use cladograms from the textbook, scholarly websites, primary literature, and your accumulated knowledge of the evolutionary relationships of Animals, as a guide to reconstruct an accurate cladogram of 15 Animal species.

Individual Project

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to use cladograms from the textbook, scholarly websites, primary literature, and your accumulated knowledge of the evolutionary relationships of Animals, as a guide to reconstruct an accurate cladogram of 15 Animal species. You will also analyze musculoskeletal system diversity within Animals.

Skills: This assignment will help you practice the skills required by professionals, including:

· Practice synthesizing, comparing & contrasting, and presenting information in summative charts/tables.

· Practice using models (cladograms, in this case) to organize new information, and to create visual representations of that information.

· Searching for and identifying relevant peer-reviewed literature to help you construct your cladogram, and citing it using APA style.

Task:

 is a valuable tool for accurately identifying animal species.

· Accurately identify each species, noting both common and scientific name on your cladogram. Use current, published cladograms or phylogenetic trees (taken from your book, the following websites, or recent, peer-reviewed research papers) as guides to reconstruct an accurate cladogram ( without ) of the animals you observed (15 points).

· Map the evolution of each musculoskeletal system onto your cladogram, indicating which type of system each of your species possesses (10 points).

· Cite all references that you used to reconstruct your tree in a Works Cited section; two useful websites you may want to use and cite are: ,.

· Create a table that compares and contrasts the anatomy, functions, and mechanisms of action of each of the three types of musculoskeletal systems found in Animals, regardless of whether all three appear in your Animal species.

Rubric:

· Accurate cladogram of 15 species labeled with both common and scientific name.

· Evolution of each type of endoskeleton mapped onto your cladogram and identification of which type of skeleton each species possesses.

· A summative table that compares and contrasts each of the three major types of musculoskeletal systems (whether or not all three are represented in your species) in the following categories:

· Materials that comprise the structure of each type of skeleton.

· Primary functions of each type of skeleton.

· Muscle attachment sites, if any.

· Mechanism of action of each musculoskeletal system.

· Advantages and Disadvantages of each type of skeleton.

The 15 Animals

1. Mallard (Anas Platyrhynchos)

2. Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus Buccinator)

3. Western Gary Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)

4. Olympic marmot (Mormota Olympus)

5. Virginia Opossum (Didelphis Virginiana)

6. Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)

7. Leatherback Sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

8. Pacific Blue-Bellied Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)

9. Oregon Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus)

10. Long-Toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum)

11. Western Jumping Mouse (Zapus princeps)

12. Camas Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bulbivorus)

13. Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)

14. Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)

15. Cascade Frog (Rana Cascade)