Charles Darwin relied on observations of marine life, fish, and coral reefs in developing his theory of how species were created through evolution and natural selection.

The National Center for Science Education, America’s leading organization in defending and promoting the teaching of evolution in the public schools, suggests more ways to bring evolution into the marine biology classroom.

Who better to speak on this topic on behalf of the organization than Dr. Louise Mead, the group's Education Project Director, who devoted her childhood years to volunteering at the New England Aquarium, scuba diving, and combing the beach for marine-related finds. She later used her knowledge of marine biology to help students and teachers understand how evolutionary biology has come into play in creating a vast diversity of living organisms.

Greg Laden has graciously allowed us to post his piece on the similarities and differences of freshwater and saltwater diatoms from his popular blog.  Until I read this, I never realized just how important cell size was to these particular groups of algae.

In general, I never knew how important the study of diatom communities was to our marine biologists and our scientists.  Did you know that these communities are used to study water quality and can help us learn how to keep an eye on past and present conditions in the environment? The earliest fossil diatoms come from early Jurassic times!

So it is particularly important to figure out the differences in size and shape because it truly tells us something about the world we currently live in and what it was like back then.  Greg, you have opened my mind! Read on for more...---Ava