GetAheadBiology@HSF

We are really looking forward to you joining us at Hartlepool Sixth Form in September to study Biology!

You have a fantastic opportunity this year to get ahead as you prepare to move into the next phase of your education. This project will help you get ahead in Biology, as it links directly to the A Level specification.

Please get in touch and let me know what you are planning to look at, and I'm always available via email for any questions you have.

Ashley

Lead lecturer Biology

Contact me at: ashley.neira@hartlepoolsixth.ac.uk

Why whales aren't fish: classifying life

In science lessons at school you will have learned about classification and taxonomy. At A Level we will revisit classification, and we also study phylogenetic trees, diagrams that show how closely related different taxonomic groups are. In this project you will review what you know about classification,and then conduct some of your own research into evolutionary relationships between specific groups of organisms.

Classification and taxonomy, the science of classification, puts organisms into groups, usually based on their similarities, which could be anatomical, biochemical, behavioural or genetic. Part 1 of the project looks at classification.

Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary relationships between organisms. Classification has not always followed evolutionary relationships, and phylogeny, the evolutionary history of a species does not always fit within the classifications that we use. As we learn more, especially using DNA to study relationships between species, we need to change classifications. Part 2 of the project looks at phylogeny, and the (changing) relationships between specific groups.

Week 1: Kingdoms and domains

Create a mind map, poster or one page information sheet, detailing the the features of the three domains and the five kingdoms. You can use what you have learned at secondary school, and add extra information from the Part 1 resources page (link below). Wherever possible, include differences and similarities at the cellular level, as these become increasingly important at A Level.

You could also include a descriptions of the different levels of organisation (taxon/taxa) below kingdom.

For an extension activity, include a section on why the three domain system was developed, and how it contrasts with the five kingdoms system.

Click here for resources

Week 2: Phylogenetic research

Choose an interesting area of phylogeny to investigate in more detail, and produce a report on it. You can choose from one of the areas below, or choose your own topic, if there are a type of organism that you are particularly interested in. Evidence is important - how do we know about the evolutionary relationships between organisms.

Present your finding in a short written report ( around 500 words long). Diagrams and images will be very important in displaying your findings as clearly as possible.

Why whales aren't fish

When the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle first classified living organisms, he would have classified whales and fish together as 'animals that live in water'. In Moby Dick by Herman Melville, the narrator spends a whole chapter describing different species of whales, and places them firmly in the 'fish' category. Today, scientists, and most other people (myself included), would disagree - why? If whales aren't fish, what are they, and who are their closest living relatives? Dive into the the gene pool of the cetaceans (sorry), and see what you can find out

Why monkeys aren't real

Of course monkeys are real. You may have seen them in the flesh in zoos or wildlife parks, and you will almost definitely have seen them on the television. What I mean when I say that monkeys aren't real, is that the word 'monkey' doers not describe a real evolutionary group. Monkeys are a paraphyletic group - a paraphyletic group is a group of organisms that includes an ancestor but not all of its descendants. this means that some monkeys are more closely related to animal that are not monkeys than they are to some animals that are not monkey. Why not swing into the phylogenetic tree of the primates (sorry again) and find out about how the different groups are related to each other.

Pigeons are dinosaurs, but pterodactyls aren't

You might have heard that birds are the living descendants of the dinosaurs. Interestingly (well, I think interestingly), birds are not as closely related to the flying lizards that lived at the same time as those big, scary lizards. You could investigate the evidence that shows us that birds evolved from dinosaurs, and why we think that pterodactyls are less closely related to them.

"If we evolved from chimpanzees, why are there still chimpanzees?"

You might have heard this before. You might have seen it as "if we evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?". Which ever way is is asked, this question is a fantastic excuse to start delving into human evolution. Chimpanzees are indeed our closest living relatives, our cousins in the animal world. You could investigate the relationships between us and the other apes, or even look at the extinct relatives of humans, and how they are related to each other

Do your own thing

If these examples make you think of other questions about species and their evolutionary relationships, why not investigate for yourself? If you have a topic that you want to study, but are not sure, just send me an email at nicholas.blackwood@hartlepoolsixth.ac.uk .

Click here for resources

Week 3: What is a species anyway?

Defining species

In science lessons at school you probably learned a definition for species. You might even remember what it is! You have probably used the word species a lot in Parts 1 and 2 of this project. Species is a term that most people understand, but is notoriously difficult to define. The most common description of a species is called the biological species concept, but there are others. Use the resources linked to below and your own research to find and compare three different species concepts.

1. Write down a description for three concepts, including the biological species concept (you should recognise it as the one you learned at school).

2. Write a paragraph comparing the three species. How are they similar? How are they different? Which one do you prefer and why?

Speciation

Speciation is the process of a two species forming from one. There are different ways that populations of organisms can be separated, and so different ways in which speciation can occur.

1. Use the resources below to find out about how speciation occurs, and the different ways it can occur

2. Draw a diagram or write a paragraph (or both!) explaining speciation and the different ways it can happen.

3. Extension - see if you can find evidence of speciation that has occurred recently, or is occurring now. Write a short paragraph on what you have found and the evidence that supports it, providing links to where you found the information.

Click here for resources

Week 4: Phylogenetics research 2 - DNA

Using DNA to investigate relationships

Now you have investigated the diversity of life, phylogenetics and the science of speciation, it is time to do some real phylogenetic research.

You will use DNA nucleotide sequences to investigate similarities in genes between species. Instuctions and links are available on the resources page

1. Work through the Tree of Life project on the science buddies website (the procedure and data is also copied below)

2. Once you have information on similarities and differences between species, use the data to construct phylogenetic trees (if you paste all the genetic data for one gene - i.e. for all of the species being tested, phylogeny.fr makes a tree for you!)

3. Compare the tree you have made to one from another source e.g NCBI taxonomy browser

Click here for resources

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