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Trees from the Seas
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Introductory College Biology, Evolution, Bioinformatics, High School AP Biology |
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This project provides a case study introducing students to patterns of relationships and evolution among economically important dinoflagellates, the causative agents of red tides. Using nucleotide sequences, students build a tree of relationships among dinoflagellate taxa. They use their tree (along with phylogenetic hypotheses derived from the literature) to explore the evolution of morphological and/or ecological characters in dinoflagellates. As broader applications, students learn to compare and evaluate hypotheses of evolutionary relationships. Additionally, because the case study focuses on dinoflagellates that have evolved toxicity, it can be used to further explore the biological and economic impacts of red tides. |
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The DinoflagelaltesAll2 is a file that we used in MESQUITE to analyze trees, nucleotides and morphological data. The file DNAsequences4ClustalWTEXT1.txt is a text file that contains the nucleotide sequences of the SSUrRNA of 15 dinoflagellate species from 13 genera. |
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Resources Anderson, DM. 2007. The Harmful Algae Page, http://www.whoi.edu/redtide/ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Anderson, DM. 2007. Human illness associated with harmful algae. http://www.whoi.edu/redtide/illness/illness.html Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Brevetoxin B http://www.ncl.ox.ac.uk/quicktime/brevetoxin.html Burkholder, JM; Glasgow, HB; Deamer-Melia, NJ; Springer, J; Parrow, MW; Zhang, C; and Cancellieri PJ. 2001. Species of the toxic Pfiesteria complex, and the importance of functional type in data interpretation. Environmental Health Perspectives 109:667-679. Clamp, M.; Cuff, J.; Searle, SM; and Barton, GJ. 2004. The Jalview Java Alignment Editor. Bioinformatics 20:426-7 Images www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/.../cell_covering.html www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artsep01/dinof.html www.mdsg.umd.edu/MarineNotes/Jul-Aug97/side1.html www.serc.si.edu/.../dinoflagellates/gsang.jsp chbr.noaa.gov/pmn/resfspfiesteria.htm www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/protista/dinoflagmm.html www.lifeinfreshwater.org.uk/.../Pollution.htm www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/.../Biotoxins/PSP_e.htm daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/.../12_classics_blooms.shtml
European Bioinformatics Institute |
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