Discovering the Wallace Line

Resource Type
Description
This activity reinforces concepts presented in the short film The Making of a Theory. Using a map of the Malay Archipelago and information about the animals found on different islands, students discover the Wallace Line: a sharp boundary that separates distinct Asian and Australian fauna.
The activity begins with reading a short passage about Alfred Wallace. Students are then given a map of the Malay Archipelago and a field notebook with animal observations. Students plot the animals on different islands and identify patterns in the distributions of animal species.They then write an explanation for why some islands have similar fauna while nearby islands have completely different fauna. Students revisit this explanation after watching the film and a short animation about how sea levels and continents have changed over time.
The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.
Student Learning Targets
- Organize data to draw conclusions.
- Evaluate and refine conclusions based on new data.
- Summarize the importance of Wallace’s observations to the theory of evolution.
Estimated Time
Key Terms
biogeography, continental shelf, fauna, faunal assemblage, geology, habitat, plate tectonics, reproductive isolation, species
Terms of Use
Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.
Version History
NGSS (2013)
HS-LS4-1, HS-ESS1-5; SEP2, SEP4, SEP6
AP Biology (2019)
EVO-1.M; SP1, SP2, SP3. SP4, SP6
IB Biology (2016)
5.1
AP Environmental Science (2020)
Topic(s): 2.5, 2.6, 4.1
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-2.G, ERT-2.H, ERT-4.A, SP1, SP2, SP5
IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)
3.2
Common Core (2010)
ELA.WHST.9–12.1
Vision and Change (2009)
CC1, CC5; DP1, DP3