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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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.

Publisher: EcoEd Digital Library

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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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Bean beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) are phytophagous insects that lay their eggs on the surface of several species of beans in the family Fabaceae. Larval development is completed within the bean. Therefore, we would expect strong selection when the beetle switches to a new host. Students are provided with live cultures of beetles containing adults that have been raised on mung beans (Vigna...

Publisher: EcoEd Digital Library

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Students investigate the factors that control the rate at which CO2 is emitted from soil using simple soil chambers and soda lime in a field experiment. Students in small groups design and conduct their own experiments to investigate the effects of soil and microclimate factors on CO2 emission. The projects are typically conducted over two consecutive lab periods. During the first session students...

Publisher: EcoEd Digital Library

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