Stickleback Evolution Virtual Lab

Unit 1: Introduction to Earth systems:

Fossil evidence indicates that life first appeared on Earth approximately 4 billion years ago (ACSES025).

The characteristics of past environments and communities (for example, presence of water, nature of the substrate, organism assemblages) can be inferred from the sequence and internal textures of sedimentary rocks and enclosed fossils (ACSES028).

The diversification and proliferation of living organisms over time (for example, increases in marine animals in the Cambrian), and the catastrophic collapse of ecosystems (for example, the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous) can be inferred from the fossil record (ACSES029).

Students will need to select, construct and use appropriate representations (including maps and cross sections) to describe and analyse: spatial relationships, stratigraphy and isotopic half-life data inferring the age of rocks and fossils, as well as communicate conceptual understanding, solve problems and make predictions (ACSES006).

This resource provides an overlap between Earth Sciences and Biological Sciences, particularly genetics.

The virtual lab is in HTML5 and is compatible with mobile devices.

The following browsers are supported and recommended for this virtual lab. Please make sure that JavaScript and cookies are enabled and your pop-up blocker is disabled.

• Google Chrome version 9 or greater.
• Mozilla Firefox version 9 or greater.
• Apple Safari version 5 or greater.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 8 or greater. 

This resource was developed by the BioInteractive project of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.