Biology, Period 2, Tuesday, Oct. 10

[blonde-doctor.livejournal.com]

The students have gotten an e-mail telling them to meet in the Danger Shop today -- and to dress for warm weather; when they gather, the doors open on a tropical rain forest scene, with trees rising high above their heads, frogs leaping from leaf to leaf, and the occasional black-and-white streak of a badger rushing through the undergrowth. Elliot's tied her hair back into a ponytail, and she's dressed casually, in a T-shirt and khaki slacks.

"Hi, guys. Today we're talking about evolution and natural selection, and I thought that to show it off, we'd take a little fake trip to one of the most genetically diverse environments in the world -- the Amazon Rainforest.

"I want you to have most of the class to explore, so I'm going to keep my lecture short. The natural selection chapter in your textbook has a lot more information and you should probably read it before the midterm. But basically, natural selection is the way that animals or plants that are well-adapted to their environment get to live to the next generation and pass on their traits."

She reached down and scooped up two frogs, one red and one greenish-yellow, only wincing a little as she did so. "For example, these frogs are very differently colored, because they fill different niches. But if they were suddenly in an environment that was all red or all green, one would be able to camouflage itself and the other would probably be someone's dinner -- not mine, ew -- pretty fast. And the one that isn't dinner gets to have more tadpoles and pass on its genes."

Elliot released the frogs and wiped her hands on her pants. "What I want you to do today is to go into the rainforest -- alone or with a partner -- to observe and pick an animal or plant that's adapted to this environment, and write down 100 words about why the being might survive in the rainforest. Look at everything about the being, from structure to size to diet to coloration. And don't worry about getting lost; I'll hit the button to make the whole rainforest go away at the end of class."

She leaned against a tree trunk and waited for the students to disperse into the rainforest.

Comments

Re: Explore the rainforest, Bio, 10/10

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker shook her head. "He'd explain it convincingly enough to get some fangirl to autograph his... whatever. Not the point. I'm glad he's alive and okay. I can say that much." She looked away, and carefully unwound an orchid from another branch. "Don't ask me to have any other reaction."

Re: Explore the rainforest, Bio, 10/10

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I know," she nodded. "But I didn't know that you'd heard from him. I thought you'd want to know that he was okay." Isabel motioned towards the orchid. "So what do you think? What's special about that orchid that helps it survive in the jungle?"

Re: Explore the rainforest, Bio, 10/10

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker flinched. "Right." She stared at the orchid, and said, "It's made for sex."

Re: Explore the rainforest, Bio, 10/10

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel couldn't help it. She snorted. "Is that topic going to follow me around all week?"

Re: Explore the rainforest, Bio, 10/10

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Oh, yes. Until the deed is done, Clarissa." Parker smirked. "Scent, color, structure-- all developed to attract insects and get pollinized." She leaned toward the flower and inhaled. "That it works on people is just a side benefit."