Leave it to Beavers

Respond to the following prompts. Enjoy the video!

•A keystone species is a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.

•Why is the beaver a keystone species?

•Why is the beaver an import animal to humans?

•What would you do to manage beaver populations?

Wolves of Yellowstone

Watch the video clip and look at the before and after picture of Yellowstone and answer the following prompts:

• Why are wolves important?
• Should the gray wolf be reintroduced back to Western states?
• After reintroduction, how do you think populations and communities change? (include examples)

Cheetahs...Super evolved for what?

Watch the video clip and see what cheetahs are evolved to do.
Then, find out what genetic "bottleneck" has affected cheetahs.  Be able to explain what the "bottleneck effect" is. 

Great Transformations

Watch the video, Great Transformations, and answer the following questions:

1. What are the scientists studying in this video?  What types of evidence are they looking at? (List as many as you can.  This question is ongoing throughout the video.)

2. What evidence supports the evolutionary history of whales? (List as many as you can.  This question is ongoing throughout the video.)

3. What is a transitional form?  What is an example of transitional form?

4. Why are scientists studying spines?

5. Why are scientists interested in different ways animals travel?

6. What evidence can you discuss that shows connections of all living things?  Give specific examples.

7. Give examples of signposts or key species in the “tree of life”.

8. What allowed major events in life history?

Whale Kiosk

Whale Kiosk

Click on the link to the Whale Kiosk and investigate how whales evolved.  Make sure you complete the packet!  

Darwin vs Lamark Writing

I think you will find the following links useful in answering the writing prompts.  The assignment is due Mon 1/18

Evolution writing prompt!

Respond to the following writing prompts.   Be sure to include supporting details.  Be specific.  You need to write between a half a page and a page to answer this.  You may use the textbook CH 4 and/or the internet as a resource. 

1. Who would have agreed with the following statement? “Elephants stretched their noses and passed on the long nose trait until their descendants had a long nose called a trunk."
2. Who would have agreed with the following statement?  “Elephants with longer noses were able to survive and have more offspringthan elephants with shorter noses.” 
3. Who would have agreed with the following statement?  “Elephants’ noses have changed over time.”
4. Compare and Contrast Lamarke’s Theory and Darwin’s Theory

Links:

Lamarke

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_09

http://necsi.edu/projects/evolution/lamarck/lamarck/lamarck_lamarck.html

Darwin

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/course/session2/explain_c_pop2.html

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/history_14

Cells Alive

Check out the cells alive website to learn about cells parts, functions, cell division, and more.

Cells Alive

Tell me your pretest results

Welcome to Zoology!

What will we be studying?

Lab Safety

Be Smart. Use Common Sense. Be Safe.

Enjoy!