Grouping Species Using DNA
Explain cladistics: organisms are grouped by shared derived characters, not just similarity; how phylogenetic trees are built using molecular data (DNA sequence alignment) and the molecular clock; explain why birds are technically a group within dinosaurs (crown Avemetatarsalia); distinguish convergent evolution (unrelated species evolving similar traits) from parallel evolution; introduce horizontal gene transfer and why the tree of life is more accurately a web; explain why classification systems keep changing as new data emerge
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“Can your child explain why biologists now say that birds ARE a type of dinosaur — not just their descendants but literally within the dinosaur family tree? What does that tell us about how scientists classify animals?”
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- Activity. Explain cladistics: organisms are grouped by shared derived characters, not just similarity; how phylogenetic trees are built using molecular data (DNA sequence alignment) and the molecular clock; explain why birds are technically a group within dinosaurs (crown Avemetatarsalia); distinguish convergent evolution (unrelated species evolving similar traits) from parallel evolution; introduce horizontal gene transfer and why the tree of life is more accurately a web; explain why classification systems keep changing as new data emerge
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Can your child explain why biologists now say that birds ARE a type of dinosaur — not just their descendants but literally within the dinosaur family tree? What does that tell us about how scientists classify animals?
Explain cladistics: organisms are grouped by shared derived characters, not just similarity; how phylogenetic trees are built using molecular data (DNA sequence alignment) and the molecular clock; explain why birds are technically a group within dinosaurs (crown Avemetatarsalia); distinguish convergent evolution (unrelated species evolving similar traits) from parallel evolution; introduce horizontal gene transfer and why the tree of life is more accurately a web; explain why classification systems keep changing as new data emerge
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“Can your child explain why biologists now say that birds ARE a type of dinosaur — not just their descendants but literally within the dinosaur family tree? What does that tell us about how scientists classify animals?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Animals of the World
- Age range
- Ages 13–14