In this activity you are asked to prepare a pamphlet for visitors to a natural history museum. This pamphlet will be given to guests of the museum and will help them to see how various pairs of organisms are closely related. The main focus of the pamphlet will be on homologies/similarities, however part of your job is to convince the visitors that the organisms, which sometimes seem completely different, are closely related. In a brochure like this, your main challenge is to balance four sometimes-conflicting qualities: Engagement: visitors will want to read the brochure Brevity: there should be no more than one page for each homologous pair Clarity: ideas and explanations should be well-developed and clear Accuracy: information should be accurate and documented Additionally, you will need to be prepared to answer questions related to the movement of plants and animals from water to land since a significant portion of the exhibit is dedicated to this important evolutionary achievement. Question 1: Pamphlet & Argument To get started, choose five of the six pairs of organisms to use in your pamphlet: a. Human and chimpanzee b. Bird and reptile c. Dragonfly and butterfly d. Echinoderms and chordates e. Eukaryotic chloroplasts and prokaryotes f. Mosses and ferns Here are some of the links that can help you in your research: Human and chimpanzee Bird and reptile Dragonflies and butterflies Echinoderms and chordates Eukaryotic chloroplasts and prokaryotes Mosses and Ferns For each of your five pairs, develop a list of at least five homologies. Record them simply in the pamphlet layout given below. Create a pamphlet of one page per pair. The homologies may be structural, molecular, biochemical, developmental, physiological, or behavioral. Try to include homologies from several categories. For example: Dragonflies and butterflies both have 6 legs, 4 wings, compound eyes (structural); both use Malphigian tubules for excretion (physiological), and both are protostome coelomates (developmental). Because many of the museum’s guests are not as knowledgeable about biology as you are, you will need to explain many of the terms that are used in the pamphlet. Examine your list to determine which items will need to be explained. For example, what is a protostome coelomate? (The mouth forms first when the embryo develops). The explanation should be brief and placed next to the term on the page below.
From the list of homologies you will need to write a short argument for the museum visitors to help convince them that these organisms are closely related, even though some of the pairs appear completely different. For example: How can scientists say that sea stars and fish (or even human beings) are closely related. This section should be brief and connect the list of homologies.
Pamphlet Layout: Complete 5 of the 6 pamphlet organism pair “pages” below, by entering your own copy in each subsection.
Human & Chimpanzee—Why do we think they’re related?
[Paste images here]
Homologies—What structural parts do they have in common?
Why do we think they’re related?
Bird & Reptile—Why do we think they’re related?
[Paste images here]
Homologies—What structural parts do they have in common?
Why do we think they’re related?
Dragonfly & Butterfly—Why do we think they’re related?
[Paste images here]
Homologies—What structural parts do they have in common?
Why do we think they’re related?
Echinoderm & Chordate—Why do we think they’re related?
[Paste images here]
Homologies—What structural parts do they have in common?
Why do we think they’re related?
Eukaryotic chloroplast & Prokaryote—Why do we think they’re related?
[Paste images here]
Homologies—What structural parts do they have in common?
Why do we think they’re related?
Moss & Fern—Why do we think they’re related?
[Paste images here]
Homologies—What structural parts do they have in common?
Why do we think they’re related?
Space used (includes formatting): 0 / 15000
Question 2: Analysis
In the 6th pamphlet page, you will prepare for questions that visitors might ask about the movement from water to land. You should be familiar with the difficulties associated with it and the solutions that are evident in animals and/or plants.
What are the difficulties? An example is desiccation—plants that live in water do not have to worry about their embryos losing water.
What are the solutions? An example is that embryos in a seed don’t lose water.
Write your analysis concerning the movement from water to land in the space below.
Movement from water to land—An evolutionary challenge
