Activities:

1. Students make a prediction about the relationship between island size and species richness.
2. Students use an aggregated online database to download species collection records from islands of different size classes in the Alexander Archipelago.
3. Students determine the number of mammal species collected on each of the selected islands. This activity requires significant time for data “cleaning”.
4. Students do statistical analyses of the data (t-test, ANOVA, or regression) to test their hypotheses.

Assessment:

• Students complete a standard laboratory report detailing their methods and findings.

Activities:

1. Flower dissection and drawing [30 min] – each pair of students is assigned a flower to dissect and draw.
2. Plant/Pollinator match game [30 min] – each student receives either a pollinator or plant “card” and must locate their match using information provided on the card.
3. Bat/Agave case study using digitized Natural History Collection data [60 min] – students use the iDigBio Portal to investigate the distribution of several bat and plant species to analyze spatial co-occurrence data to make inferences about interspecific interactions.
4. Fruit dissection, drawing, stations [45 min] – each pair of students is assigned a fruit to identify, dissect, and draw. The team then produces a “station” displaying their fruit for other class members to view.

Assessment:

• Students complete a case study assessment investigating the relationship between the early spider orchid (Ophyrs sphegodes) and its pollinator, the solitary bee (Andrena nigroaenea).
• Students use images to identify characteristics of the orchid flower and fruit, use the iDigBio Portal to investigate the co-occurrence of the two species, and write about the selection pressures involved in the co-evolutionary relationship.

Activities:

• Students collect temperature data from weather/climate database.
• Students collect data on butterfly plants phenology from digitized natural history collections.
• Students collect data on butterfly phenology from digitized natural history collections.
• Students analyze the three data sets to identify correlations between temperature change and shifts in the phenology of butterfly food plants and butterflies.
• Students make predictions about the effects of phenology shifts on the population sizes of the plants and butterflies.
• Students read parts of a primary literature article about the phenology of the pied flycatcher and its prey, butterfly larvae, and draw conclusions about the interactions between all three groups (butterfly food plants, butterflies, and flycatchers).

Assessment:

• Students complete a case study assessment investigating phenology shifts in the early spider orchid (Ophyrs sphegodes) and its pollinator, the solitary bee (Andrena nigroaenea).
• Students graph provided temperature, flowering time, and date of first bee flight data to visualize the changes in phenology.
• Students make predictions about the effects of the phenology shifts on the orchid population.

Activities:

1. Students make a prediction about the relationship between mammal body size and island vs mainland habitat.
2. Students use the Arctos online database to download species collection records from islands in the Alexander Archipelago and from the nearby Alaska mainland.
3. Students determine the average mass of different mammal species collected on the islands and mainland. This activity requires significant time for data “cleaning”.
4. Students do statistical analyses of the data (t-test) to test their hypotheses.

Assessment:

• Students complete a standard laboratory report detailing their methods and findings.