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    How Luxury and Legacy Effects Shape Urban Avifauna in Los Angeles, California
    Is L.A.’s bird population shaped by historic redlining and income inequality? This lesson will introduce luxury and legacy effects hypotheses as they relate to urban avifauna in LA neighborhoods....

    Keywords: ANCOVASimple Linear Regressionurban ecologyredliningavian ecology

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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...

    Keywords: urban ecologyPrescribed fireEcosystem Servicesecological restorationwoody encroachmentrangeland ecology

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    Marsh Madness: Using Video Games and a Case Study to Explore Food Webs and Ecosystem Services in Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve
    As the complexity and interconnectedness of our world increases, we are continually expected to be capable of complex, non-linear thinking in order to successfully tackle and solve the challenges...

    Keywords: food webssystems thinkingGame Based LearningEcosystem Servicessocio-ecological networks

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    Observing the Birds of El Paso: Revisiting historical localities online and in the field
    In this set of activities, students are introduced to several features and use cases of museum databases to understand the importance of historical natural history specimens and their data. Using...

    Keywords: databaseBiodiversityOrnithologynatural history museumsspecies distributionsdistance learningField Experiences

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    SCIENCE/Fiction: Modular Template for Class Design
    We present a modular scaffold for designing an introductory seminar using speculative fiction and science papers to welcome university undergraduates to the biology major. A list of twelve possible...

    Keywords: geneticscell biologyneurosciencesystems biologyScience Fiction

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    Riverbird distributions and habitat use
    Riverbirds are widespread, use diverse riparian habitats, and respond rapidly to changing conditions. Students can apply riverbird data to evaluate hypotheses about these responses, while gaining...

    Keywords: logistic regressionHabitat selectionRiver Field Studies NetworkWaterfowl raptorkingfisherheronfocal speciesmonitorriverbank

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    Science “Fails”: A Bank of Historical Examples for Learning From Failure in Science
    Learning from failure is critically important to the processes of scientific inquiry, discovery, and invention. However, students are not routinely taught how to reflect on, learn from, and...

    Keywords: metacognitionScience process skillsLearning from failurepower and privilegestudent wellbeing

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    The Flight Physics Concept Inventory: Reliably Evaluating Aerodynamic Lift, Drag and Associated (Naïve) Concepts of Flight in Class and In-Game
    Students often struggle to transfer conceptual understanding from isolated instruction to a coherent mental model. This is especially true for the context of flight physics, fluid dynamics, or the...

    Keywords: active learninggamificationmisconceptionsaerodynamicsfluid dynamicsResearch-based assessment instrumentConceptual SurveyPRE-/POST-test

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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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    SOAR - San Francisco Bay Research Coordination Network for Student Opportunities in Avian Research to enhance STEM education and assess human impacts on avian biodiversity (RCN-UBE Introduction)
    The San Francisco Bay Research Coordination Network for Student Opportunities in Avian Research (SOAR) brings together faculty, students, and volunteers to implement an experiential learning and...

    Keywords: RCN-UBE Introduction

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    THE IMPORTANCE OF GREEN SPACES & NATIVE PLANTS TO URBAN AVIFAUNA: A Lesson on how urban residential yards can support birds during their annual cycle
    In this lesson students will learn about the impacts of urbanization, and the conservation challenges it poses to wildlife, in particular avifauna. Introductory ecology topics such as the theory of...

    Keywords: birdsurbanizationPoisson Distributionnative plantsGeneralized linear models

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    2015-Boggess-EtAl-Mathematical Modeling in Ecology - Simulating the Reintroduction of the Extinct Passenger Pigeon
    To determine under which conditions a Passenger Pigeon could survive a reintroduction into a natural habitat, we used two types of models.

    Keywords: simulationagent-based modelingallee_effectPassenger Pigeonsforest envirnomentHolling Type III functional responseBio-energeticstree distributions

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    Who’s That Speci-Mon? Using PokémonTM to Understand Biological Terminology Using Greek and Latin Roots
    We set out to create a fun and engaging activity using recognizable fictional characters, so students get a chance to practice using Greek and Latin roots to create binomial names. Students in...

    Keywords: linguisticstaxonomyAnatomyGreek and Latin Roots

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    Engaging non-science students in Citizen Science projects
    I created this project for students in my non-majors biology class in 2016 with the following objectives: 1) to show them some of the sorts of projects scientists conduct 2) to introduce them to...
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    Science Sprints for Undergraduate Research Days
    After participating in the 2021 Science Sprint working group, I planned and executed a one-day Science Sprint focused on exploring urban ecology and social and environmental justice. Specifically,...

    Keywords: Science Sprint

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    Is Earth Currently Undergoing a Sixth Mass Extinction?
    The five Phanerozoic mass extinctions were central in shaping biodiversity on Earth today. Due to increasing biodiversity losses, there is debate about whether we are currently undergoing a sixth...

    Keywords: conservationBiodiversityextinctionMass ExtinctionDeep Time

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    A Modeling Exercise in Sexual Selection using a Student-Created Bird Species
    Evolution-centered lessons at the undergraduate level can often be jargon-heavy, propagate misconceptions if taught ineffectively, and be uninteresting to students who may not see the relevancy of...

    Keywords: Evolutionfitnesssexual selectionNatural Selectionintersexual selectionmate choice

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    Designing an Asynchronous, Self-Led Aquatic Ecology Field Trip
    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing need to teach students online, aquatic scientists are looking for ways to give students field experiences virtually. Asynchronous, self-led field trips...

    Keywords: observationecosystem structureexploration

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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...

    Keywords: ecologyanimal behaviorAnimal form and functionAnimal nutritionSquirrel-Net

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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...

    Keywords: species richnessBiodiversitydisturbanceHabitat rangePopulation abundance

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