Trivia Question (No Cheating!):  Why is July 1st such an important day in the history of evolutionary biology?

The answer is at the end of this post, but if you would rather figure it out the hard way — while learning more about how species and populations develop and interact with each other and their surrounding environments — check out our BIO102: Introduction to Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, now available in two versions: the original at Saylor.org and on our iTunes U channel!

This course pulls great resources from Khan Academy, MIT, PBS, Yale University, and more to teach you to:

• Use your understanding of Mendelian genetics and patterns of inheritance to predict genotypes and phenotypes of offspring and work backwards to identify the genotypes and phenotypes of a parental generation.
• Distinguish between inheritance patterns that involve autosomal vs. sex-linked traits and identify the respective consequences of each type of inheritance.
• Identify what distinguishes Darwin’s theory of evolution from other arguments that attempt to explain diversity across species and/or many generations.
• Identify which of many types of natural selection is acting on a particular population/species.
• Identify which of many types of sexual selection is acting on a particular population/species.
• Identify the factors that alter the frequencies of alleles in populations over time and describe the effects of these factors on populations.
• Recognize, read, and create phylogenies and cladograms, using them to explain evolutionary relationships.
• Determine the ecological interactions affecting a particular community and identify the effects of specific relationships (symbiosis, competition, etc.) on species within that community.
• Distinguish between world biomes in terms of their climate, nutrient cycles, energy flow, and inhabitants.
• Estimate the effects that changes in physical or biological factors have on particular ecosystems, using knowledge of nutrient cycles and energy flow.

Not on iOS?  In the immortal words of the great Bobby McFerrin, don’t worry — be happy! The original version of this course isn’t going anywhere!

P.S. If you’re just curious about the answer to the trivia question and want to be able to wow your friends at the next party, check out the information on this date here.