Evolution: Education and Outreach

by Gregory, T. Ryan

The occurrence, generality, and causes of large-scale evolutionary trends—directional changes over long periods of time—have been the subject of intensive study and debate in evolutionary science. Large-scale patterns in the history of life have also been of considerable interest to nonspecialists, although misinterpretations and misunderstandings of this important issue are common and can have significant implications for an overall understanding of evolution. This paper provides an overview of how trends are identified, categorized, and explained in evolutionary biology. Rather than reviewing any particular trend in detail, the intent is to provide a framework for understanding large-scale evolutionary patterns in general and to highlight the fact that both the patterns and their underlying causes are usually quite complex.

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0055-6
Online Date: 6/25/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
View article on SpringerLink

by McLennan, Deborah A.

Darwin believed that evolution generally occurred through a series of small, gradual changes. This proposal was counter-intuitive to many people because it seemed likely that “transitional” forms would not survive. Darwin, and later Cuènot, recognized that this problem was easily solved if characters that had evolved for one reason changed their function at a later time with little to no concurrent structural modification, at least initially. In other words, traits that had evolved under one set of conditions were co-opted to serve a different function under a second set of conditions. This meant that organisms carried with them in the structures of their genes, proteins, morphological, physiological, and behavioral characters the potential for rapid evolutionary change, so rapid, indeed, that the process looked miraculous and Lamarckian. In this paper, I discuss some of the paradigm examples of co-option, from genes to behavior.

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0053-8
Online Date: 6/24/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
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by Thanukos, Anastasia

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0058-3
Online Date: 6/20/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
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by Jenkins, Kristin P.

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0052-9
Online Date: 6/20/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
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by Lombrozo, Tania; Thanukos, Anastasia; Weisberg, Michael

Many students reject evolutionary theory, whether or not they adequately understand basic evolutionary concepts. We explore the hypothesis that accepting evolution is related to understanding the nature of science. In particular, students may be more likely to accept evolution if they understand that a scientific theory is provisional but reliable, that scientists employ diverse methods for testing scientific claims, and that relating data to theory can require inference and interpretation. In a study with university undergraduates, we find that accepting evolution is significantly correlated with understanding the nature of science, even when controlling for the effects of general interest in science and past science education. These results highlight the importance of understanding the nature of science for accepting evolution. We conclude with a discussion of key characteristics of science that challenge a simple portrayal of the scientific method and that we believe should be emphasized in classrooms.

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0061-8
Online Date: 6/20/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
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by Slack, Gordy

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0063-6
Online Date: 6/19/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
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by Wycoff, Mick

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0064-5
Online Date: 6/19/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
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by Horenstein, Sidney

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0066-3
Online Date: 6/17/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
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by Eldredge, Gregory; Eldredge, Niles

DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0065-4
Online Date: 6/17/2008
Print publication date: 7/1/2008
View article on SpringerLink

Greetings all, and welcome to our blog! In this post and in those of the next weeks and months, we will be developing our ideas about how to best use this blog space. By “we” I mean the editorial staff and board of Evolution: Education & Outreach—and, I hope our online audience. I am especially hopeful about establishing communication in many directions: between contributors and readers; among readers themselves; and among contributors, readers, and other evolution and science bloggers and online commentators.

Even at this early stage, I think that this blog will most likely incorporate the following:

• Announcement of new issues with links to the online table of contents
• Editors’ and authors’ posts about articles meant to initiate discussion about the articles we publish
• A page of links to evolution and evolution education resources online
• An extensive “blogroll” directing users to other blogs likely to be of interest to our readers
• Announcement of important events such as talks, exhibitions, conferences, and other publications likely to be of interest to our readers
• Updates on editorial policies and directions we intend to take
• Interviews and personal narratives—it seems like someone we know is always headed off to the Galapagos, and has photos to share
• Video, audio, and images
• Announcements and discussion concerning important new discoveries and theoretical advances in evolutionary studies
• In general, any suitable content that will advance EEO’s mission of informing a broad range of audiences about evolution

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