In this Experiment, students make impressions of leaf stomata (using clear nail polish) and test a hypothesis of their choice about how leaf stomata density might vary under different environmental conditions. Leaf stomata are the principal means of gas exchange in vascular plants. Stomata are small pores, typically on the undersides of leaves, that are opened or closed under the control of a pair...
In this Experiment, students investigate the effects of ecological factors on the growth of Wisconsin Fast Plants, also known as rapid-cycling brassica (Brassica rapa L.). Treatments could include light, wind, herbivory, fertilizer, or insecticides. Variables to be measured could include growth (height, number of leaves, leaf area) or reproduction (number of flowers). Wisconsin Fast Plants have...
This Issue focuses on a research article by Blaustein and Johnson (2003) that was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The article discusses amphibian deformities, which may be related to a global decline in amphibians. By working with this paper and additional figures, students come to appreciate the complexity of biodiversity loss. Specifically, they gain an understanding of...
In this TIEE dataset, students answer the question of whether nutrient cycling (excretion) rates of fish in lakes scale with body size and temperature as predicted by The Metabolic Theory of Ecology.
Students use data on the nitrogen and phosphorus excretion rates of fish to test hypotheses related to metabolic ecology.
In this TIEE experiment, students investigate the costs of reproduction. In dioecious plants, a female's investment in reproduction is typically much greater than a male's, because while both sexes encounter the basic cost to produce a flower, only females have to allocate energy to seeds, exceeding the energy requirements to produce pollen. This 1-2 week field project tests whether the effects of...
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