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    How Many Squirrels Are in the Shrubs? A Lesson Plan for Comparing Methods for Population Estimation
    Estimating the population sizes of animals is a key skill for any student interested in ecology, conservation, or management. However, counting animals in natural habitats is difficult, and the many techniques that exist each rely on assumptions...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Professional Development and Career PlanningProfessional Development and Career Planning Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    population ecologywildlife managementpopulation estimationsciuridaeSquirrel-Net
    Lesson
    3369

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    916

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    Assessing Urban Biodiversity With the eBird Citizen Science Project: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Module
    The eBird citizen science module takes advantage of technology tools and online resources developed by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (http://ebird.org) to achieve several learning objectives embedded in a semester-long upper-level biology...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    datacitizen sciencecommunityBiodiversitySpecieshypothesishabitat
    Lesson
    1802

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    355

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    Squirrels in Space: Using Radio Telemetry to Explore the Space Use and Movement of Sciurid Rodents
    Biotelemetry is used by researchers to track the interactions of animals with each other and the environment. While advancing technology has led to the development of numerous biotelemetry tools, radio telemetry remains the most common method for...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    DispersalHabitat selectionHome rangeSquirrel-Net
    Lesson
    3168

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    1094

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    Squirreling Around for Science: Observing Sciurid Rodents to Investigate Animal Behavior
    Hands-on research experiences are important opportunities for students to learn about the nature of inquiry and gain confidence in solving problems. Here, we present an inquiry-based lesson plan that investigates the foraging behavior of sciurid...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    foragingbehaviorbehavioral ecologySciuridSquirrelSquirrel-NetTrade-offVigilance
    Lesson
    889

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    93

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    0

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    Learning the Landscape: An Active and Applied Lesson on Landscape Ecology for General Ecology Courses
    Landscape ecology is an important subtopic of ecology. As a field, it is inherently interdisciplinary and provides opportunities to teach not only content, but transferable ecological and geographical skills. Given the broad spectrum of topics in...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    landscape ecologyspatial scaleecosystem managementHabitat fragmentation
    Essay
    2878

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    269

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    An Introduction to the Squirrel-Net Teaching Modules
    Although course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are gaining popularity in biology, most are designed for benchwork-based laboratory courses while few focus on field-based skills. Many barriers to implementing field CUREs exist,...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    ecologybehaviortrade-offsScientific ProcessSquirrel-Net
    Lesson
    924

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    275

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    0

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    Population Ecology of the Northern Spotted Owl
    The mathematical modeling of populations utilizing field-collected demographic data is an important component of lab curricula in a variety of undergraduate biology lab courses. During the global pandemic brought about by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    demographyCommunity Ecologypopulation ecologyconservation biologylife tables
    Essay
    1221

    views

    178

    downloads

    0

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    Squirreling from Afar: Adapting Squirrel-Net Modules for Remote Teaching and Learning
    The shift from face-to-face instruction to remote teaching and learning has proven to be a challenging endeavor for many reasons, including lack of time, resources, and inspiration. Lab courses, the "hands-on" portion of many curricula,...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    online learningbehavioral ecologyCUREsRemote teachingfield ecologySquirrelSquirrel-Net
    Lesson
    3074

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    453

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    0

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    Moths and Frogs and E. coli, Oh My!: Agent-based Modeling of Evolutionary Systems
    In evolution classrooms, introducing and reinforcing the idea of genetic drift and random selection can be challenging, as can be reinforcing appropriate mental models of evolution. Agent-based models offer students the opportunity to conduct a...

    Courses: BioinformaticsBioinformatics EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    modelingEvolutionecologyagent-based modelingGenetic Driftenvironmental scienceNatural Selectioncompetitive coevolutionsimulation modelingevolutionary reasoning
    Lesson
    528

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    105

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    An Interrupted Case Study on Urban Prairie Restoration
    Engaging students in meaningful discussions can be a challenging task for science instructors, especially in introductory courses. The story-telling approach used in case studies can increase student participation by demonstrating the relevance of...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    urban ecologyPrescribed fireEcosystem Servicesecological restorationwoody encroachmentrangeland ecology
    Lesson
    2115

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    309

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    Debating Conservation: Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Introductory Biology Classes
    Role-playing activities in the classroom promote students’ critical thinking, research, and communication skills. We present an activity where students debate a current controversy in conservation. In our case study, students debate the...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    Restorationtrophic cascadeecosystem function
    Lesson
    6438

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    4115

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    CURE-all: Large Scale Implementation of Authentic DNA Barcoding Research into First-Year Biology Curriculum
    Growing calls in science education reform have emphasized wide-scale engagement of first-year undergraduate students in authentic research experiences; however, large course enrollments, inadequate student experience, limited resources and...

