VIDEO: "EXTINCTION!"

Tuesday's class featured excerpts from 'Extinction!', which is Episode 3 from NOVA's 'Evolution' series (2001).

The video begins with paleontologist Peter Ward hunting for Permian fossils in South Africa's Karoo Desert, and relates ecological pyramids (which are like a 'house of cards') to mass extinctions, which are believed to be rare but important events in the history of life.

It then follows the work of American Museum of Natural History researcher Michael Novacek in building the fossil record of small, shrew-like mammals from the Mesozoic, representative of the lineage that will survive the next mass extinction (the K/T event), which will claim the dinosaurs.

It concludes with an examination of the role of human activity in accelerating the rate of extinction, with important attention to conservationists like Alan Rabinowitz. I encourage students to watch the video in its entirety for themselves if there are points that they don't get in class. We simply do not have enough class time to review this, but I know many students will want to see the whole story again, either by going to Google Video or watching it here:

POWER POINT: DIVERSITY AND CLASSIFICATION

WELCOME BACK FROM SPRING BREAK....

Please note the previous posts, which contain information about a pre-Spring Break assignment, "Lord of the Ants", as well as our Unit 9 syllabus.  

These notes were introduced to students before Spring Break, and completed yesterday (April 3rd). The Power Point on "Diversity and Classification" can be uploaded here. The Lecture Guide, given in class today, based on the Power Point can be found as a PDF file here.

SYLLABUS: EVOLUTION AND NATURAL SELECTION

Here is the Syllabus for Unit 9, which introduces the powerful ideas of evolutionary biology.

This Unit began prior to Spring Break, which is reflected in the Syllabus.   However, students should note that the 50-point assignment "Lord of the Ants" is not reflected on this handout, as it was assigned prior to Spring Break.   Students who missed this can still watch the video online and use it to define terms and answer questions based on the video.

The image on the syllabus here is a bit larger than the blog could show.   A reader can click on the image to make it easier to read, or download it if they need to print it out.

An exciting new PBS program that bears significantly on the above topic, "Your Inner Fish", represents some of the best evidence from comparative anatomy and the fossil record pointing to common descent.   Both students and parents may enjoy watching these videos online while they available:

VIDEO: "LORD OF THE ANTS"

Students have received an assignment in class, called "Lord of the Ants: The Boy Naturalist."   This is a reading, available on-line here, and adapted from E.O. Wilson's autobiographical memoir Naturalist, which details his career as a specialist in ants, activist for preserving biodiversity and founder of the discipline of sociobiology.   The reading is based on a story from Wilson's boyhood, but also has questions that relate to a PBS Nova video chronicling Wilson's career of scientific achievement, called "Lord of the Ants."

Students can watch that video here:

Edward Osborne Wilson is truly one of the giants of biology.  Every student should learn more about him.

POWER POINT: BIOTECHNOLOGY

The Power Point with the Notes on Biotechnology is available here. All students will need to download the entire Power Point in order to finish the Lecture Guide, so make sure you do it!

Students who have lost their original Lecture Guide and need to get another copy can download the Guide as a PDF file here.

STUDENTS HAVE AN AFTER-SCHOOL STUDY SESSION TODAY (April 1st), at 3:15-4:45, Room N-63.

STUDENTS HAVE THEIR UNIT 8 TEST WEDNESDAY (April 2nd).  Extra time is available at lunch and after school, so plan ahead, students.

The Genetic Disorders Poster Project is due on Thursday, April 3rd.  This will be an in-class work day to complete the project.  Poster Project presentations occur on Friday, April 4th.  

NO POSTERS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER FRIDAY, APRIL 4th, FOR ANY REASON.