BIOL 1111 – NOVA The Evolution Lab Name: In this lab activity, you will be exploring evolution and phylogeny on the NOVA LABS website. The Evolution Lab has two main parts: building a phylogenetic tree and exploring an interactive tree of life. You will complete the lab online and answer the following questions for a grade. Part 1: In your web browser, go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/lab/evolution/research#/chooser 1. Watch the Evolution 101 video. What is something new that you learned from the video? Did the video leave you with any questions that you would like to learn about? Evolution theory explains how the organism continues to multiply and bring new species on the planet. Natural selection is the mechanism behind the evolution; natural environment essentially selects which organisms survive long enough to reproduce. Additionally, the environment determines which organisms survive as they compete for resources such as available foods. Survival for the fittest explains why some organisms continue to exist while others get eliminate due to their characteristics. For example, I got to learn the reason why the fittest sustains the white bear. The evolution gradually eliminated brown bear while bears with white and thicker fur survived in the arctic environment. Precisely, the subsequent generations of bear tend to grow more fur that enabled the species to survive a cold environment. Nevertheless, understanding of the evolution can complex, especially explaining how similar species found in the different region of the world. How did that happen? As you move on to the Missions, be sure to watch the short video on each session – they contain helpful information to aid you in completing the phylogenetic trees! Hint: if you get stuck, try re-doing the tree. 2. Complete Mission 1: Training Trees a. Are all traits important for constructing a phylogenetic tree? ( No) b. Is a fungus more closely related to an animal or to a plant? Plant c. What three things do a king snake and a dog have in common? 3. Amniotes 2. Bilateria 3. Animal with jaws a. Is a banana more closely related to a lemon or an onion? Banana is more related to a lemon 4. Complete Mission 2: Fossils: Rocking the Earth a. Do birds have anything in common with dinosaurs? ( yes ) b. What is the first trait that helped aquatic species evolve into creatures that live on land? Tetrapods –lungs evolved from gills c. Which species in this exercise did not have tail flukes? Aquatic animals ( whale) 5. Complete Mission 3: DNA Spells Evolution a. The DNA sequence of the West Indian Ocean coelacanth is closest to which species? South America Lungfish b. In 2013, scientists found that coelacanths are not the closest relative of four-footed amphibians and other animals. Which species is? Western Clawed frog c. You built a tree using only DNA information. Give three reasons why examining DNA was better than considering physical traits? 1. It is hard to examine physical traits of a single-celled organism 2. Organisms that behave differently can be genetically similar 3. Specific traits evolves multiple time in different species ; thus DNA can be effective in tracking such changes Complete Missions 4, 5, and 6 on your own before moving on to Part 2. Part 2: Using the information below, build a phylogenetic tree for the organisms listed. Organisms A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H are newly discovered species of bacteria from deep-sea vents. You have sequenced the DNA of each organism and have isolated a region of each organism’s genome that may be promising in constructing a phylogenetic tree. Your colleague has constructed the beginning of the tree and your goal is to finish it! Use the nucleotides given to fill out the common characteristics for the organisms. Some have already been done for you! A B C D E F G H 1 C C C C T A A G 2 - 3 T T T T T T T C 4 - 5 A - 6 T T - 7 - 8 - 9 G G G G G G G G 10 - 11 T G G - 12 A A A - 13 - 14 C - 15 G G -
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