Paper: Using Fossil Teeth to Study the Evolution of Horses in Response to a Changing Climate

♦ SUMMARY: This paper, co-authored by UF Curriculum and Instruction PhD student Julie Bokor (@jbokor) and two high school biology teachers, Jennifer Broo (@jbroo) and Jessica Mahoney, was published in the February 2016 volume of the journal The American Biology Teacher.  The abstract is provided below; please click on the link to read the full paper.

Abstract: Students measure and sketch physical characteristics of 15 fossilized horse teeth.  Each student group creates a graph that summarizes the trend between age of the fossil and length of the tooth.  Plant information cards summarizing the flora of each epoch and guided analysis questions allow students to develop an explanation for the change in horse teeth in response to plant evolution due to a changing climate.

♦ AUDIENCE: 9-12, High School, Ninth (9th) Grade, Tenth (10th) Grade, Eleventh (11th) Grade, Twelfth (12th) Grade

♦ TOPICS/THEMES: Scientific Method, Measurement, Paleoclimate, Paleoenvironment, Paleontology, Fossils, Cenozoic, Horses, Teeth, Environment, Climate, Flora, Paleobotany, Ecology

♦ INSTRUCTIONS: Click on the link below to access the paper. Please contact the author with any questions.

Bokor et al 2016 Using Fossil Teeth to Study the Evolution of Horses in Response to a Changing Climate

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