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| Reviewed: |
Sep 22, 2005 by Biology Editorial Board |
| Overview: |
Evolution/Species and Speciation is one of a series of interactive web-based lessons designed to give introductory undergraduate biology students opportunities to connect biology concepts. Each lesson is a series of screens that breaks the topic down into simple steps and then illustrates the connections between the steps to present the completed concept or process. This set of lessons addresses what species are and how they might change over time; this site can be used as a supplement to the lecture to allow students to review the topic at their own pace and as many times as desired. It is divided into three lesson topics that cover how to separate a group of organisms into species using data on frog species, how to determine the pattern of a speciation event using fuschia plants, and the practical importance of being able to do this. The practical aspect focuses on analyzing six lines of evidence for mosquito species and the Florida Panther and then using this information to manage the organism. A very good help screen is provided to help students use the lessons. This tutorial/simulation consists of three topics. In topic 1, students look at 5 frog populations to decide whether they should be considered separate species using criteria of three of the species concepts: biological, morphological, and phylogenetic. Students will: 1) describe why species are continuous over time and space; 2) review definitions of three species concepts with strengths and weaknesses of each; 3) analyze traits to sort populations into species based on 3 species concepts; and 4) gain familiarity with: 3 species concepts, phylogenetic trees, and reproductive isolation. In topic 2, students will think about speciation events at several points along the phylogeny of the plant genus Fuchsia. Students decide whether vicariance,
dispersal, or both are plausible explanations for past and current distributions. Students will: 1) interpret phylogenies and geographical distributions to determine speciation patterns; 2) integrate understandings of continental drift with speciation; 3) analyze hypotheses as they seek to explain patterns of speciation; and 4) become familiar with the terms: allopatry, sympatry, adaptive radiation, gene flow, vicariance, and polyploidy. In topic 3, students look at speciation case studies. They are asked to think critically about evidence they collect to answer questions within the following contexts: Mosquito case: Does the evidence support separating one species into more than one species? Panther case: Does the evidence show that the FL panther is unique enough to conserve? (also useful for conservation lessons). Students will: 1) interpret real data on Anopheles quadrimaculatus species complex and the Florida panther, including morphological traits, haplotypes, population histories, ecology, molecular phylogenies, hybridization, and geographic distributions; 2) define species in real life situations; and 3) make a conservation decision based on concepts in species and speciation. |
| Learning Goals: |
The major goal of this lesson is to help students understand what species are and how speciation occurs. Each of the three lesson topics addresses portion of the larger process and contains specific learning objectives. |
| Target Student Population: |
High school (AP level) through college undergraduate. |
| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
Students will need to have a basic understanding of natural selection and microevolution. |
| Type of Material: |
Tutorial |
| Recommended Uses: |
This site could be used in many ways. 1. As the basis of a classroom lecture presentation. 2. As an out-of-class assignment before the topic is covered in class. 3. As a study tool for students after topic is presented in class. |
| Technical Requirements: |
Flash 6.0 |
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| Strengths: |
- A good interactive tutorial on speciation. The unit on mosquitoes is especially well done.
- Lets students explore both the molecular and morphological criteria used to determine if two populations are different species.
- Site is highly interactiveeach lesson topic requires student participation to move through all parts of the exercisecant just skip through the pages without answering questions.
- Each lesson is written to provide the feeling of investigative learning.
- The third topic also illustrates that there are frequently not clear answers to problems in science.
- Questions asked throughout lessons help provide student with continual self assessment of progress.
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| Concerns: |
- The unit where students identify different frog species based on different characteristics is nice, but they get the same grouping with all three datasets, some discrepancies would be nice to show that some phenotypes can be similar in different species.
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
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| Strengths: |
- An excellent collection of applications of speciation for students to explore.
- Could easily incorporate into homework assignments or review for students.
- Very interactive and engaging. Slide bars and moving species onto a map is much nicer than canned multiple choice answers in many tutorials.
- Concepts taught with a problem/project approach that helps catch and hold students attention.
- Illustrates use of data from many sources to solve a problem.
- Clearly demonstrates relationships between elements of each concept.
- The site can be used in several waysas a direct teaching tool in a distance learning course, as a lecture outline,
as a review and study tool for students after topic covered in class.
- Some of the questions asked will be challenging for introductory students.
- Completion of plans for links to assessments and image/animation data bases will greatly enhance the usefulness of the site.
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
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| Strengths: |
- Well organized, all links are active.
- Quality images with well written text.
- Instructions clear, especially when manipulating components and entering animations.
- Instructors manual available; summarizes the contents of each of the lesson topics.
- Glossary available for selected terms.
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| Concerns: |
- Some of the text and graphics are very small and difficult to see.
- Sometimes it is not easy to tell which button to hit next to proceed.
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
This series of lessons has outstanding potential for use by faculty and students everywhere. The concepts are broken down to simple parts and then reassembled by an interactive process and animations into a whole. The lessons provide a problem based-approach to learning about speciation. It illustrates how data from a variety of sources can be used to find a solution and how more than one definition and solution are possible. |
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