OCELOTS

Online Content for Experiential Learning of Tropical Systems

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    Snapshot Serengeti: Implementing an online module about Serengeti wildlife ecology in a community-college ecology course
    This resource describes the implementation plan for an undergraduate ecology course at Muscatine Community College, Iowa, of an online module featuring a database on Serengeti wildlife populations....

    Keywords: ecologywildlifewildlife managementWildlife ecology

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    Implementing an online module about the implications of gold mining in the Amazonian rainforest for a community college ecology course
    This online module describes the implications of gold mining in the Amazon Rainforest, introduces students to ecological concepts, and explores human-environment connections. The implementation...
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    Snapshot Serengeti Online Lab
    Snapshot Serengeti is a fully online inquiry-based lab that uses real camera-trap data from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to explore themes of tropical ecology and animal behavior.

    Keywords: ecologyspecies interactionscitizen scienceCommunity Ecologyanimal behaviormigration ecologyScience Communicationspecies distributionspredator-prey interactionsTropical ecologycamera trapsSerengetisavannah biome

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    Plant-microbial mutualisms in canopy gap recovery: How do soil microbial symbionts help tropical forests recover from treefall gaps?
    This module uses tropical plant-soil microbial interactions in canopy gaps as a lens to better understand species interactions and disturbance ecology, while showing how scientists study these...

    Keywords: forest ecologyPlant Ecologynutrient cyclingmicrobestropical forestsDisturbances

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    Cold blood and wet skin in hot and dry secondary forests. How do amphibian traits determine persistence in secondary forests?
    Students will synthesize information from biological and physiological traits of amphibians and characteristics of secondary forests in the tropics to form hypotheses about persistence of...

    Keywords: life historyconservation biologyphysiological ecologyamphibianland use changeEctothermsecondary foresttrait-based ecology

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    Sounds of the Tropics: Part 1. How can audio recordings improve tropical biodiversity conservation?
    This online module explores the terminology of sound and concepts of acoustic monitoring, the diversity of sounds produced by animals, how to study soundscapes, how humans modify soundscapes, and...

    Keywords: animal behaviorAcoustic ecologysoundscapespassive acoustical monitoring

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    Restoring Tropical Forests: Implementing an online module in an undergraduate biology course in Indonesia
    This resource describes my implementation of a module on tropical forest restoration in Costa Rica for an undergraduate Ecology course at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia....

    Keywords: RestorationEcosystem Servicesforest restorationtransdisciplinary researchsocial forestryhuman well-beingcommunity-based

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    What is a species? Using DNA barcodes to identify species and determine insect responses to global warming
    Combining ecology, molecular tools and physiology, students investigate insect adaptation to temperatures along tropical mountains. Students integrate species concepts, DNA barcoding and thermal...

    Keywords: global warmingbeetleBiological species conceptCephaloleiacrticial thermal maximumcryptic specieselevational gradientsthermal limitstropical insectsZingiberales

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    Implementing an online module about acoustic biodiversity monitoring in the tropics for use in an undergraduate course
    This implementation plan for an online module organizes activities for understanding physical concepts and biological considerations regarding acoustic monitoring, and provides a Spanish version of...

    Keywords: Biodiversityconservation biologyTropical ecologyacoustic monitoring

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    Spreading seeds: How can a better understanding of seed dispersal improve tropical forest restoration?
    Learn about seed dispersal by animals and how this ecological process can be harnessed to facilitate forest recovery through a forest restoration experiment in Costa Rica. Apply what you learn to a...

    Keywords: conservationRestorationtropical forestsbiodiversity lossSeed dispersal

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    Implementing an online module on microbe-plant interactions in the context of ecological disturbance for Microbiology and Biochemistry courses in India
    This module explores tropical forest gap dynamics and helps students develop hypotheses about climate-related changes in plant-microbial interactions and was implemented in Microbiology and...

    Keywords: data analysisscientific methoddata interpretationdisturbance ecologyexperiential learningCarbon sequestration in tropical rainforestPlant Microbial interactionsCanopy GapUndergraduate MicrobiologyNational Education Policy 2020

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    Implementing an online module about plant functional traits in the context of restoration ecology for an undergraduate class in Brazil.
    This resource describes my experience in implementing this OCELOTS module in a Functional Trait-based Restoration class for undergraduate majors in the Forest Sciences Department / Escola Superior...

    Keywords: tropical forestsbiodiversity structureAtlantic forestfunctional traitshybrid ecosystems

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    Causes and consequences of resisting herbivory: How long-lived plants avoid damage from diverse short-lived insect herbivores
    This module guides students through decades-long studies of tropical plant-insect interactions to elucidate the ecology and evolution of plant defenses while encouraging students to consider the...
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    Fish, forests, and phosphorus: How do tropical fish, rainforest canopies, and volcanic groundwater inputs affect stream phosphorus cycling?
    Rainforest stream nutrient concentrations vary with groundwater source, and different stream fish species feed on aquatic and/or terrestrial prey. Explore how phosphorus cycling changes with stream...

    Keywords: nutrient cyclesBiogeochemistrykeystone speciesfood webFunctional Diversity

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    Colorful wings send messages: Why are butterfly wings colorful?
    Red postman butterflies live in tropical rainforests and have a mix of red, yellow, and black on their wings. These bright colors may warn predators or attract mates. Explore whether color alone or...

    Keywords: Quantitative reasoningadaptationpredationfield workEvolution by natural selection and mutation

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    Biting into "Science Cookies": Are seed fates determined by seed size or chemistry?
    By understanding how animals make seed dispersal decisions, we can predict how plant traits affect seed survival and plant recruitment. Using wild agoutis, we experimentally tested how seed...

    Keywords: predationplant animal interactionsSymbiosisTrophic interactionsTropical ecosystemsArtificial seedsSeed dispersalTerrestrial mammal

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    Sounds of the Tropics: Part 2. How are frogs responding to hurricanes, droughts, and climate change?
    This online module explores the response of a tropical frog community to hurricanes, drought, and climate change. We use acoustic monitoring and occupancy modeling to understand how frog...

    Keywords: climate changefrogsspecies distributionsdroughtnatural disturbanceshurricanesPuerto Ricooccupancy modeling

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    Between a rock and a hard place. What can turning rocks tell us about land-use change impacts on animals living in a rock outcrop?
    Unique rock outcrops in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in India provide a setting that challenges students to develop a study to assess the impact of land-use change on threatened animals...

    Keywords: conservationagricultureland useamphibianstropicalbiodiversity losslateritic outcropopen natural ecosystemsreptilesrocks

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    Functional trait-based restoration. Can hybrid restoration enhance invasion resistance and ecosystem services?
    A hybrid restoration experiment in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, in an area of high biocultural conservation value, that address the ecological and philosophical issues involved in conducting restoration with a...

    Keywords: Invasive SpeciesagroforestryHawaii CountyRestoration Ecologyplant functional traitstropical forest

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    Wildlife Crossings in Costa Rica: Are wildlife crossing structures effective in mitigating roadkill mortality on tropical highways?
    Meet Jack Ewing, an ecotourism pioneer in Costa Rica who fought to safeguard wildlife from roadkill mortality caused by enlargement of a major highway. This module presents the topic of road...

    Keywords: Biodiversityconservation biologyland use changeRoad Ecologyecosystem managementfragmentation

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