Teddy '20 | blogs

Evolution of Flatfish

Evolutionary biology

I have been interested in evolutionary biology for a long time, and I am able to pursue this with the help of the MARC program.

Specifically, how different environmental factors, such as temperature and predators have affected changes in the anatomical features of flatfish. Flatfish are especially interesting to research through the lens of evolutionary biology because of their cranial asymmetry and their oval-like outline. I plan on taking advantage of the expansive, UC Berkeley fossil database to analyze a myriad of different fossils.

1/22/19

I have begun to contact potential mentors so I can solidify my methodology. We are also beginning to work on experimental design lessons, so mentor advice will be invaluable to my lessons success.

1/30/19

I have just sent out 3 emails to mentors and have found a couple of lesson plans I can incorporate into my lesson. I have also been delving into more lit research in order to bolster my lesson. Hopefully, I will get email responses in the next week. See you next week.

2/6/19

I got a response from one of the professors and was able to use some aspects of her methodology into my lesson plan. I plan on following it up with a phone call, but I have to figure out a time that works for both of us.

2/17/19

Sorry for the long wait, but it has been a couple of hectic weeks. A day ago, I did my experimental design lesson and I think it went ok. I talked about the overall field of evolutionary biology and talked about my specific plan/research question. Next week is minicourse, so I will not be updating the blog next week, but stay tuned because I have some big plans for when I come back.

Over the last couple of days, I have begun to get back into the swing of things. My goals for this month are to gain access to the Berkeley fossil and iron out the last details of my methodology. Hopefully before I go to spring break, I can begin to start collecting data for my science symposium. See you guys next time!