What is Biodiversity?

This excerpt from the KET Kentucky Life Biodiversity series, offers a brief overview of what we mean when we refer to the biodiversity of a particular area or region.

The Three Levels of Biodiversity

This interactive adapted from Kentucky's Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity, introduces learners to the three levels of biodiversity: genetic, species, and ecosystem.

Select Species Groups of Kentucky

In this interactive adapted from Kentucky’s Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity, students will learn about the variety of species that call Kentucky their home.

Follow Kentucky Through Geologic Time

This interactive shows the location of Kentucky through different geological eras of time.

Think Garden: Plant Families

This video breaks down the scientific classification of living organisms. Learn about the order of classification: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Also get a closer look at some specific plant families to find out which fruits and vegetables are in the same family.

Think Garden: Cool Crops

This video explores the possibilities of gardening in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. Learn about which vegetables like cool weather, and techniques to help plants grow in these conditions like raised beds and hoop houses. Also find out why cool crops are ideal for school gardens.

Adaptive Radiation: Darwin's Finches

Finches on the Galapagos Islands have evolved to exploit almost every possible niche. This diagram shows the range of food sources available on the island and the different beak shapes adapted to exploit each of them.

The Advantage of Sex

Why did sex evolve? The likely answers, in this essay for the Evolution Web site by science journalist Matt Ridley, may surprise you.

All in the Family

In this Evolution Web feature, test your skills at judging who's who on the tree of life while you learn about the tools and methods of cladistics.

Allopatric Speciation

These images from the Smithsonian Institution depict Nancy Knowlton's work with snapping shrimp in Panama. Knowlton found that the closing of the isthmus -- dividing the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean -- resulted in new species of shrimp.

American Chestnut Tree

This annotated slideshow adapted from KET's Electronic Field Trip to the Forest illustrates how blight decimated the American chestnut tree and the methods scientists use to identify and pollinate the remaining trees to create blight-resistant trees.

Ancient Farmers of the Amazon

This video segment from Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race" tells the story of the leafcutter ant and the fungus it farms -- an example of mutually beneficial symbiosis.

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Animal Body Plans: Homeobox Genes

The homeobox genes that define the basic body plan of mice and fruit flies are illustrated in this graphic from The Human Evolution Coloring Book by Adrienne Zihlman. The accompanying article describes how these genes act as "molecular architects" in all animal species.

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Animal Classification Game

Learn about classes of animals and test your ability to identify animals as mammals, birds, reptiles and more in this interactive activity adapted from Sheppard Software.

Animal Defenses

In nature, survival is the name of the game. This video segment explores the world of animal defense and shows that predators don't always have the upper hand.

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Animal Intel

In this lesson, using video segments from Nature episode “A Murder of Crows,” students will explore different aspects of animal intelligence, with a focus on crows.

Are We Alone?

This video segment adapted from NOVA features a variety of scientific perspectives on the age old question, "Are we alone in the universe?" Animations make vivid the improbability that we could intercept a radio wave signaling extra terrestrial intelligence.

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Becoming a Fossil

This video segment describes how the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton known as Lucy could have been fossilized. Footage courtesy of NOVA: "In Search of Human Origins."

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Being Human

Using segments from the PBS program The Human Spark, students explore the question “What makes us human?”

Biological Invaders

This video segment from Evolution: "Extinction!" shows the impact of invasive species on native ecosystems.

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