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The Mazer Lab conducts research on understanding and predicting the mechanisms by which plants adapt to ecological risks and opportunities that they encounter. During the summer of 2022, Lauren participated in the Nemophila mensiezii microevolution project. This wildflower can is widespread across the coastal ranges and the Sierra Nevadas. As a part of a larger four-year project Lauren analyzed data to understand the correlation between reproductive fitness and days to first flower. Days to first flower are ecologically important because it can determines synchrony with pollinators and how much time the plant has to produce fruit. This trait is also influenced by environmental conditions. It is important to understand how days to first flower varies between populations and within the species to predict how it will evolve in future generations.
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This is a three-lesson unit designed for an NGSS Biology course that helps students discover how patterns in natural selection can lead to evolution. This unit follows the 5E model where students engage in real-world phenomena to discover how our changing climate is influencing organisms. In the first lesson, students will make observations and predictions about human evolution and adaptations through a genetics taste test. In lesson two, small groups will work together to discover the criteria for natural selection by exploring evolutionary patterns in plants. The final lesson is a case study where students will analyze scientific data about Nemophila menzsii, a native California wildflower that is being studied to understand the impacts of climate change on the fitness of the plant and whether or not they are evolving. This case study is based on a RET Project from the Mazer Lab at UC Santa Barbara. Overall through this unit students are engaging in building arguments from evidence and making observations from authentic data.