Exploring the Euteleost Tree of Life (EEToL): EToL outreach

Exploring the Euteleost Tree of Life represents the education and outreach of the Euteleost Tree of Life research grant, which consists of a scientist profile, curriculum activity and web material.

Scientist profile. EToL PI and Curator of Ichthyology at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, Ed Wiley was featured on the COPUS: Year of Science 2009 website (http://www.yearofscience2009.org/themes_ocean_water/meet-scientists/). An extended profile is currently under development by the University of California-Berkeley for the Understanding Evolution website (http://evolution.berkeley.edu/).

Curriculum activity. The curriculum module for high school students will explore EToL collaborator Dave Johnson's (Smithsonian Institution) research on deep sea fish phylogeny. The module will to undergo formative evaluation through trial testing with the target audience in late Fall/early Spring. This material will include an investigation of What is a fish?, and how different lines of evidence can be used to study evolutionary relationships-topics which the front end evaluation identified as being problematic for many students.

Exploring the Tree web. The web component will feature an interactive online fish tree of life with a series of mini-stories that can be explored highlighting fish research and scientist profiles. Web material is still in the early stages of development, and will include a splash page with a simplified clickable fish tree through which the different evolutionary stories can be accessed, an 'Evo in the News' article and podcast on relevance of the EToL tree.

Ongoing Collaboration

The Euteleost Tree of Life project was featured in Exploring the Tree of Life, the Fall 2010 issue of American Paleontologist (Volume 18, Number 3).

EToL Co-PI Teresa MacDonald was PI of the recently completed Understanding the Tree of Life (UToL) project, which explored how to effectively present and communicate about phylogeny and the tree of life. Members of the EToL outreach team, and EToL PI Ed Wiley participated in the final conference for this project to discuss the findings of learning research studies and apply these principles to redesigning existing museum tree graphics.

Two manuscripts currently under review are listed below; a review of evolutionary tree graphics used in museums, and the UToL project's recommendations on designing evolutionary trees, which will be used to inform the design of the interactive EToL tree.

MacDonald, T. and E. O. Wiley. (under review). Communicating phylogeny: Evolutionary tree diagrams in
     museums. Submitted to Evolution Education and Outreach 2011.
Novick, L.R., Pickering, J., MacDonald, T., Diamond, J. et al. (under review). Depicting the Tree of Life:
     Guiding Principles from Psychological Research. Submitted to Curator 2011.