This study analyzes the deepening crisis in the availability of global energy resources and looks at ways to transform how we produce and use energy in order to create a sustainable development model. They state that "Socially just and...

These pages are part of a site called Evolution that accompany a textbook by the same name. Mark Ridley is the author. There is a large amount of information available about adaptations and their role in evolution.

A lab experiment (in a series of experiments) that explores the cryosphere. In this lab, students will be introduced to the different parts of the cryosphere and their locations. They will also be shown the connections between the...

Find a wealth of scientific information on the status of biodiversity in the world today, the threats it faces, and why it is critically important to preserve it.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Explains how natural selection favors certain traits in a population so that the organism adapts to its environment, and that changes in the genes over time cause...

This is a collection of courses on communities and ecosystems. Some topics explored are productivity, food webs, and ecology. The courses offer video clips, lecture notes, practice problems, and exam questions. Practice problems and exam...

Looks at the impact of overharvesting, such as overfishing, on biodiversity. It talks of the 'tragedy of the commons,' where harvesters do not feel responsible for protecting a species because they fish in shared areas. It also touches...

This site from the American Institute of Biological Sciences contains articles on a wide array of issues related to species diversity and extinction. Many articles available in Spanish.

This instructional activity begins with a PowerPoint slideshow that covers important ecological concepts about biomes, limiting factors, carrying capacity, and population growth. Students will look at the population dynamics involved...

Explains what the four main modes of species formation are - allopatric, parapatric, peripatric, and sympatric speciation - and provides examples. A fifth possible mode, stasipatric speciation, is also discussed.

Finches on the Galapagos Islands have evolved to exploit almost every possible niche. This diagram shows the range of food sources available on the island and the different beak shapes adapted to exploit each of them. Includes background...

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Looks at how the human population has grown. Some consume a tremendous amount of resources and produce a lot of waste.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Looks at how ocean currents transfer heat from one place to another.

This is an extensive learning module on biodiversity and its decline. It looks at ways biodiversity is threatened, the possibility of another mass extinction, the causes and consequences of habitat loss, factors that drive biodiversity...

Five exemplary European cities have succeeded in the design and implementation of their 2050 roadmap with all local actors on board. Embark on the inspiring journeys taken by Grenoble (France), Manchester (UK), Munster (Germany),...

Our planet's diverse, thriving ecosystems may seem like permanent fixtures, but they're actually vulnerable to collapse. Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks. What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in...

Learn how mutualism benefits the organisms in a symbiotic relationship and what the different types of mutualism are. Provides lots of examples.

Read about Earth's oceans and the effects that climate have had on the rising temperatures over the past one hundred years. Discover how the Earth's ocean and atmosphere are interlocked so that when one changes, the other is affected.

What is groundwater? Where does it fit into the water cycle? With the aid of a simple illustration, one is able to learn more about this topic. Includes link to a true-and-false quiz.

This is a large collection of resources on cycles of nature and the Earth. There is a constant exchange of the elements between air, earth, water, plants, and animals. Most biological processes wind up back where they started. These...

Instructional module focusing on why species change over time through behavioral and physical adaptations. Discusses how environmental mechanisms influence adaptive evolution. Site also includes an interactive practice quiz and links...

The history of human evolution is described, from the first aquatic animals that developed the ability to walk on land and the pivotal organisms from then up to the present day. The author then goes on to make interesting predictions...

Divergent and convergent evolution are explained and their differences are highlighted.

Extremophiles are among the world's most fascinating organisms because they are able to survive in extreme conditions. Learn how extremophiles can thrive in highly acidic or alkaline conditions, under intense pressure or in extreme heat,...