Select one of the following three topics for your primary post. address the issues listed in the instructions. Also, make a substantive reply to a fellow student on any subject.

(1) Co-evolution of rattlesnakes and squirrels. Read at least one of the following articles (Crane, 2016) and/or (Kaplan, 2016). Please address the following questions: (a) How do squirrels adapt to rattlesnake venom? (b) How do rattlesnakes adapt to squirrel’s defenses against rattlesnake venom? (c) What do the results of this research tell us about evolution?

(2) Climate change and Bergmann’s rule. View Dr. Cox’s video on climate change and Bergman’s rule (10 minutes) in the Instructor Insights area. Then, address the following issues: (a) Describe three things you learned from the video. (b) Explain what type of evidence you would accept as evidence of genetic evolution in response to changing climate conditions.

(3) To be announced. The topic will be posted here before the start of Week 7 or announced that week. Tell me what these things teach us about evolution.

REFERENCES:

Cox, J. F. (2016, June 5). Climate change and Bergmann’s rule. [Video]. Retrieved from Instructor Insights in this course.

Crane, M. (2016, May 19). How is rattlesnake venom like fine wine? Both have regional varieties. Retrieved from http://news.osu.edu/news/2016/05/19/snakes-vs.-squ…

Kaplan, S. (2016a, May 20). Snake venom evolved to kill specific squirrels with shocking precision. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-sc…