Ecology > Populations > Growth
  • Ecology > Populations > Size Regulation
  • Ecology > Communities > Introduction
  • Ecology > Communities > Organization

    Many of these are figures and accompanying text, but some are video clips that should help you see the process in action.

     
    Tutorials:

    Natural Selection in the Galapagos
    -
    a tutorial revieiw the concepts of natural selection, coevolution, adaptive radiation, and others using examples from the Galapagos islands that we discussed in class
    Speciation
    - a tutorial illustration the different ways that speciation events can occur

    Adaptive Radiation
    - Why are there so many closely related species on islands? This tutorial reviews the processes and conditions that lead to adaptive radiation

    Speciation and Adaptive Radiation on Islands from the PBS "Evolution" Series

    - This is a great interactive tutorial explaining how many species can arise from one in a geologically short period of time. Based on known speciation events.

    The Mystery of the Time Traveling Iguanas
    - See if you can solve this puzzle - The present day Galpagos islands are 2-3 million years old, but data from molecular clocks are consistent with the divergence of land and marine iguanas occuring 12 million years ago. This web-based inquiry exercise by Arlene Weiner and Dan Suthers of University of Hawai`i at Manoa will help you.


    Useful WWW sites:

    The site for your textbook Life by Ricki Lewis

    NSF

    source

    NSF-Evolution of Evolution

    source
    The Talk.Origins Archives - Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy
    Questions and answers about evolution and creationism.

    source
    Theory of Evolution and Evolutionary Thought, Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley
    The virtual museum has exhibits about evolution, as well as geology, and paleontology.

    source

    Galapagos geology on the web from Cornell University
    Includes information on climate and oceanography and Galapagos history


    source

    Teaching about Evolution
    Covers several topics in evolution and natural selection.


    source
    Biological El Nino Effects

    source
    Penguin Adaptation

    source
    Founder Effect

    source
    Natural Selection

    source
    Evolution and Behavior

    source
    Evolution Web Sites

    source

    Coevolution


    source
    Adaptive Radiation and Anoles

    source
    Evolution

    Textbook Flashcards :

    The website for your textbook has flashcards organised by chapters. You are only responsible for topics discussed in class. For this scenario, flashcards with the Major Terms Introduced can be found in:

    Chapter14: The Evolution of Evolutionary Thought
    Chapter 15: The Forces of Evolutionary Change-Microevolution
    Chapter 16: Speciation and Extinction
    Chapter 42: Populations

    Bibliography: