Group 1: birds of paradise

What role do shape shifting, coloration, song and dance

play in sexual selection in Birds of Paradise?
What is the role of iridescence in signaling / sexual
selection?
Is there an association between monogamy / polygyny
and sexual dimorphism in Birds of Paradise. What is the
association, and can you explain this from an
evolutionary perspective?

Group 2: sexual selection

Sexual selection has resulted in phenotypes that obviously
reduce survival, which seems initially to be inconsistent
with the theory of evolution by natural selection. In your
opinion, is this a paradox and why or why not?
Provide an example where sexually selected traits provide
a quantifiable and unambiguous indicator of male quality.
Why do females typically choose males, rather than vice
versa? Be prepared to describe an example (either real or
invented) where males choose among competing females.
How would this system differ from a more typical system
where females choose among competing males?

Group 3: evolution of kidneys

Identify the:
1.glomerulus
2. convoluted
tubule
3. longitudinal
collecting duct
Explain the
function of each
of these
structures.

Group 4: evolution of kidneys

Be prepared to trace the evolution of the vertebrate
kidney from basal vertebrates, to freshwater, back to
the ocean, and onto land. Specifically, what were the
demands (from an osmoregulatory perspective) being
imposed on vertebrates in each of these environments?
How did the vertebrate kidney evolve in response to
these environments?
Explain the significance, from an osmoregulatory
perspective, of the finding that most ray-finned fishes
have a freshwater ancestor.

Group 5: evolution of flight

In insects, wings either evolved for some other
purpose and then were exapted, or evolved during the
transition to land. What is the difference between
these two hypotheses?
It is clear that wings evolved only once in insects.
How do we know this?
Insects have lost the ability to fly and then revolved
this ability multiple times. How is this possible?

Group 6: are we alone in the universe?

What kinds of evidence can we use to discuss whether
life is essentially inevitable under Earth-like
conditions?
Does evidence support this idea, or not?
How are data from the Kepler mission used to explore
the question of life on other plants?

Group 7: the sixth (?) mass extinction

event
What are the major ways in which humans are
altering conditions on Earth?
What evidence supports a human- caused mass
extinction?