From the 2005 Holiday Lectures — Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads

More About Stickleback CT Scan

This animation shows a rotating 3-D image of a stickleback skeleton. The pelvic region, including the pelvic spines, is highlighted in red. Armored plating covers the flanks of the fish. The three prominent dorsal spines give the fish its name.

This animation includes audio narration: please make sure your computer's volume is up so that you can hear it.

Stickleback CT Scan Background

The animation was created from hundreds of still images of a stickleback fish taken by a CT scanner. The highlighted area shows the stickleback's pelvic region, including the pelvic spines. Pelvic spines are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. In the ocean stickleback, the pelvis and spines are intact. In some freshwater sticklebacks, the pelvis and spines are reduced because they have a selective disadvantage.

From Lecture Two of the 2005 Holiday Lectures Series "Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads"

Stickleback CT Scan Teaching Tips

The animations in this section have a wide variety of classroom applications. Use the tips below to get started but look for more specific teaching tips in the near future. Please tell us how you are using the animations in your classroom by sending e-mail to biointeractive@hhmi.org.

1. Use the animations to make abstract scientific ideas visible and concrete.
2. Explain important scientific principles through the animations. For example, the biological clocks animations can be used to demonstrate the fundamentals of transcription and translation.
3. Make sure that students learn the material by repeating sections of the animations as often as you think necessary to reinforce underlying scientific principles. You can start, restart, and play back sections of the animations.
4. Urge students to use the animations in accordance with their own learning styles. Students who are more visually oriented can watch the animations first and read the text later, while others might prefer to read the explanations first and then view the graphics.
5. Incorporate the animations into Web-based learning modules that you create to supplement your classroom curricula.
6. Encourage students to incorporate the animations into their own Web-based projects.

Resources

The 2005 Holiday Lectures Series "Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads"

Stickleback CT Scan Credits

Director: Dennis Liu, Ph.D.

Scientific Direction: David M. Kingsley, Ph. D.

Scientific Content: Satoshi Amagai, Ph.D.

Imaging: Craig Miller

Animation: Chris Vargas