Sampler: Intro Bio: Eco/Evo
Our Introductory Biology: Eco/Evo Sampler contains demonstration versions of the following labs.
EvoBeaker: Sickle-Cell AllelesAn interactive simulation of the classic malaria and sickle-cell anemia system is used to explore natural selection and genetic drift. Students examine African villages with different malaria death rates. First they use the Hardy-Weinberg equation to calculate the expected proportion of sickle-cell carriers from HbS and HbA allele frequencies. ... Read more |
EvoBeaker: Darwinian SnailsAn introductory lab that examines the assumptions behind natural selection using an engaging interactive simulation of green crabs preying on periwinkle snails. Students are able to "violate" each assumption in turn to explore whether evolution by natural selection still occurs. Exercises are targeted to address common misconceptions among biology students. ... Read more |
EvoBeaker: Flowers and TreesIntroduces students to evolutionary trees using an interactive simulation of Columbine flower diversification. Students observe Columbine populations split and diverge while an expanding evolutionary tree illustrates each population's history. Students further learn to interpret evolutionary trees by creating their own and reconstructing the history of mystery populations. ... Read more |
EcoBeaker: Isle RoyaleThis popular laboratory explores basic population biology concepts including exponential and logistic growth and carrying capacity. It is based on the textbook example of a predator-prey system involving wolves and moose on an island in Lake Superior. Students start out by characterizing the growth of a colonizing population of moose in the absence of predators. ... Read more |
EcoBeaker: Keystone PredatorThis laboratory recreates the famous experiments of Paine and colleagues in the Pacific Northwest with the sea star Pisaster (and 8 other marine intertidal species). Students do transplant experiments to figure out competitive relationships and sample gut contents to construct a food web. Next they use their data to predict what will happen when each predator is removed from the system. ... Read more |
EcoBeaker: Nutrient Pollution (formerly "Sewage")What will happen if your city starts dumping lots of extra sewage into your local lake? ... Read more |