Lesson summary for...

Evo in the news: Warming to evolution

Author/Source: UC Museum of Paleontology
Overview:Global warming increasingly affects many aspects of our environment—from the sea level to tropical storm strength. But that’s far from the full story. This news brief from July 2006 describes how global warming has already begun to affect the evolution of several species on Earth.
Concepts:This lesson covers the following concepts:
  • There is a fit between organisms and their environments, though not always a perfect fit.
  • Evolution results from selection acting upon genetic variation within a population.
  • Traits that are advantageous often persist in a population.
  • The process by which advantageous traits are maintained and disadvantageous traits are weeded out of a population is known as natural selection.
  • Inherited characteristics affect the likelihood of an organism's survival and reproduction.
  • The amount of genetic variation within a population may affect the likelihood of survival of the population; the less the available diversity, the less likely the population will be able to survive environmental change.
Grade Level:9-12
Time:15 minutes
Teacher Background:Explore these links for additional information on the topics covered in this lesson:
Teaching Tips:This article includes a set of discussion and extension questions for use in class. It also includes hints about related lessons that might be used in conjunction with this one.