You are here: Home / Resources / Browse Resources

Open. Adaptable. Free.

Resources created by our members and partners.

The QUBES platform hosts hundreds of teaching materials, reference materials, and cloud-based software free to use and adapt using open Creative Commons licenses.

Text Search:
Applied Filters
    Forensic Phylogenetics: Implementing Tree-thinking in a Court of Law
    Here we describe an in-class activity developed for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity (BioEE1780) at Cornell University, an introductory course required of all biology majors. This activity...

    Keywords: phylogeneticsTree thinkingparaphyly

    1480

    views

    164

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Cutthroat trout in Colorado: A case study connecting evolution and conservation
    Evaluation of evidence is a key process skill for the core competencies of applying the process of science and using quantitative reasoning. This case study enables upper-division biology students...

    Keywords: population geneticsphylogeneticsSpeciationdivergencegene flow

    1605

    views

    314

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    A CURE in traits and species distributions: Reproductive modes, range sizes, and natural history collections
    This course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) focuses on developing hypotheses about how traits influence the range sizes of species. Topics with substantive content include symbioses,...

    Keywords: Evolutionbiostatisticsecologynatural history collectionsSymbiosisspecies distributionsherbariumplant functional traitsLichenReproductive biologyAppalachian mountains

    1816

    views

    476

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Helping Students to Overcome STUMPS: Scientific terms undermined by meanings peripheral to science
    Many terms and phrases that are ubiquitous in everyday use have very different meanings in science. As a result, biology students often hold prior conceptions that are difficult to change. In this...

    Keywords: Evolutionfitnessprocess of sciencetree of lifemetacognitionlanguagemisconceptionsTerminologyTheory

    626

    views

    109

    downloads

    1

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Coevolution or not? Crossbills, squirrels and pinecones
    This case reinforces the concept of coevolution as a reciprocal change in genetic structure between or among two or more populations, by having students analyze and interpret data, build a...

    Keywords: fitnessCoevolutionCo-adaptation

    2714

    views

    884

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    "Got Algae?" A Sorting Game for Introducing the Weird and Wonderful Diversity of Algae
    Algae are a fascinating and diverse organismal group, with global ecological importance, a storied evolutionary history and deep connections to both contemporary and historical human societies. Yet...

    Keywords: phylogenyBiodiversityphotosynthesisalgaeseaweedmonophyly

    3111

    views

    700

    downloads

    2

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Causes and consequences of resisting herbivory: How long-lived plants avoid damage from diverse short-lived insect herbivores
    This module guides students through decades-long studies of tropical plant-insect interactions to elucidate the ecology and evolution of plant defenses while encouraging students to consider the...
    837

    views

    64

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Applying phylogenetic tree building in MEGA X to forensic applications for identifying unknown specimens
    This exercise is designed to guide a learner through the construction of phylogenetic trees as a means of addressing research questions in forensic science such as the identification of previously...

    Keywords: taxonomyBioinformatics and GenomicsDNA Barcodinginvertebrate phylogeneticsforensic entomology

    1692

    views

    559

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Interpreting the Pseudocot Phylogeny
    Students use physical characteristics, genetics, and a fossil record of hypothetical flowering plants to develop fundamental phylogenetic tree-building skills.
    503

    views

    549

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Follow the Sulfur: Using Yeast Mutants to Study a Metabolic Pathway
    Students are frequently overwhelmed by the complexity of metabolic pathways and they think they have "learned" the pathway when they have memorized the individual reactions.  This...

    Keywords: SelectionyeastMetabolismcysteinemediamethioninemutantPathwaysulfur

    2354

    views

    573

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    A Quick and Simple Natural Selection Role Play
    Teaching evolution remains a challenging task in biology education. Students enter the classroom with stubborn misconceptions and many traditional examples of the process of evolution may not...

    Keywords: EvolutionfitnessNatural Selectionheritability

    3331

    views

    925

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Freezer Full of Fossils v2.0
    The Long Term Evolution Experiment started by Dr. Richard Lenski provides a rich dataset to help students explore concepts of fitness, replication, and adaption.

    Keywords: graphingfitnessadaptationcompetitionSpreadsheet

    1981

    views

    831

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Louse and Human Coevolution
    This module examines the complicated co-evolution of Lice, Humans, and Great Apes

    Keywords: phylogeneticsBiodiversityparasitesCoevolutionhuman evolution

    1818

    views

    1729

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Furry with a chance of evolution: Exploring genetic drift with tuco-tucos
    Genetic drift is an important mechanism of evolution, yet undergraduates often fail to understand how it leads to evolutionary change due in part to its random nature. This lesson plan describes a...

    Keywords: EvolutionGenetic DriftBottle neckFounder effectRandom evolutionary processes

    3138

    views

    801

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    A Remote Introductory Biology Lab Using Backyard Birdwatching to Teach Data Analysis and Communication
    Asking questions, designing experiments, collecting data and interpreting those data, and communicating the results are some of the most important concepts an undergraduate biology lab can teach...

    Keywords: ecologydata analysisdata collection

    1476

    views

    478

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    2016-Lewnard-Townsend-Climatic and evolutionary drivers of phase shifts in the plague epidemics of colonial India
    Our analysis shows that historical datasets can yield powerful insights into the transmission dynamics of reemerging disease agents with which we have limited contemporary experience to guide...

    Keywords: infectious diseasepVector-Borne Diseaselagueplague

    108

    views

    40

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Introduction to nucleotide sequence analysis and protein modeling in MEGA and PyMol using coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
    Introduction into computational approaches in phylogeny and protein modeling based on coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (caused COVID-19 pandemic). Two self-guided tutorials for standard lab classes of 2.5...

    Keywords: phylogeneticsundergraduate educationbioinformaticsNCBICOVID19coronavirusMEGAPyMolvirtual labPDBprotein modelingSARSSARS-CoV

    1129

    views

    567

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Application of a Bacterial Experimental Evolution System to Visualize and Teach Evolution in Action: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience
    Concepts of evolution are typically taught through examples of extremely long timescales, which do not always resonate broadly. Here, we describe a course-based undergraduate research experience...

    Keywords: EvolutionmutationcompetitionNatural Selectionregulationstructure and functionreproductive fitnessgenotype to phenotypehomologs

    3040

    views

    236

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Sequence Similarity: An inquiry based and "under the hood" approach for incorporating molecular sequence alignment in introductory undergraduate biology courses
    Introductory bioinformatics exercises often walk students through the use of computational tools, but often provide little understanding of what a computational tool does "under the...

    Keywords: BLASTmultiple sequence alignmentsequence similarityphylogramZika virusAlgorithmScoring Matrix

    1845

    views

    632

    downloads

    1

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Evolution of the CRYAA Gene Across Vertebrates
    Although the divergence of the aA-crystallin protein from other heat shock proteins has been examined, the extent to which the CRYAA gene controlling it has evolved across vertebrate species...

    Keywords: phylogeneticsvertebrates

    284

    views

    66

    downloads

    0

    comments

    0

    adaptations

    Close

    Home

    Search