Evolution Animal Profile Project

Learning Goal: Become an expert on an animal species of your choosing. This project will develop over the course of the semester and culminate in a formal presentation about the evolution and ecology of your organism.

Purpose: Our intention is to build continuity between various units this semester (especially ecology, evolution, behavior, and comparative systems); for each new unit, well explore how a particular scientific idea relates to (or is evident in) your particular organism. We also hope to create a chance for you to develop some expertise in something you are genuinely interested in!

Format: CHOOSE AN ORGANISM. Do not choose a domesticated species. At this point, (Stage 1) you need to collect some basic information about what's known about your organism. A list is attached to help you organize your information in a concise format.

Click here to see an example of an Animal Profile.

Challenge: Finding the right depth of information. You probably want more than a brief newspaper article, but less than The Neuro-anatomy of the Emperor Penguin, Volume 4.0 The World Book Encyclopedia and the WWW might be good places to start. Although there may be vast volumes of information out there about your organism, we suggest spending no more than 3 hours assembling the basic facts. You need to site your sources.

Below is a list of the KINDS of information that you should look for in researching your organism. Note that not all of this information is likely to be easily available for every organism. That is partly because this assignment is too short for you to dig very deeply, but also partly due to the fact that scientists simply don't know much about many organisms.

1. Find the Latin name for your organism. (Genus and species; e.g. Equus burchelli)

2. Basic physical description: size, weight, identifying characteristics (Try to find out what variation there is within the populations of your species)

3. Overview of life cycle: life expectancy, age at reproduction, mating strategies, number of offspring, migratory patterns if any, how it deals with the seasons etc.

4. Geographic distribution: Where in the world is your organism found? Does it migrate?

5. Describe the animal's habitat.

6. It's adaptations to the habitat: What aspects of this organism's anatomy, physiology, and behavior allow it to survive and thrive in its habitat?

7. Interactions with other species:

· What are its primary prey species? Is your organism a generalist feeder or a specialist feeder? A carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore?

· What are its primary predators?

· With what other species does your organism compete for resources?

· Is there any information about other species that coexist with yours (e.g. cooperative or parasitic relationships)?

8. Adaptations to interactions: What aspects of this organisms anatomy, physiology, and behavior help it obtain prey? How about defending itself and/or eluding predators? Out-competing other species for a resource?

9. Social organization: Does this species live in large groups or as solitary individuals? How does it interact with other members of its species?

10. Images and diagrams of your organism.( these should be labeled and referred to in the text; Figure 1: Zebra strip patterns

11. List of sources: Include web sites, video, books and magazines, sources of images. You need to show evidence of having used a local library and need to include at least two books and an articles from a magazine.

Click here to see an example of an Animal Profile.