Students will be able to analyze critically and apply the major principles of ecology and evolution.

Ecology and evolution are two principles of biology that go hand-in-hand with one another. Ecology is the discipline of biology that analyzes organisms and their relationships with each other as well as their environments. Evolution is the process by which organisms have changed and developed over the history of the earth. Together, ecology and evolution allow scientists to understand the history of species and their interactions with each other.

During my sophomore year, I was prompted to do a group project in my introduction to ecology and evolution course. For this project, my group decided to study the amount of lichen diversity depending on factors such as shade, proximity to water, and tree type. We conducted this study over a few weeks and compiled our data and findings into a paper and PowerPoint presentation. This project was unique as it was the first semester-long project that I had been a part of. I was able to learn the steps to creating and conducting a scientific experiment. This experiment gave me much more confidence in the scientific method than I would have had if I hadn’t been a part of this experiment. This presentation is also a good example of the types of presentations that I gave during my earlier days at Longwood.  Since then, my presentation style has matured quite a bit.  The link to the PowerPoint presentation is listed below.

I was also able to analyze these principles of biology when I took Evolution in the fall of my senior year. Along with developmental biology, evolution was also one of my favorite classes that I had the opportunity to take while at Longwood. During this class, we were able to learn the processes of evolution. This involved an understanding of the theory of evolution, the way each organism obtains variation, adaptation, the mechanisms of natural selection, etc. We also learned about modern-day issues with society and their acceptance of evolution. Throughout the class, we discussed different areas and population subgroups that had difficulty accepting evolution. At the end of the semester, I created a poster with my group to address this.   My group contacted six different zoos from around the country and asked them about their stance on evolution – whether they teach about it, what their mission statement is, etc. We analyzed our data and used it to propose an idea to close the gap between scientific knowledge and jargon and the rest of the non-scientific community. This class allowed me to see the importance of an understanding and acceptance of evolution. It also helped me identify paths that we as the scientific community could take in order to possibly close the gap between the scientific and non-scientific community. The PDF of this poster is linked below.

Throughout the semester, we also worked on literature reviews on topics of our own choice. I chose to write my paper on the discovery that dinosaur metabolism and feathers may have coevolved. This paper was extremely helpful to me, as I had never before written a lengthy review paper. Because of this, process proved to be somewhat difficult for me. However, the professor for evolution required different components of the paper to be due throughout the semester so I wasn’t writing the whole paper blindly before the due date. The professor first had us create an “annotated outline” of sorts. This a way for students to get their ideas and sources on paper without worrying about grammar or connecting sentences.

After turning in my paper, I felt a sense of pride, as I had never done this before. Looking back, I probably could write it better now. However, I think this literature review that I wrote was very helpful to my success as a biology student and has definitely affected the way I write my papers for the following classes.

Lichen Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ySW_PN5My4BkJ_iScJGrm5skqjZzQS25WY7WCJifTCo/edit?usp=sharing

Evolution Poster

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Md_hG7X3JGHfz3i22Ub4eQPeANZSstmo/view?usp=sharing