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About the Book

This book is about my PhD Thesis Research on the evolution of bet hedging. This book teaches students what bet hedging is and why it evolves. Bet hedging is a type of adaptation for reducing risk and increasing survival in the face of unpredictable environmental change. Students will learn what bet hedging is, the difference between conservative and diversified bet hedging strategies, and be introduced to examples of bet hedging in nature.

For Educators

Working with educators from a diverse range of disciplines and locations, this books was developed with the Next Generation Science and Common Core Standards in mind. In addition to providing the books as a free resource, I am happy to speak with classrooms and talk about my research, the coloring book, and my own journey to become a scientist. Please reach out if you have any questions or requests. I hope that from homeschool to public school, you will find my books both fun and educational.

This coloring book meets the following Next Generation Science Standards:

• 3LS1.1: Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
• 3LS2.1: Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
• 3LS3.1: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.
• 3LS3.2: Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
• 3LS4.2: Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
• 3LS4.2: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
• 4LS1.1: Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
• MSLS1.4: Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
• MSLS1.5: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
• LSLS2.4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
• LSLS4.4: Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.

And the following English Language Arts Common Core Standards:

• 5.2: Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
• 5.3: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
• 5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a relevant text.
• 5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
• 3.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts.
• 3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).