In this activity, students examine the nature of the interaction between army ants and ant-following birds. Ant-following birds benefit from the relationship by staying just ahead of the ants and capturing prey animals that are disturbed by the ants. While early studies suggested that the birds' foraging might in turn benefit the ants, it is possible that the birds remove prey that the ants would...
In this laboratory exercise, students examine hypotheses about the interactions between goldenrod plants and the gall-forming insects that feed on them. Students collect and analyze data to determine 1) whether certain traits make the plants more susceptible to attack by the insects and 2) how plant reproduction is affected by the insects' feeding. Students are introduced to several competing...
In this TIEE experiment, students will explore functional and taxonomic diversity in a stream ecosystem, learn about food web relationships, and learn about the ways in which abiotic and biotic factors determine what organisms are present in a community.
Students will make and install artificial leaf packs in a stream, wait for the leaf packs to be colonized by stream organisms, measure...
The ecological questions in this exercise are:
1) Have long-term temperatures changed throughout Ohio? 2) How will these temperature changes impact plant and animal phenology, ecological interactions, and, as a result, species diversity?
This exercise is designed to give students experience working with large datasets and to allow them to use real ecological data to evaluate long-term...
In this lab experiment, students learn about ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal properties associated with two host tree species to better under understand symbioses in general and gain experience using soil sampling and mycorrhizal field methods. Students will learn in more depth about terms and concepts related to symbioses (e.g. mutualisms, coevolution, host specificity) and about specific...