The Ecology Teaching Team introduces students to basic ecological theories through hands-on activities using the hypothesis-driven investigation approach. Our modules are designed to engage students in critical thinking, encourage them to make predictions, and actively test those predictions.

Modules

Climate change: This module illustrates the predicted shift of plant species to climate change and conveys the differential responses of species based on their habitat requirements (i.e., narrow vs. wide). Using past and current USDA hardiness zones, the students outline and note the overlap in the past and current distribution of 3 plant species with varying degrees of habitat restriction to explore the repercussions of climate change for each

Foodwebs: Trophic cascades, foodweb theory, and the keystone species concept are illustrated by connecting the students themselves into a foodweb. Each student represents a species is a given trophic level, and string is passed through the levels to represent the flow of energy through that system. System stability and the role of specific species are also explored. We use the local, though under-studied, glade habitat as our example, which also introduces the students to the species that exist, and are restricted to, these habitats.

Island Biogeography: Students simulate species dispersal onto islands of different sizes and distances from the mainland (i.e., source population) to actively learn the principles of island biogeography. By rolling marbles onto 2 sizes of carpet from two different distances, the students act as the dispersing species and calculate their rate of dispersal to a given island. The data are compiled from all the students and graphed to compare their predictions with their results.

IslandBiog_TeacherHandout.pdf 

IslandBiog_StudentHandout.pdf