In this investigation, students gather biotic and abiotic data and samples in the field, develop an experiment to test another abiotic factor in the lab, synthesize group data, interpret their findings and make a claim on the health of the wetland ecosystem.
This activity is a field investigation where students make observations in the Minnesota River valley, discuss their findings amongst other student groups, and describe how those observations fit with the general geology of Minnesota.
This activity is a field investigation where students list plants and animals they observe. Students will organize their data as producers, consumers, or decomposers and create a food web showing how they affect each other. They will predict what will happen if the food web becomes imbalanced by extinction or over population.
"Leo Altamari," CEO of Kutztown Meat Packing Corporation, has just come back from his Monday morning staff meeting, where the major agenda item was a discussion about the irradiation of meat products. Leo must decide whether his company should pursue meat irradiation, weighing the expense of the technology and the wariness of many consumers, even though research has shown it to be an effective means of eliminating E. coli contamination in meat products. Developed for an introductory food science course, the case introduces students to consumer perceptions and beliefs about food irradiation and teaches them how the food industry evaluates new processing technologies from a business perspective.
Dr. Beth Tonoany, a tropical population ecologist, is studying an unusual tree, Guaiacum sanctum, in the tropical forests of Central America. Interestingly, several local Ticos have told her that they use the tree for medicinal purposes. Students read the case and then answer questions designed to explore the process of screening and testing the medicinal value of plants identified as having potential health benefits. This case can be used in an introductory biology course, an introductory botany course, or any course which encounters ethnobotany as a component, such as a tropical biology course or a plant ecology course.
This case study describes experiments to seed the ocean with iron to encourage algae growth. It explores how human activities contribute to greenhouse effects and global warming, proposals to potentially counteract these effects and make the ocean more productive for commercial fishing, and the issues and possible unintended consequences of such activities. The case is appropriate for introductory biology, ecology, environmental biology, microbiology, and environmental microbiology classes as well as courses dealing with environmental policy.
Students will brainstorm ways that they use and waste natural resources. Also, they will respond to some facts about population growth and how people use petroleum. Lastly, students will consider the different ways that engineers interact with and use our natural resources.
This lesson will introduce students to environmental issues. Students will recognize environmental opinions and perspective, which will help them define themselves and others as either preservationists or conservationists. Students also learn about the importance of teamwork in engineering.
This case study explores the unintended side effects of chemicals introduced into the environment, specifically organic compounds that can act as environmental estrogens (chemical castration agents that can interfere with the sexual development of embryonic males). The case was developed for a non-majors chemistry course and focuses on the science that underlies the controversy surrounding the sale of the herbicide atrazine in the U.S. as well as the political and economic issues that impact this science.
In 1986, Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake located in Cameroon, Africa, released a huge amount of carbon dioxide gas, killing over 1,700 people and countless livestock and other animals in the area. This case, intended for use in a limnology or an aquatic biology course, explores that event, introducing students to concepts related to lake formation, thermal stratification, and dissolved gases. Students interpret graphs containing temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity data for the lake, and then synthesize these different types of limnological data to understand what happened.
In this interrupted case study, students view a documentary film about a coyote hunting contest and then assume the role of various stakeholders in coyote management in the western United States to explore issues associated with wildlife management. As part of this, students complete a number of associated activities in which they are asked to reflect upon their ethical perspective regarding wildlife management. The case would be appropriate for use in a wildlife management, ecology, mid-level biology, or environmental ethics course.
In this case study, students examine global water shortage problems in the context of the current Klamath Basin water crisis. Two main perspectives are addressed, agriculture and the environment, along with multiple other perspectives including Native Americans, hydroelectric dams, and the fishing industry. Students learn about and discuss competing interests for water and analyze and critique scientific data, maps, and graphs. The case was developed for a social sciences track environmental studies course. It could be used in an environmental science, ethics, or policy course as well as in water management or agriculture classes.
David Attenborough looks at"life in the trees': examining how species have evolved to cope with arboreal living. You will learn how lemurs, anteaters, bears and many others have developed different methods to help movement and survival.
In this case, developed for a course in Issues in Environmental Biology, students learn that water samples collected from a local river show elevated levels of fecal bacteria and atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the United States. A hearing has been called by the county to investigate the cause of the contamination, possible effects on aquatic life in the river, and what can be done to prevent a recurrence. In the ensuing debate, students must analyze and interpret data as they present the viewpoints of various stakeholders, ranging from the landowners' right to apply atrazine to control weeds, to the responsibility of fisheries biologists and water quality specialists to protect the environment.
Students learn how paper is made. Working together, student teams make their own paper. This activity introduces students to recycling; what it is, its value and benefits, and how it affects their lives.
The following lesson is an introduction to the ideas and implications of animal tracking. Animal tracking is a useful method used within science and commercial industries. For instance, when planning the development coastal areas, animal presence and movement should be taken into consideration. The lesson engages students in an activity to monitor animal foraging behavior on a spatial scale. The students will break into groups and track each other's movements as they move through a pre-determined course. The results will be recorded both individually and collaboratively in an attempt to understand animal movement regarding foraging behavior. Students will also engage in a creative design activity, focusing on how they would design a tag for a marine animal of their choice. In conclusion, instructors will query the class on data interpretation and how spatial information is important in relation to commercial, conservation, and scientific research decisions.
Students are introduced to the concept of light pollution by investigating the nature, sources and levels of light in their classroom environment. They learn about the adverse effects of artificial light and the resulting consequences on humans, animals and plants: sky glow, direct glare, light trespass, animal disorientation and energy waste. Student teams build light meters using light sensors mounted to LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT intelligent bricks and then record and graph the light intensity emitted in various classroom lighting situations. They are introduced to the engineering concepts of sensors, lux or light meter, and lumen and lux (lx) illuminance units. Through this activity, students also learn how to better use light and save energy as well as some of the technologies designed by engineers to reduce light pollution and energy waste.
Through investigating the nature, sources and level of noise produced in their environment, students are introduced to the concept of noise pollution. They learn about the undesirable and disturbing effects of noise and the resulting consequences on people's health, as well as on the health of the environment. They use a sound level meter that consists of a sound sensor attached to the LEGO® NXT Intelligent Brick to record the noise level emitted by various sources. They are introduced to engineering concepts such as sensors, decibel (dB) measurements, and sound pressure used to measure the noise level. Students are introduced to impairments resulting from noise exposure such as speech interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption and reduced productivity. They identify potential noise pollution sources, and based on recorded data, they classify these sources into levels of annoyance. Students also explore the technologies designed by engineers to protect against the harmful effects of noise pollution.
In this lesson students will learn about Minnesota's natural resources, particularly iron ore.
In this interrupted case study, students work in teams to interpret behavioral data with respect to evolutionary biology. Specifically, the case examines the behavior of alarm calling in a certain type of squirrel, Belding's ground squirrel, which was first reported by Paul Sherman in Science magazine in 1977. The case is appropriate for use in animal behavior, ecology, evolutionary biology, or introductory biology courses.