Reading: Slide 1-17

Task: Choose two different species of your choice. In the comment section, post:

• Images of both species (side-by-side if possible)

• A short comparison paragraph outlining at least three key morphological differences (e.g., body structure, coloration, limb type, leaf pattern, etc.)

Reading: Slide 18-36

Task: Choose one example of a hybrid organism (e.g., mule, liger, wholphin, beefalo). In the comment section, post the following:

• Image of the hybrid organism

• State the bimonial names of the parent species.

• Explanation on why the hybrid cannot be classified as a true species under the biological species concept.

  • Mention at least one biological reason (e.g., sterility, different chromosome numbers, lack of natural reproduction).

Reading: Section A3.1.5

Task: Research on one real-world example where scientists struggle to decide if two groups are separate species. Post a brief explanation (and link to the relevant article/journal/other source) it in the comment section!

Task: Answer question 1 in the comment section. Try to focus on explaining the hypothesis (fusion of ch 12 and ch 13)!

Task: In a pair, try to put the animal in order from the smallest to largest genome size

• In the cards that you will get, write down the scientific name of the animals

• Order the card and write the order in the comment (add note: before data extraction)

• Check your guess by extracting their genome from this site (enter the genus and species, and see the C-value. See slide 42 in the presentation)

• Write down the genome size (in bp) for each animal in their card and order them again, now based on the real genome size

• Finally, write the final order in the comment (add note: before data extraction)

To be posted: Post a photo of your annotated sketch on the comment section with your names and the three genes/loci.

Try to complete as many challenges as you can!