The central Amazon Basin is home to some of the most biologically diverse forests in the world. These rain forests are being reduced and fragmented at a fast rate (as of 2004, about 24 million hectares per year), and the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on these ecosystems is still poorly understood. This is especially true for long-lived species such as trees. The proliferation of...

Publisher: EcoEd Digital Library

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The East Front of the Northern Rocky Mountains in Montana shows the transition between prairie and forest. In this region, limber pine (Pinus flexilis) is an early successional tree. It facilitates the growth of later successional understory species, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotseuga menziesii) and wax currant (Ribes cereum), by providing shade and protection from wind. This photograph...

Publisher: EcoEd Digital Library

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A community of wildflowers growing in a restored prairie in southwestern Wisconsin. The community pictured was open to foraging by meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), resulting in vegetation dominated by species that voles typically do not consume, particularly black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia subtomentosa). In contrast, experimental plots that excluded voles were dominated by plant species that...

Publisher: EcoEd Digital Library

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In this Issue, students will examine published data that address the ecological consequences of environmental disturbance. Disturbance is a useful topic in the teaching of ecology and about disputes in science.

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This teaching activity explores what the short- and long-term effects of a whole-watershed deforestation experiment are on streamflow. Students can use an MS Excel file or hard copy of data to graph short- and long-term streamflow response to a whole-watershed manipulation. Students can then compare results to baseline data, draw conclusions about hypotheses, and consider implications of...

Publisher: EcoEd Digital Library

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