Students will know: That according to E.O. Wilson's biological species concept: "A species is a population whose members are able to interbreed freely under natural conditions." That there may be 100 million species of living things living on the earth. What individuals of all species of living things have in common--biochemistry including the genetic code, basic characteristics of life, self-building, self-replicating, etc. That species may be classified according to body plan, method of obtaining matter and energy, evolutionary relationships, etc. How "...it is possible to infer relatedness among organisms from DNA or protein sequences." Why diversity within and among species is important--to the species and to the ecosystem. Why species diversity is fragile. Students will be able to: Observe and describe speciments representing animal phyla and major plant divisions. Use dichotomous keys to identify species. Use ____ software to create a dichotomous key for the plants or animals of their neighborhood. Use ____ software to create phylogenetic trees for plant or animal species that occur in their neighborhood. Use electrophoresis gel DNA fingerprinting techniques to compare the DNA of several species.

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