Unit 8: Phylogeny, Systematics, and Biogeography.

"Every species has come into existence coincident both in time and space with a preexisting closely allied species." - Alfred Russell Wallace, the "father" of biogeography, in his essay On the law which has regulated the introduction of new species.

"Nature does not proceed by leaps and bounds." - Carolus Linnaeus, creator of the rules of biological nomenclature.

Objective 1:

Absolute vs. relative dating (1c)

Objective 2:

Continental drift (2a)
Intermittent land bridges (2d)
Did cracking continent trigger a deep freeze?: The break-up of a supercontinent may have caused a 'Snowball Earth'. (optional)
Extinction of the North American large mammals: Who or what killed them off? (optional)

Objective 3:

Conditions necessary for species dispersal (3a/c)
The Law of the Minimum and the Law of Tolerance (3b)

Objective 5:

Convergent evolution (5c)
Confused by evolutionary trees? Check out Understanding Evolution.

Objective 7:

"Evolution in the Everyday World" from Scientific American (optional; see Blackboard for link)

Objective 8:

Primates (8a)
Hominoid divergence (8d)
A recent split of humans and chimps? (optional) (New!)
Unique characteristics of primates (optional)
Earliest "human footprints" found (optional)

Objective 9:

Characteristics that differ between apes and humans (9b)
Peking man older than previously thought! (optional)
"The Human Pedigree" from Scientific American (optional; see Blackboard for link)

Objective 12:

Latitudinal trends in species diversity (12f)
Life is faster in the temperate zones (optional) (New!)

Objective 13:

Go to Blackboard to access the "Rapid Climate Change" article (courtesy of American Scientist)
More on rapid global warming (optional)
North American tree deaths accelerate (optional)
Ice bridge ruptures in Antarctic (optional)

Objective 14:

Lake turnover (download a .pdf file)
More lake turnover
What is a mesotrophic lake? (14b)
Beebe Lake

Objective 15:

More on biomes
Biomes slideshow

Optional Supplementary Material:

• An Archaeological Facelift: Computer reconstruction of "Toumai" skull suggests that the owner is the oldest known hominid, Sahelanthropus tchadensis.

• Island of the Lost Hominids: Remains of a previously unknown species of hominid have been discovered on the Indonesian Island of Flores. A new wrinkle in the evolutionary history of humankind!
  • Researchers verify Flores hobbit as new species of human being.
  • Artist's reconstruction of the Flores hominin.
    
• Faster than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special. Study suggests that the ability to run long distances efficiently was a key evolutionary innovation for humans.
• The Long March of Human Genes: New evidence that the ancestors of modern humans originated in Africa and not independently in different regions of the world.
• Jaw-dropping theory of human evolution: Did mankind trade chewing power for a bigger brain?
• Survival of the fittest females: Tiny animals evolve through the ages without males' help.
• Molecular clocks in action: Planting the mammalian supertree

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