Understanding Scientific Controversies: Evaluating Claims & Evidence

Identifying and Describing Scientific Controversies

Identify a controversy and then answer the following questions in a post:

1. What is the controversy?

2. Is it a “scientific controversy”, and what is your reasoning? Refer to the online prep task for how to identify scientific controversies.

3. If it is a scientific controversy then describe and evaluate the scientific claims and evidence that is (or “was,” if it is a resolved controversy) supporting either side of the controversy. If it is not a scientific controversy, then explain how the claims and evidence for both sides of the controversy are not scientific.

4. If you answer this question before our class session, then look back at it again after class. Do you still agree that it is a scientific controversy? Why or why not?

Answer the following questions to describe the habitat for your de-extinction candidate species. (American burying beetles is candidate species)

1. Where geographically is the species found or has been found in the past?

2. What is the climate like (temperature, precipitation, etc.)?

3. Is it aquatic or terrestrial?

4. What are some other physical features of the habitat (freshwater or saltwater, mountainous, valleys, high or low elevation, swampy, etc.)?

5. Does the habitat in its original geographic range still exist? If so, to what extent?

6. Does/did the species live in a relatively wide range or narrow type of habitat? Note that this question is a bit subjective but is important to consider when evaluating the species’ candidacy for de-extinction.

After answering the previous questions, create a clear position state

1. What is your ecological footprint? Take this quiz and find out how many earths it would take if everyone lived your lifestyle. Then post a one-paragraph reflection. Include as much detail as you care to share! What are some things that you could do to reduce your ecological footprint?

Week 12 

1. Describe an example of how an invasive species impacted (or is impacting) an ecological community. If your de-extinction candidate species was influenced by an invasive species, then use the community for which your species is from. For our purposes, invasive species can include domestic species and pathogens (but do not use humans as the invasive species).

Address the following in your explanation:

1. How was the invasive species introduced?

2. How does competitive exclusion or resource partitioning play a role in a species’ ability to become invasive?

3. What are some specific examples of species interactions that were altered by the invasive species?

4. How was the biodiversity of the community impacted?

5. Is there anything being done to minimize the impacts of the invasive species?

Use these data to address the following questions:

1. Did evolution occur in these populations? Consider the definition of evolution and explain your reasoning using the data.

2. Is there evidence supporting natural selection occurred? Why or why not (consider both the data and the habitat description)? Recall that scientists look for patterns. The environments are essentially the same across these four populations; is there a common pattern in the data?

In your responses to your peers, evaluate your peers’ reasoning and reevaluate your own.