Lesson Summary: Evo in the news: Tough conservation choices? Ask evolution

Lesson summary for... Evo in the news: Tough conservation choices? Ask evolution Author/Source: UC Museum of Paleontology

Overview:	The earth is facing a biodiversity crisis. Nearly 50% of animal and plant species could disappear within our lifetime. To stem this rapid loss of biodiversity, we'll need to act quickly -- but where should we begin? This news brief, from December 2008, explains how evolutionary history can help us set conservation priorities.
Concepts:	This lesson covers the following concepts: Present-day species evolved from earlier species; the relatedness of organisms is the result of common ancestry. As with other scientific disciplines, evolutionary biology has applications that factor into everyday life.
Grade Level:	9-12
Time:	20 minutes
Teacher Background:	Explore these links for additional information on the topics covered in this lesson: Classification/Phylogenetics Relevance
Teaching Tips:	This article includes a video podcast, a set of discussion and extension questions for use in class, and hints about related lessons that might be used in conjunction with this one.