The Stomata Lab. What the past can tell us about our future - using fossil and modern plants to model atmospheric carbon dioxide

Gina Wesley, Kelly Livernoche, Sean McNamara, William Gretes, Allison Bell, Kiersten Newtoff, Jeff Leips, Richard Barclay, Heather Killen

Version: 1.0

Students will develop a mathematical model of the relationship between atmospheric CO2 and the number of stomata on a leaf (Stomata Index). They will evaluate the model graphically, statistically, and biologically, and then use it to estimate CO2 levels in the distant past.
introductory biology, Quantitative reasoning, interdisciplinary, climate change, regression, Ecology and Evolution, Stomata, NIQB, C2. Data and Graphs, C4. mathematical models, C3. Statistical Analysis, Smithsonian
1.7K
291
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0
11.2023

Using the Hardy-Weinberg Equations: Quantifying Natural Selection and Allele Frequencies

Gina Wesley, Sean McNamara, Kelly Livernoche, Kiersten Newtoff, William Gretes, Allison Bell, Jeff Leips

Version: 1.0

This module contains exercises designed to walk students through a real-world example of the coevolution of fruit color and primate frugivore color vision. Students will apply the Hardy-Weinberg Principle to quantitatively determine if evolution is occurring. This will be accomplished through calculating allele and genotype frequencies, analyzing data sets, and evaluating hypotheses through Chi-square statistical analyses. LEGOs are used to simulate population genetics.
Hardy-Weinberg, Evolution, introductory biology, Quantitative reasoning, interdisciplinary, NIQB, C2. Data and Graphs, C4. mathematical models, C3. Statistical Analysis, C6. Quantitative Language, C1. Numeracy
614
457
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05.2023

The Edge Effect

Sean McNamara, Kiersten Newtoff, Kelly Livernoche, Allison Bell, Jeff Leips, Gina Wesley, William Gretes

Version: 1.0

This module has students venturing outdoors to take a 50m transect and collect abundance data on plants utilizing quadrats in both edge and interior environment. Mathematically the goals of this module are to emphasize how sample size can influence data analysis and variance within the data set. Students perform calculations for species diversity using the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index. They will then take averages and the standard error of their data set, and use this information to create a graph. They will repeat this process for the entire class data set. Students will also run the student’s t-test to test for significance between the two environments.
statistics, ecology, data analysis, Excel, introductory biology, graphing, p-values, t-tests, Quantitative reasoning, hypothesis testing, sample size, statistical tests, interdisciplinary, statistical analysis, Community Ecology, species diversity, variation, diversity index, v, interpret data, NIQB, Shannon diversity index, C3. Statistical Analysis, C6. Quantitative Language, edge effect
558
426
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05.2023

RAT ATTACK! Population growth

Kiersten Newtoff, Gina Wesley, Will Gretes, Allison Bell, Kelly Livernoche, Sean McNamara, Jeff Leips

Version: 1.0

This module contains exercises focused on the use and interpretation of density independent and density dependent population growth models. Students build logistic and exponential growth models in Microsoft Excel (either using a template or built from scratch). The module is based on an actual ecological phenomenon, the black rat population explosion that occurs every 48-50 years following the flowering of the bamboo Melocanna baccifera. As part of this module, students will gather life history information from the PBS Nova Documentary ‘Rat Attack’ describing this phenomenon for use in the population models.
modeling, ecology, Excel, introductory biology, graphing, Quantitative reasoning, data visualization, interdisciplinary, exponential growth, logistic growth, data management, Interpreting Graphs, population modeling, NIQB, C2. Data and Graphs, C4. mathematical models, nonlinear models
677
856
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04.2023