Professor Dave Explains
Phylum Cnidaria Part 6: Coral Reefs
We just learned about class Anthozoa, which is the class of Cnidaria that contains all the corals. But there is much more to talk about with corals, as the massive coral reefs that they form act as entire ecosystems unto themselves....
Journey to the Microcosmos
Can This Baby Rotifer Escape Before It’s Eaten Alive?
This Loxodes magnus is large, so large that it was able to eat a rotifer, those funny animals we often see getting bullied by their single-celled neighbors. Except, that rotifer is moving. It’s alive, twisting and turning inside of the...
Journey to the Microcosmos
How Brownian Motion Helped Prove the Existence of Atoms
We’re going to see a type of motion over and over again because it’s all over the microcosmos, found in and around many different types of organisms. And this kind of random motion may seem almost too trivial to discuss, but this motion...
Journey to the Microcosmos
What Even Is A Species?
If you know about the species Lacrymaria olor, then you know what you’re getting when you see it under a microscope. It has a distinct shape, a distinct way of life—the combination of its own genetics and its surrounding environment.
Journey to the Microcosmos
A Microscopic Tour Through A Norwegian Fjord
Sometimes our journey through the microcosmos feels like an expedition, a voyage filled with deep dives into the masses of organisms basking under the glow of our microscope. So what does it mean when you don’t find anything. When you...
Science360
Ocean Temperatures -- Changing Planet
Observations document that the Earth's ocean is warming. As the ocean warms, it will also expand in volume, causing sea level to rise. This rise is in addition to the sea level rise that results from water added from melting ice and snow...
Journey to the Microcosmos
There's More Than Coral at the Coral Farm
When you’re in the business of hunting for microbes, sometimes you have to send some weird emails. That’s why James, our master of microscopes, sat down one day to send his own strange request to the people at Coralaxy, a coral farm in...
Food Farmer Earth
Call of the Honeybees
An entomologist offers an impassioned voice speaking on behalf of the honeybees, and the threat posed by the Colony Collapse Disorder.
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Decomposition
Process and steps of decomposition in an ecosystem. Advantages and factors affecting decomposition.
Curated Video
Principles of Ecology - Organisms and the Environment Part 1
This section covers the relationship between organisms and their environment. It also covers the Levels of Organization and symbiotic relationships.
Journey to the Microcosmos
Microbes Don’t Actually Look Like Anything
Microbes Don’t Actually Look Like Anything
Curated Video
Characteristics of Living Organisms
This video is a lecture on the characteristics of living organisms. The presenter lists and explains the eight main characteristics that all living organisms have in common: the need for nutrients, respiration, excretion, response to...
Food Farmer Earth
The Art of Fermentation Sandor Katz Interview
In his most recent book, The Art of Fermentation, Sandor Ellix Katz considers himself a "fermentation experimentalist". That would appear to be an apt description for his evangelistic passion and encyclopedic knowledge of the...
Curated Video
Understanding Habitats, Niches, and Symbiotic Relationships in Ecology
This section covers the relationship between organisms and their environment. It also covers the Levels of Organization and symbiotic relationships.
Curated Video
What is Biology - Part 1: Lecture 1.1
This lecture goes into an introduction to what biology is, what an organism is and the 5 characteristics of living things.
Curated Video
What is Biology - Part 2: Lecture 1.1
This lecture goes into an introduction to what biology is, what an organism is and the 5 characteristics of living things.
Curated Video
Conservation of Bodiversity
In this section, I talk about the field of Conservation Biology. There are a number of things being done to protect biodiversity. Watch the video to see what kinds of efforts are being made.
Journey to the Microcosmos
Tardigrades: Chubby, Misunderstood, & Not Immortal
We know these cute little water bears can survive the vacuum of space but are they actually immortal? We'll explore that and other misconceptions about tardigrades in this week's journey!
Curated Video
Communities: Relationships and Key Terms
The video is a lecture presentation on communities and the relationships between organisms in an ecosystem. The narrator uses the example of a community of organisms in a wooded area and discusses the feeding relationships between them....
Let's Tute
Introduction to Ecosystem Structure and Composition
In this video, we learn about the components of an ecosystem, including biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors. We also learn about the different types of biotic components, including producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Professor Dave Explains
Cladistics Part 1: Constructing Cladograms
Before we dive into learning about all the different kinds of animals, we have a little bit of work to do. How do we describe the relationships between animals? How does phylogeny work? We have to learn about cladistics, which means we...
Professor Dave Explains
Types of Speciation Allopatric, Sympatric, Peripatric, and Parapatric
Earlier in the series we learned about evolution by natural selection, and the production of new species, which we call speciation. But did you know there are different types of speciation? There are! That's because there are different...
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Population Ecology- An Introduction
It describes the role of biological agents for controlling pests. It describes genetically modified organisms (using Bt microbe) and their uses as biocontrol agents.