In Spring 2021, I taught a course called Ecology & Evolution of Being Social. Over the course of the semester, students completed several creative projects that tell stories about the ecology and evolution of social behavior. They knocked it out of the park, and most of them wanted to share some of their work with the world!
All the work here has been shared with permission and can be distributed with proper credit. These pieces would be great teaching resources for middle school, high school, and/or college-aged students. They're also just fun to read - topics range from bacteria anti-predator strategies to multi-level selection; from exploring our heart-eyes with dolphins to a whirl-wind tour of the evolution of human sociality. And more!
There are 2 main types of work below. First are popular science articles, podcasts, and grants that students created about a topic of their choice. Second are biographies about biologists.
Photo credits above: Bees: Alex Wild; Meerkat: Nat Geo WILD; chimps: Shutterstock; Elephant: Anup Shah; Termites: Charlotte Hajer; Wildebeest: Ingo Gerlach; Cliff swallows: Veronica Bowers; Long-tailed manakin: fishercl; Banded mongoose: Harry Marshall; Humans: Shutterstock; Slime mold: Usman Bashir; Velvet spider: Bernard Dupont
All the work here has been shared with permission and can be distributed with proper credit. These pieces would be great teaching resources for middle school, high school, and/or college-aged students. They're also just fun to read - topics range from bacteria anti-predator strategies to multi-level selection; from exploring our heart-eyes with dolphins to a whirl-wind tour of the evolution of human sociality. And more!
There are 2 main types of work below. First are popular science articles, podcasts, and grants that students created about a topic of their choice. Second are biographies about biologists.
Photo credits above: Bees: Alex Wild; Meerkat: Nat Geo WILD; chimps: Shutterstock; Elephant: Anup Shah; Termites: Charlotte Hajer; Wildebeest: Ingo Gerlach; Cliff swallows: Veronica Bowers; Long-tailed manakin: fishercl; Banded mongoose: Harry Marshall; Humans: Shutterstock; Slime mold: Usman Bashir; Velvet spider: Bernard Dupont
You are your mother's daughter: Inheritance of social rank in the animal kingdom by Megan Zhao
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The three-eyed raven: Corvid intelligence on and beyond the screen by Megan Zhao
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Breaking free from the common caricature of evolution by John Bokman
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Dinner for two? Make that one! Sexual Cannibalism in animals by Alan Zhao
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Nature's bad boys: What is kleptoparasitism? by Alan Zhao
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True love's kiss? An inter-species infatuation by Elise Malone
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Diversity in animal mating strategies by Ben Xu
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Don't prey on me: How bacteria avoid predators by Dan Crair
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Lessons on love from biology by John Bokman
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PC: Triangle Springs
Social isolation has made COVID-19 especially difficult for us. There's an evolutionary reason why by Christine Bergamini
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PC: Leipzig Zoo
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PC: Smithsonian Nat'l Zoo
Biological Tinder: Finding the perfect match via chemical signaling by Akasha Barreto
Podcast; references here |
PC: Josh More
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PC: Angelina Bambina
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Bio of Dr. Anny Chung by Lydia Goff
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Bio of Dr. Alexander Bond by Connie Dean
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Bio of Dr. Hollis Woodard by Elise Malone
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