Most of the labs are written in Word for Windows and are saved as self-extracting compressed files (Instructions for downloading and disclaimer).

You are free to use and modify these labs in your own courses with the following provisions:

1. You let me know if you use the lab and how it worked. (Suggestions would be appreciated as well.)
2. Some mention is made of where the lab came from, even if it is modified.
3. If the labs are sold to students (e.g. as part of a lab manual) this be done at cost and not for profit.

Caminalcules are imaginary animals invented by the evolutionary biologist Joseph Camin. They make ideal organisms for introducing students to the related topics of taxonomic classification and evolution. In the first exercise the students classify 14 "living" species into genera, families, etc. Then they construct an evolutionary tree of the Caminalcules using an additional 57 "fossil" species. This illustrates how modern classification schemes attempt to reflect evolutionary history. In the process of doing this exercise the students are also introduced to concepts such as convergent evolution and vestigial structures. The pictures of the Caminalcules are copyrighted by the journal Systematic Biology and Robert R. Sokal. They are made available here with permission.

For more information on Caminalcules and to see an animated GIF of Caminalcules evolving go to the Caminalcule page.

This is a board game that simulates natural selection. It is suitable for an introductory biology class. It would also be suitable for more advanced classes where you could go into more detail on important principles such as the role of variation and mutation.

This is the last lab in our majors' Introductory Biology course and the first lab in Ecology. The exercise reinforces the students' understanding of the experimental method, while at the same time emphasizing the importance of careful observation of nature. The class is taken outside and shown some examples of interesting ecological patterns (e.g. the distribution of two moss species on an oak tree). As a group they develop hypotheses to explain this pattern and then discuss experimental design. Students then repeat the exercise on their own, first in pairs and then individually.

This lab is based on my research. The ecology class counts the number of aphid galls on individual witch hazel leaves and determines if they are randomly distributed. Much of this document is devoted to a discussion of different distribution patterns (random, clumped and regular) and the statistical techniques used to characterize them. It could be easily adapted to labs looking at the distribution of other organisms.

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