    Courses: Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biology BioinformaticsBioinformatics EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    phylogeneticsbioinformaticsBiodiversityprocess of sciencetaxonomyPCRDNADNA sequencegel electrophoresis
    Lesson
    3301

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    643

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    Sorry to Eat and Run: A Lesson Plan for Testing Trade-off in Squirrel Behavior Using Giving Up Densities (GUDs)
    All animals need to find and compete for food, shelter, and mates in order to survive and reproduce. They also need to avoid being eaten by predators. Optimal foraging theory provides a framework to examine the trade-offs individuals make while...

    Courses: EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    ecologyanimal behaviorAnimal form and functionAnimal nutritionSquirrel-Net
    Lesson
    2820

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    554

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    Developing Data Literacy Skills and Connecting the Student Experience in the Classroom to the Community Through Biodiversity Projects
    Undergraduate education and long-term science literacy are enhanced by integrating data projects with public datasets and creating analysis summaries. Underutilized public datasets are often generated by community-based or citizen science projects...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Plant BiologyPlant Biology

    species richnessBiodiversitydisturbanceHabitat rangePopulation abundance
    Lesson
    2802

    views

    703

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    Teaching Biodiversity with Museum Specimens in an Inquiry-Based Lab
    In response to the growth of biology datasets and broad efforts to digitize data, an increasingly important skill for science students is the management and analysis of large datasets. We designed an inquiry-based lab module to introduce students...

    Courses: EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    data analysisnatural historyphylogenyBiodiversitymammalsAllen's RuleBergmann's Ruleecogeographymuseum research
    Lesson
    2929

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    362

    downloads

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    Bacteria to Brains in Backyard Coyotes: An Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Case Study
    Our interdisciplinary pedagogical case study explores the differences between rural and urban coyotes at the levels of organismal and community ecology. The focus is on how coyotes’ gut microbiomes could affect their behavior via...

    Courses: Cell BiologyCell Biology EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution ImmunologyImmunology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology MicrobiologyMicrobiology

    dietanimal behaviorimmune systemmicrobiomeNervous systemgut-brain axisImmunoReachdysbiosisCoyoteCytokines
    Lesson
    1712

    views

    467

    downloads

    0

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    Ain't No Mountain Pine Enough: A Case Study of How Mountain Pine Beetles are Affecting Ecosystem Processes
    This case study engages students in generating hypotheses and predictions, analyzing and interpreting data, critically evaluating contrasting results in science, and thinking about feedbacks between biota and abiotic ecosystem dynamics. To address...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    population biologycarbon cyclingSpecies-habitat interactions
    Lesson
    1777

    views

    130

    downloads

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    Snail Races: An Inquiry-Based Approach to Learn Invasive Species Ecology
    Inquiry-based lessons allow learning that is hands-on and student-driven, fostering engagement and retention of knowledge in any discipline. Here, we use this learning framework to engage students in exploring the effects of biotic and abiotic...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    ecologyenvironmentInvasive SpeciesScience CommunicationScientific InquiryDispersal
    Lesson
    1708

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    352

    downloads

    0

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    Chilling in the Cold: Using Thermal Acclimation to Demonstrate Phenotypic Plasticity in Animals
    The lesson plan described here provides students hands-on, scientific experiences that relate to the globally important issue of climate change and its impacts on animals. Students use the scientific method and basic components of experimental...

    Courses: EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    scientific methodclimate changephenotypic plasticityfruit fliesaccclimationcold tolerancethink-pair-share
    Science Behind the Lesson
    3083

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    162

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    Science Behind the Lesson: It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Biomechanics!
    Active flight is a specialized mode of movement found in insects, birds, and mammals. The anatomy, morphology, physiology, and ecology of flying taxa has changed over evolutionary time. Researchers have proposed several hypotheses about the...

    Courses: Anatomy-PhysiologyAnatomy-Physiology EcologyEcology

    EvolutionecologybatphysiologyAnatomybiomechanicsbirdFlightinsect